NSA Mass. sanctioned Pay As You Play Tournaments are a little bit different than our regular tournaments in that each team pays for umpires on the field in cash before the game begins. The entry fees are significantly reduced to account for the fact that the teams will pay the umpires. When everything is said and done, half of the teams will save money under this new system for any 4 game guarantee tournament as compared to 2011 entry fees of $425.
How Does It Work?
EXAMPLE: If a teams pay an entry fee of $250 for a 4 game guarantee tournament (entry fee for several tournaments are higher) teams that play the minimum 4 games (that is, teams that do not advance beyond the first round of the elimination bracket on Sunday) will incur $160 in umpire fees ($120 for 3 pool games and $40 for their first elimination game). This cost added to the entry fee of $250 equals $410 -- a savings of $15 per tournament if you get knocked out in the first round compared to our 2011 entry fees. For teams that advance beyond their first game, total umpire fees will be higher ($40 for each additional game). The host always pays the umpire fees for all championship games.
What About Tournaments With Other Than 4 Game Guarantee Formats?
We are using Pay As You Play for the Worth Showcase Tournament, which is a 5 game minimum format (4 pool games into Single Elimination). Every team will incur $160 in umpire fees for pool play plus $40 per game in Sunday's elimination bracket. We are NOT using Pay As You Play for Father's Day Bash or the NSA State Championships.
What About Forfeits?
Any team that plays in NSA tournaments already knows we do not look kindly on forfeits. Not only does it disrupt the tournament, it is unfair to your opponent. We do track teams that forfeit games and we ALWAYS take that into consideration before accepting that team in ANY future NSA sanctioned tournament. That said, if you forfeit a game your opponent will still have to pay the $40 umpire fee for that game and they will get the win. The forfeiting team must pay the umpire fee of $40 for that game and takes a loss. For teams that forfeit and simply do not show up, the host will pay the forfeiting team's $40 umpire fee for that game and you will be removed from the tournament unless you have made arrangements ahead of time with the tournament host (in which case we probably would have already tried to reschedule the game to avoid the forfeit in the first place). No show forfeiting teams that are allowed to remain in the tournament because previous arrangements have been made will have to pay a forfeit fee of $60 to the host (to reimburse the host for the paid umpire fee plus a penalty). If no fee is paid or arrangements are not made, you will not be allowed to play any more games in that tournament. This is necessary so that your scheduled opponents do not have to pay umpires for any more forfeited games. The umpires will be cancelled for your remaining games.
Why The Change?
There are several reasons why we are making this change. First, it makes it easier for us to make sure every umpire is paid for every game they work without us having to track them down at various locations. Wherever they are, they get paid for the games they work at the start of the game. We have seen this system work well in other areas of the country as a more equitable way to split the costs of umpires at tournaments -- umpires are the single largest expense at a tournament and under this system the teams that play more games incur more of the cost of the tournament. We wanted to try it here and see if it was something that teams might be interested in. In addition, it allows teams significantly more time to get their funds in order as they do not have to pay the money for umpires upfront and simply need to bring the cash for the umpires with them to the tournament -- giving them an extra month or more to collect funds or raise money for tournaments.
What Do We Do Differently?
Basically, everything is done the same up until game time. You register for tournaments through our website, www.northeastnsa.com. You send in your deposit within two weeks and the balance by the deadline. Now here is where it changes. You must bring two $20 bills to each game and give one to each umpire. Each team pays $20 to each umpire. That's it. Then the game is played as it always is.
As with any new system, we expect questions to arise and we will work hard to answer all your questions as best we can. We are very interested in your feedback about this type of tournament -- suggestions, positive comments, and constructive criticism are always welcome. We used this system for the Fall 2010 tournaments and it worked out very well.
NorthEast NSA - Region 1 88 Eleventh Street Lowell, MA 01850 Att: Steve Collins info@northeastnsa.com 1-978-937-5515