BTTC POLICY ISSUES

1. Player Maximum. Our policy is to try to accommodate all players arriving and signing up for the Round Robin in time, no matter how many we are.  The process of assigning players to groups and tables is often complicated but we have a good computer program to facilitate it. This process has two goals: The first is to have everyone assigned to groups where the other players are of the same level. With exception for the table winner promotion rule (see #4 below) this arrangement is made in accordance with the current club rating. With newcomers, it is of course more complicated, but our policy is to rather have them climb than descend our club rating (i.e. rather giving a too low, than a too high initial rating). The second goal is to get started as soon as possible, once the sign-up deadline has passed.  The ideal group size is 6 players, with no less than 2 tables (3 players/table). At the moment (and for the foreseeable future) we have 20 tables at our disposal. As soon as we are more than 60 players we have to "squeeze in" more than 3 players on average per table. No exact scheme for how this should ideally be made (given different numbers of players) has yet been drawn up, but we try to be as fair as possible with the goal that everyone should be able to finish approximately the same number of matches (ideally at least 4). A slight preference, however, is given to the highest rated table(s) in order to attract skilled players (which everyone can enjoy watching) to the club. 

2. Warm-up time. A maximum of two minutes warm-up time is standard, but this should be minimized (towards zero minutes) when the club is crowded.
3. Late Arrivals.
   1. Players must arrive and sign up by 6:50 PM to play.
   2. Those calling in must call the registration hot-line by 6:35. Those who call in as late arrivals must arrive no later than 7:30 PM 
   3. When possible, we will try to be flexible for first-time players who arrive late, but only if they can be accommodated readily into the round-robin.
4. Promotion of table winners to next level.

   The Round Robin groups are each Friday created strictly according to the current ratings, except for the principle of table winner promotion. This principle means that the player who won his/her respective table (marked by red color on the result sheet) is guaranteed the right to play on the next higher table the directly following week, unless he/she is rated more than 200 points below the person who would be downgraded (moved down one table) because of this promotion.

5. Ratings system.

   a) The basic rating formula calculates the rating outcome of each individual match and awards 16 points to a 3-0 winner over an equally rated opponent. If the players in a match do not have equal rating (the usual case), these 16 points are modified, up or down, with 4% of the rating difference between the involved players. This means, for example, that a player rated 400 points or more above his opponent gains 0 point for a 3-0 victory (4% of 400 is 16). In addition, individual games won by the loser in a match count for 2 points each, i.e. if the same player as in the example above beats his/her opponent (rated 400 points or more below) with 3-2, he/she will in fact lose 4 points. These individual rating outcomes for each match are shown on the result sheet in the “Rating change vs.” section. (Note that all rating changes for players rated 2000 or above are cut in half, in order to make it more difficult for the highest rated players to earn bonus points).

   b) Bonus points. Players who during one Friday night gain more than 24 rating points are awarded with bonus points according to the simple principle that all gained points above 24 count twice. If the sum of someone’s rating changes from all his/her individual matches, for example, is 30 he will in fact receive 36 points. These bonus points are awarded as a measure to counter the built-in deflation (due to the fact that players improve over time) in the system. The implication of this bonus system is that it is a good idea, if you want to improve your rating fast, not only to beat better rated players, but also to try to win as many matches as possible in one evening.
    

   See the "Rating system" page for more info

6. Juniors Program.

   Contact our Club Coach Bunny Lee, for information. The current juniors program meets on Saturdays. Special fees are required to participate.

7. Pre-tournament warm-up.  Players should accommodate those who wish to do cross-table warm-up.
8. Default if leaving early. Players who leave the tournament before 9:35 (independent of the reason) will default their remaining matches (if any), given that the opponent wish to play, and the opponent will be given a rating credit of 10 points. Such default matches should be marked on the score sheet with a "3" for the winner and "def" for the loser (the one who left). After 9:35, match score involving a player who leaves early will be 0-0.
9. Manual rating adjustments. Subjective rating adjustments are often conducted for new players (approx. the 1-3 first times they play at our club) in order to reduce the impact on our collective rating caused by the subjectively assigned and often misleading initial ratings. If you are a new player, or for some other reason, feel that your rating is very misleading, feel free to notify us (directly on a Friday night or by personal email) and we will consider an adjustment. We won’t, however, adjust anyone’s rating without a good reason. Newcomers who have a USATT rating should normally use it the first time they play at our club.