An article on using a table format (or grid
format) instead of a tree format to run
an elimination list in a tournament. The table format rarely requires bye
fights.
 |
Using a table format to run a list |
| Updated: Jun 17, 2005 |
Double-elimination tourneys are often run using a tree and often involve what are known as 'bye' fights.
How would you like to run a tourney with no bye fights . . . ?
Testimonial
Lord Yves de Fortanier deserves commendation and much good single malt scotch (or the beverage of his choice) for his website at the Rotunda detailing the Table Method for running lists. When I was first thrust into the job of running a list, a dear, dear friend taught me this method for running a double-elimination tourney and it saved my novice backside. I highly recommend that anyone considering running lists regularly learn this style. It allows for far greater flexibility than any tree. Lord Yves has done an absolutely fabulous job describing the style and providing examples of how to use it in real life situations. Go. Read. Learn. I can't stress this enough. Really.
Aine ingen MaelPatraic
Jaravellir, Northshield
Thanks, Aine. I hear scotch and mead mix well, but I'll stay with cordials and dessert drinks in which I can't taste the alcohol...
Aine has since become the Minister of Tournaments for Northshield!
The table format works just fine with single-, double-, even triple-elimination lists. The examples I put on here are for double-elimination, since that's the most common in the SCA.
I learned about list keeping in the SCA, so the term I use for the competitors is fighters.
The number of bouts required for a standard double-elimination list is 2F-1 (where F is the number of fighters), if no one drops out unexpectedly. In some truly rare cases, you may actually need a number of bouts that equals 2F.
The links below go to the pages with the examples. They are intended to be read in order because the later examples have less explanation.
Example 1: Eight fighters, double-elimination.
Example 2: Eleven fighters, double-elimination.
Example 3: Nine fighters, double-elimination, one fighter has to drop out unexpectedly . . . in the middle of the tourney. Truly, this is NOT a big deal when using a table format.
Example 4: Twenty-six fighters, double-elimination, taking into account what order the bouts finish in to try to give fighters a more equal time of rest between bouts. Also, one fighter has to drop out unexpectedly somewhere in the middle (as in Example 3) AND one fighter is allowed to enter the tourney after the first round, taking a loss as a penalty.
Live example #1: Sword and Mistletoe (Dec 1999). Used the table format for 30 fighters that I ran as a 16-person list and a 14-person list concurrently.
Live example #2: Lusty Month of May (May 2005). There were 18 fighters. I ran this solo. Felt a little rushed again.
Your feedback is most welcome!
Original page posted: November 23, 1999. Last
tweaked: July 1, 2006.
The address for this page is [ www.therotunda.net/heraldry/table-format.html
]
Nothing on my Web site is the official publication of anyone else. Unauthorized use for profit is not permitted.