In this post I’ll have a quick look at a few tournaments that are not NAF-ranked, and why this is.
Probably the most common reason is that a tournament is a gathering of mates getting together for a day or a weekend, possibly planned at the last minute or not open to all. Some leagues use these as end of season finales or one-off excitement builders. One of these tournaments took place recently in New Zealand, and the organisers did a cool write-up – read the Mootborough Tourney Review!
Similarly, lots of tournaments are not NAF-ranked the first time they are run, as the organisers don’t want to have too much pressure in case something goes wrong, or don’t want to attract the wrong type of gamer. In my opinion, this should not be a reason for not getting ranked – there are lots of people around to support those running a tournament, so if you are thinking of running a tournament just get in touch nice and early and you should be able to get everything you need!
Finally, certain tournaments have rulesets that are too quirky to fit with the NAF guidelines, and good examples of these are the Stunty Slam and the Fling Fest (held in Pug’s tavern, above!) in the UK, and hopefully you can guess which are the only races allowed to take part in these particular festivals of fortitude!
Any othe reason why a tournament might not be NAF-ranked? Comment below!
Don’t forget location. The guidelines don’t allow for tournaments that are to close together at the same time (for example, R.I.O.T.S. and Spiky Open in the south of England).
Interesting comment re: Spiky and RIOTS. I’m going to Spiky because I can easily travel to it, and not going to RIOTS because I can’t. I would have liked Spiky to be NAF sanctioned, not too bummed that it isn’t, but wouldn’t have thought that they were too close to easily coexist. Just wondering how close is ‘too close’?
It’s down to a local National Tournament Organiser, with guidance from the Tournament Director. Both these tournaments are South-East England, basically, which provides reasonable guidance. A few weekends ago there was one in Bristol and one in Manchester at the same weekend, so that is not “too close”. Hope that helps!
I agree Billy. I couldn’t have made RIOTS as I have to work the Sunday, but I can understand the reasoning, even if I don’t agree with it in all cases.
Does Reading really count as “South East”? I’ve always thought of it as “South”. “South East” is Kent et al. 😉
Worth asking Pippy/Joemanji about if there is a case. Is Andover really South West? 😉
No, they were just the last region to return the “we don’t want you” letter.
Personally, I’d put Andover on a barge in the Channel and use it for target practise…