TDs for hire at a FOCAL event

[Marc Meakin]

I'm going to a Scrabble Tournament in Romford next month and I'm scouting the venue as a suitable one for a CO event .
If I was willing to organise one could I pay for a TD /CO to manage the event ?
Not computer savvy and want to learn what's involved in running an event.
So what is the going rate to hire someone?
As regards the event.
The only negative is that the venue is only available on a Saturday and the venue has to be vacated before 5.30
There is plenty to do in Romford lots of places to eat .
The venue can hold 60 players max for Scrabble so presumably the same for CO players.


I will find out hire costs etc so may consider a suitable date for 2025 if I can get the right advice and help

[Gavin Chipper]

TD? Tournament Director? And TD /CO presumably just a TD for a CO(untdown) event?

[Marc Meakin]

TD? Tournament Director? And TD /CO presumably just a TD for a CO(untdown) event?

CO for Computer operator Scrabble use CO/TD for tournaments

[Fiona T]

TD? Tournament Director? And TD /CO presumably just a TD for a CO(untdown) event?

Yeah scrabble pay people to run tournaments and press the computer buttons!

Definitely find out costs - IMO the hardest bit of organising a tourney is finding a suitable venue. But try get to a countdown tourney before you host one - they're a very different beast from scrabble!

[Marc Meakin]

TD? Tournament Director? And TD /CO presumably just a TD for a CO(untdown) event?

Yeah scrabble pay people to run tournaments and press the computer buttons!

Definitely find out costs - IMO the hardest bit of organising a tourney is finding a suitable venue. But try get to a countdown tourney before you host one - they're a very different beast from scrabble!

I intend to , maybe London next year

[Graeme Cole]

If I was willing to organise one could I pay for a TD /CO to manage the event ?
Not computer savvy and want to learn what's involved in running an event.
So what is the going rate to hire someone?

At co-events, there isn't much demarcation between such things as "organiser", "tournament director", and "computer operator". The organiser does all those jobs themselves, sometimes with one or two helpers. I'd struggle to think of any co-event where the person who organises the event and books the venue etc isn't the person - or at least one of the people - running the tournament on the day. For this reason, the term "tournament director" doesn't really exist at co-events, and nor does a going rate for one.

The only negative is that the venue is only available on a Saturday

Why's that a negative? Almost all co-events are on Saturdays.

[Fiona T]

At co-events, there isn't much demarcation between such things as "organiser", "tournament director", and "computer operator". The organiser does all those jobs themselves, sometimes with one or two helpers. I'd struggle to think of any co-event where the person who organises the event and books the venue etc isn't the person - or at least one of the people - running the tournament on the day. For this reason, the term "tournament director" doesn't really exist at co-events, and nor does a going rate for one.

There have been a few. I've pressed the buttons on a couple that Callum organised (the finals a couple of years ago when he was chair and had made the top 8, and his goat Leeds where I really wasn't fussed about playing but thought he should!) and MSR has played in tournaments that he's organised which Beachy has hosted, but yep, generally the expectation is that if you organise an event, you run it.

[Thomas Carey]

Yeah - I'm very slowly getting into Scrabble. We had a tournament in Berlin recently and I was unsuccessfully trying to explain to the organiser (who was playing, and is a fun person to talk to) how absolutely batshit insane I found it, from a countdowner's perspective, that they were PAYING someone to fly from Ireland (including accommodation!) to press the buttons on their (outdated) version of atropine. At some point she says well there's not many people with the skills, which surprised me because I assumed based on demographic there'd be enough technically competent people! Of course much like the oft discussed cash prizes, this cost is reflected in people's entry fees, which is pretty offputting... but yeah, the idea of 'the tournament organiser, or a friend so the organiser can play, pushes the buttons as a volunteer' felt pretty alien to the scrabblers (much like the whole concept of 'there are no cash prizes, the vast majority of the entry fee is just venue hire which keeps them affordable')

[Marc Meakin]

In Scrabble we have to pay a ratings Levy for tournaments unless you are a member of the ABSP.
That pays for someone to post ratings and update database.

If running a CO is simple and just inputting scores and it's all done for you using the software then that's reassuring though I may go to a co event pay my entrance but shadow the organiser , if it was OK rather than play.

Unlike Scrabble where you can play fast and finish your games 10 or 15 minutes ahead of the others and watch how the computer updates work.
Although a round Robin is the simplest way to organise a Scrabble tournament if you are a newbie

[Ben Wilson]

Yeah - I'm very slowly getting into Scrabble. We had a tournament in Berlin recently and I was unsuccessfully trying to explain to the organiser (who was playing, and is a fun person to talk to) how absolutely batshit insane I found it, from a countdowner's perspective, that they were PAYING someone to fly from Ireland (including accommodation!) to press the buttons on their (outdated) version of atropine. At some point she says well there's not many people with the skills, which surprised me because I assumed based on demographic there'd be enough technically competent people! Of course much like the oft discussed cash prizes, this cost is reflected in people's entry fees, which is pretty offputting... but yeah, the idea of 'the tournament organiser, or a friend so the organiser can play, pushes the buttons as a volunteer' felt pretty alien to the scrabblers (much like the whole concept of 'there are no cash prizes, the vast majority of the entry fee is just venue hire which keeps them affordable')

The last time I used tsh was something like 2012 and it was very technical back then, being command line based. From what you're saying it sounds like they're still nowhere near developing a GUI or anything user-friendly for it, but from discussions I've had with Graeme in the past it is very advanced, at least in terms of features. And the grid it outputs for absp ratings purposes basically mean the absp will only let you run a tournament using that software, hence the ridiculous air fees (I tried with atropine once and got a rant from the ratings officer about how it took an hour to manually input the results).

[Marc Meakin]

Wasn't or isn't Tsh on licence ?

[Ben Wilson]

It wasn't the last time I used it, but admittedly that was over a decade ago. Everything about atropine is superior and much more user friendly though (I may have said that before but I'll keep banging that drum).

[Marc Meakin]

It wasn't the last time I used it, but admittedly that was over a decade ago. Everything about atropine is superior and much more user friendly though (I may have said that before but I'll keep banging that drum).

Why does tsh still get used if it's antiquated?

Is it a bit like trying to build a new road over an old one ie you have to go backwards before going forwards.
The ABSP AGM is coming up I would mention atropine to the comittee but don't want to sound (any more) like a dock with limited computer knowledge.

I know when I was at John Lewis they were using a system called mainframe which looks like a Matrix throwback.
They haven't updated it yet as a new build would be expensive