Welcome to the December edition of the Tournament Director Blog, your top source for all things NAF tournaments! Here, we bring you the latest updates from the tournament scene, essential information, previews of upcoming events, and recaps of recent highlights.
In this month’s edition, we reflect on 2024, share updates like the revived Glicko rankings and our Tournament Series program, and close with a heartfelt thank-you message from community members affected by the devastating flooding in Eastern Spain this past October.
As always, if you want to contribute any content to this blog (e.g. a report of a recent tournament you visited or ran), reach out! Contact info are available on our NAF staff site.
Content
- NAF Chatter
1.1 2024 in Review
1.2 Updated Glicko Ranking (by codered)
1.3 New Coach Page Badges - Tournament Series Update (by Topas)
- A Community of Support
- Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. 2024 in Review
A lot happened this year. In January, our Ethics Committee was established. Since then, it has been hard at work creating important guidelines for hosts and coaches, drafting a new code of conduct, and providing general help and advice in tricky situations.
We began rolling out new badges for Coach Pages, starting with Travel badges and expanding to include Race badges, Tournament Organizer badges, and NAF Trophy badges.
The Gnomes joined the circus—thankfully, without either dominating the scene or dragging it down to their level. Without any widespread Dodge, the Chaos Dwarves decided to follow suit and dropped their Tackle skill as well.
We introduced the option to report matches against non-NAF coaches, a feature that had been widely requested (April blog and May blog).
In the summer, we announced a new team trophy to accommodate the growing number of squad tournaments.
In what was probably the single most significant change in the history of the NAF, we introduced a donation button in September.
Numerous tweaks and improvements were made to the tournament section of the site, including enhancements to how tournament data is submitted and corrected (October blog).
In November, we reached a major milestone: membership number 40,000! (Though the actual number of unique coaches is lower, thanks to Mike’s many test accounts.)
December marked the submission deadline for bids to host the 2027 World Cup. We received four impressive bids from the US, France, Malta, and New Zealand. Preparing these bids requires an enormous amount of time and effort—not to mention the monumental task of organizing the event itself. A heartfelt thank you to all the candidates for their dedication.
Overall, we held a record-breaking 1,120 tournaments in 2024—a 25% increase over the previous year. Regular tournaments remained the most popular, while variant formats saw 191 events (with Sevens leading at 110). Additionally, 22 tournaments were held online. For further analysis, we can look forward to data mogul sann0638’s insights in his upcoming NAF Report.
None of this would have been possible without the incredible efforts of our volunteers—tournament organizers, NCs, RCs, approvers, support staff, and committee members (our structure was reviewed in the February blog). A big thank you to everyone involved! Let’s continue this fantastic momentum in 2025!
1.2 Updated Glicko Ranking (by codered)
As some of you might have noticed, the Glicko Ranking is finally functional again, thanks to the programming wizardry of codered. This system offers a more dynamic and time-dependent alternative to the ELO Rankings, providing both racial and global rankings. You can easily view and access these rankings on the coach page. Below are some explanatory words from codered to help you understand the system better.
The Glicko ratings have been scheduled to update daily since late October. They now run directly on the NAF servers to ensure that NAF staff have continued access to the code that performs the updates. Each period’s ratings are calculated based on one month of games played.
For those unfamiliar with Glicko ratings, there are two main components: the raw rating, known as mu, and the uncertainty factor, known as phi. The rating displayed on the Glicko Global Overview page is calculated as mu – 2.5 × phi. Coaches who play in a period will see their ratings adjust based on their results and opponents during that period. Coaches who do not play games in a period will see their mu value remain the same, but their phi value will increase. Consequently, their displayed rating will decrease as we become less certain of their ability the longer they go without playing. More information on the previous process can be found here (page will updated soon).
The main difference between the current implementation and the previous one as described in the linked article is that games with Stunty teams are now included in the global ratings calculations. Previously, ratings with a phi value of 100 or greater were removed to prevent uncertain ratings from appearing at the top of the rankings. While we still aim to keep uncertain ratings from being highly ranked, they are now heavily penalized and sorted below any ratings with phi values below 100. However, they can still be found in the rankings beneath those.
While we are pleased to have the Glicko ratings back up and running, there are some items we are considering for future work. We currently use 2.5 as the constant to subtract phi from mu for the displayed rating. When the system was initially deployed in October, we trialed using 1 as the constant but found the ratings to be too close together and reverted to the previous implementation’s value of 2.5. This constant may be experimented with further in the coming months. Another area for potential evaluation is how quickly uncertainty increases and, thus, how fast the ratings decay.
Additionally, based on how the calculations have been implemented, we have the opportunity to include other data in the final output, such as all-time and current-year highs, or the ability to snapshot ratings from any given month.
1.3 New Coach Page Badges
You may have already noticed a new addition in the membership section of individual coach pages: a badge displaying the number of NAF trophies won.
NAF trophies are awarded to the individual winners of sanctioned tournaments in the regular Blood Bowl variant (i.e., not Sevens, Deathbowl, etc.), provided the tournament meets the minimum attendance requirements. For tournaments with four or more game rounds, at least 12 NAF-registered coaches are required. For tournaments with three rounds, a minimum of 24 NAF-registered coaches is necessary.
This badge tracks the number of NAF trophies you’ve won, with milestones increasing as your total grows:
- For up to 15 trophies, the badge increments by 1.
- From 15 to 50 trophies, the badge increments by 5.
- From 50 to 100 trophies, the badge increments by 10.
For simplicity, team trophies for squad tournaments are also included in this count. Additionally, trophies from variant tournaments held before January 1, 2019, are eligible and contribute to the badge total.
All badges, along with explanations of how they are calculated, are now listed on a dedicated page for easy reference.
2. Tournament Series Update (by Topas)
The NAF reintroduced its Tournament Series program in 2023, kicking off with 20 series across three continents. By 2024, this number had already grown to 31 series—still on three continents (ok, we’re working on the “more continents” thing). As you may know, the winners of Tournament Series receive special pins, and Tournament Series Organizers (TSOs) can proudly use the shiny NAF Series logo on their websites. Curious about which series are currently running? You can find them all listed on the series overview page.
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re excited to share some planned enhancements. One big development is the introduction of the Super Series program (a huge thank-you to BB_Jock for driving this initiative). Super Series allow for the combination of larger tournaments across broader regions than is typical within a regular NAF series. You can find more details about the Super Series program here and some background information here. The list of currently planned Super Series is available here, and we expect this list to grow as more Super Series are finalized.
One more bit of future planning: we (ok, mostly Stimme) are working on having series victories displayed on the respective coach pages. Stay tuned for updates—this one’s going to be a game-changer!
And finally, if you’re a TSO or interested in organizing a series, make sure to join the NAF Discord and send a PM to Topas. You’ll be added to the TSO channel, where specific Tournament Series updates are shared and discussed.
3. A Community of Support
Why the Blood Bowl community is the best – from an affected coach.
Two months ago, on October 29, heavy torrential rains in Spain caused devastating floods, resulting in 227 deaths and the rescue of more than 37,000 people. The disaster led to over 153 million euros in material losses, including damage to cars, businesses, homes, furniture, and countless personal belongings.
When I say that the Blood Bowl community is the best, it’s not just because it welcomes new players with open arms. It’s not just because it can be both fiercely competitive and wonderfully relaxed, blending competition with camaraderie and partying. It’s because the community is something more. It’s because they care about each other—not just as friends but as a family.
In the aftermath of the catastrophe, as local authorities failed to provide the necessary support to more than 75 towns and over 75,000 affected people, it was ordinary citizens who stepped up. Volunteers from the surrounding areas came together to pull us out of the muddy hell that our lives had become. And among those volunteers, of course, was the Blood Bowl community.
Without seeking recognition, members of the community raised thousands of euros in the critical first weeks to buy essential supplies: drinking water, masks, bleach, boots, food, and more. They procured water pumps—vital for draining flooded garages—and not only brought them to the affected areas but also operated them and donated them for continued use. They traveled hundreds of kilometers with vans full of donated materials. They helped clean houses and remove debris. And those who couldn’t be there in person, whether due to distance or other reasons, raised funds at their tournaments or even organized charity events specifically to support the victims. From Spain, England, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, and many other countries, the Blood Bowl community went above and beyond to help those in need.
When people ask me why I play Blood Bowl, I tell them it’s not just because it’s a tremendously fun game—though it absolutely is. I play because it has the best community in the world.
On behalf of everyone affected by the disaster: thank you.
4. Outlook
The new year picks up right where 2024 left off, with 80 tournaments already scheduled across 20 different countries.
Two communities are kicking off their 2025 Nationals in January: Poland with the Fantasy Bowl Winter Cup, and Wales with its National Championship.
As always, the Canadian Blood Bowl season opens with the Capital City Kick Off—this year, just barely. Only the time difference spares it from being overtaken by Thor’s Hammer Slam in Alberta on the same weekend. Meanwhile, Swiss cheese lovers are gathering for the Fondue Bowl in Zurich. Fans of Italian specialties can choose between Sambuca Bowl and Tortellini Bowl for a deliciously competitive start to their year. And friends of Japanese snacks don’t have to travel across the globe: the Takoyaki Bowl in Barcelona has them covered.
As for me, I’ll be heading to Leipzig for the Emerald Bowl.
Finally, it’s time for the next election, where you’ll have the chance to decide who will serve as the NAF Tournament Director for the next two years.