Player registration at a GP is a very complex and delicate part of the whole tournament, and while it resides mostly on the scorekeeper’s shoulders, judges may help them in their difficult job after registration is closed and before round 1 starts.

I’d like to share some common experiences in order to optimize the procedures of handling registration issues that typically take place during the Players Meeting before round 1 of the GP. There should be someone in charge of each of the following procedures so that players may be easily sent to them without talking to the scorekeeper (SK).

Setup and Crowd Control

Before posting the Seat all Players, you need to properly setup the area for handling registration issues. You should always be within range of the SKs, since they will need to fix all the actual issues, yet you do not want a huge mass of shouting players to get close to them. 🙂

Be sure that if the SKs do not speak the primary language of the players, each SK should have a dedicated judge fluent in that language acting as translator for a much more efficient problem solving and customer care.

Arrange for a way of organizing lines of players and split them for the issues listed below. You may use, for example, Tensabarriers or any equivalent method used during registration. Each line should point to the SK that is solving that particular issue. Post clear signs and/or competent staff at the beginning of the lines so that players may understand where they need to go.

Before the beginning of the lines you need to screen most of the players that actually are correctly registered in the GP but have not realized it yet. Have judges there with all the instruments listed below (i.e. extra Seat all Players copies, Active Players by DCI number copies, etc) in hand so that they may quickly assist players. For example, if you have enough space, having tables close to the lines may help both for keeping players at a safe distance from the SKs and for spreading papers for faster access. If the judge is not able to solve the issue, let the player enter the appropriate line.

Bear in mind that it’s a good idea to setup also a faster line for players that have to be entered into or removed from round 1. One SK should be dedicated to solving issues for these players and judges should push players into this line as soon as possible. If you can’t setup a dedicated line, you should at least allow these players to cut the main line and talk to the SK as soon as possible.

1) Players missing in the Seat all Players

This issue may be caused by several causes, let’s try to figure out the most common ones:

1. Seat all Players may be printed in two columns per page: ask players to check for their name in both columns. The best way to prevent the problem is to either cut the Seat all Players sheets vertically in two halves and post columns separately, or draw a line to clearly mark there are two columns
2. Wrong half of the split tournament: ask players to check for their name also on the Seat all Players of the other split tournament
3. First and last name are inverted: ask players to check also for their first name in the appropriate name range and if they have multiple surnames to double check all of them too
4. Wrong spelling of the last name: have players write down their DCI number, first and last name, or ask them to show an ID to the judge for faster writing
5. Online registration: have players write down their DCI number, first and last name, or ask them to show an ID to the judge for faster writing
6. Special program registration (VIP, Sleep-in – double check with SKs how it is handled): have players write down their DCI number, first and last name, or ask them to show an ID to the judge for faster writing

It is extremely useful to have at least two copies of the Seat all Players and either give them to dedicated judges or spread them on a few temporary tables (if you have enough space in order not to create a bottleneck, having them at the side of the line may be a good option too) for faster checking by players and judges.

Ask for a copy of the Active Players sorted by DCI number in order to solve problem #4 without bothering the SKs. DCIR may print the full 10-digit DCI number of the players, so they may not be able to quickly find their number. In this case, SK assistance is required (i.e. have the players type their DCI number to be searched in an Excel file).

Prepare four or five sheets of blank lists where players may write down their DCI number, first and last name, and their issue. Ideally each judge should have one of these papers in order to parallelize this activity the most.

Online registration should be merged into regular registrations before the Seat all Players is printed, but if several players have this issue, please check with the SK that it was done.

Special programs may register players in the tournament with special prefixes (like “zzzz” for having sleep-ins at the last tables). Check with the SK before posting the Seat all Players so that you may assist players immediately if they are affected. Be sure that players know when and where they are expected to arrive at the tournament and have a few judges (getting an estimate of players is very important here) dedicated to them so that they may move them to the appropriate area.

2) Players with wrong number of byes

The number of byes are printed in the Seat all Players, right beside the player name. There may be basically two different issues:

1. Lower amount of or no byes: have players write down their DCI number and first and last name
2. Higher amount of byes: have players write down their DCI number and first and last name

Prepare four or five sheets of blank lists where players may write down their DCI number, first and last name, and their issue. Ideally each judge should have one of these papers in order to parallelize this activity the most.

It is extremely useful to have at least two copies of the Seat all Players and either give them to dedicated judges or spread them on a few temporary tables (if you have enough space in order not to create a bottleneck, having them at the side of the line may be a good option too) for faster checking by players and judges.

First you need to direct immediately players that have one or no bye to the SK, since they need to be solved before the start of round 1 or they’ll either delay the tournament or cause more problems in order to fix tables later.

Collect all other problems in the paper lists (issues with two or three byes) and give them all together to the SK after he finishes resolving the issues with one or no bye. These players should not need to talk with the SK unless further problems are discovered.

3) Late players

Even if the registration period is huge, spanning weeks before the event up to Saturday morning itself, you’ll always get some late players willing to enter the tournament.

Have players write down their DCI number, first and last name, and the number of byes they are supposed to have. Check they have not been entered yet (maybe by friends). If not, send them to the SK (once the registration station closes down, late players are usually entered by the SKs at the main stage) with the piece of paper you had them fill and the money for registration. They should be entered as soon as possible, ideally before the beginning of round 1.

The SK is likely to assign late players to the last tables (right after the last active one). Be sure to have a judge at those tables to assist players (i.e. for collecting decklists or giving out product).

Conclusion

The period for handling Player Registration issues is a delicate moment of the tournament because there’ll be a lot of confusion with players and little time for not impacting the event. If you clearly set your priorities, you should be able to handle the situation efficiently and with great customer care for players:

1. Be ready with the extra copies of Seat all Players and Active Players by DCI number in order to eliminate the time spent going back and forth to the pairing boards
2. Be ready to have players write down their info in order to reduce communication issues with judges and the SK – especially in regions where there are many different languages spoken
3. Prioritize players that should play round 1 and players that should not play round 1 but that are missing their byes. All these issues should be solved before the beginning of round 1
4. Shield the SKs the most, since their efficiency is of the utmost importance and give them as much written information as possible since verbal communication at that moment may be chaotic

Remember that both players and judges may be erratic at this moment, so smile a lot, transmit confidence, and try to keep everybody around you calm. 🙂