Pun's Labyrinth IX

All right, here goes.... Even with the growth of the sport due to COVID and the historical draw of this tournament, there's no way we could have anticipated yesterday's registration. With that bei ... show more ›

All right, here goes....

Even with the growth of the sport due to COVID and the historical draw of this tournament, there's no way we could have anticipated yesterday's registration. With that being said, registration is something we cannot control, as it is hosted by this site and also uses PayPal for payment processing. So filling in the time we did with all the additional interest causes people who register immediately upon the open of registration getting deep on the wait list. That is beyond our control and unfortunately the way it goes. I heard a couple good comparisons about all this...think of it like a concert. Back in the good old days, concerts sold out often. There was nothing you could do about if you didn't get your spot, even if you are online right at ticket release. That's just how it goes. This event has been a field of 72 with three rounds over two days for 7 of the 8 years we've done it. Capping divisions on a field of 72 does not make sense, as with the number of divisions, that makes smaller fields and less incentive and prizes for players of all skill levels. Simply put, we cannot accommodate everyone. We couldn't in the past, and we can't now, especially with this growth and demand.

Even with all of this, we have decided that we will be moving to a different format as in the past to get more people into this event. Discussions were had between Mel and I, and we feel the best way to handle this is below:

This event will move to a 2-day and 2-round event with a max field of 144 players. Tee times will be used for both days. Some details and logistics need to be finalized for this, but here's our thoughts:

Day 1 (Saturday) -- Tee times beginning at 8 AM running 12 minutes apart. This will put the last group out starting sometime after 3 PM. This day will feature the longer of the two rounds, and we will be announcing layouts once we finalize our plan for that.

Day 2 (Sunday) -- Tee times beginning at 8 AM running 10 minutes apart. This will put the last group starting some around 2 PM. This day will feature a shorter round, and will also be announced when the plan is finalized.

Like division players will be grouped together for starting times in close proximity of each other so that on Sunday, once a division is completed, their awards ceremony can occur, including payouts. That way our awards and payouts will not need to wait until all players are finished. This should keep things moving and also limit the group congregation size down.

We know that each of the options to increase field size all have positives and negatives. But being a club with limited resources and volunteers, this is the best option for us and we feel the entire event as a whole. There is no way we can keep everyone happy, but we believe this is the best way to get to the most players in to the event and also minimize the strain on our group as we adjust to this larger field size. This event has always been a two-day event, so by running it with tee times, we essentially lose one round of competition but also get to double the field size.

So what this essentially mean is that with a max field of 144, anybody on the waitlist with a spot at 72 or less will move into the event. I will be working on updating this tonight, but have also noticed a couple duplications of waitlist numbers and players, so I will need to go through the registration history to make sure it is completely correct and fair. Please give me to later tonight to do this, as it's not an easy task.

We also realize this change may not appease all who make it in. If you decide with these changes and would like a refund, we can do that, no questions asked. But this will also make for much larger field sizes and better competition and prize pools, so keep that in mind. There has already been a few refund requests and I have yet to process those. I wanted to make a decision on a path forward before doing so to make sure these players did not lose their spot in case they still wanted to play with an expanded field. I will be emailing those three individuals shortly. So if you are one of the three, please respond to the email your intentions of playing with these changes.

Moving forward, we will have to take a serious look at how this tournament is managed with regards to this growth. I personally wouldn't mind seeing it be a three day event if we expand to a field this size as the norm, but it just doesn't make sense to do that this year with that not being the original plan. Our club will take a look at the options we have to grow this event and allow the max number of players to get in for next year and beyond.

Also, as stated above, details for format and possibly tee times are not set in stone as of yet. We will get those details updated once our plan is finalized. But the fact it will be a 2-Day and 2-Round event with tee times will not be changed.

Thanks for the interest and understanding in all of this.