Water Warfare Tournament Brainstorming

[isoaker]

Ok.. this topic has been thrown around a lot in various ways, but while the possibility of organizing one remains low, part of the issue is exactly what needs to be organized were one to host a water warfare tournament.

That said, here are some questions I have and would like members' input on their ideas and/or preferences.

Let's say you could organize an open-registration publicly announced water warfare tournament. Consider the following questions:

Would there be a registration fee? If so, how much?
How long would the tournament be? An afternoon? A whole day? Multiple days?
Team warfare or individual free-for-all-style combat or other? If teams, what size teams?
What would be the maximum number of participants be?
What type(s) of games would be played? OHK? OHS? CTF? Other?
What is the size of battle ground per game?
What scoring/tagging system would be used? Honor? Tag devices?
Apart from being the best of the competition, would there be a formal prize?

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Of course, there are plenty more possible questions that need addressing, but the above are some of the major ones. Some details like game duration end up being determined by how long the overall tournament can run and how players are organized. Size of playing field per game determines how large the overall tournament area size needs to be. If there is any sort of prize, non-Player referees are pretty much a must.

Anyhow, feel free to share your ideas on some or all of the questions above. Perhaps if a good and reasonable tournament idea can be pieced together, it may become easier to find those actually able to organize something if given a set of requirements. At present, while most would love to participate in a water warfare tournament, few can actually say what is needed to really set on up properly. Consider this thread a means to work on solving at least the organization issue.

[SEAL]

Hmm... I'll gladly offer my opinion.

Would there be a registration fee? If so, how much? Definitely not. Water warfare should be free for everyone.
How long would the tournament be? An afternoon? A whole day? Multiple days? Probably a whole day.
Team warfare or individual free-for-all-style combat or other? If teams, what size teams? Maybe both. Teams sizes should depend on the amount of people.
What would be the maximum number of participants be? However many people can show up I guess.
What type(s) of games would be played? OHK? OHS? CTF? Other? What does OHS stand for? I'd say a variety of different games throughout the day.
What is the size of battle ground per game? As big as possible for the amount of people.
What scoring/tagging system would be used? Honor? Tag devices? Probably tag devices, but ones that cover a player's whole chest and maybe back.
Apart from being the best of the competition, would there be a formal prize? I definitely think there should be a prize, but it might not always be possible.

I would really love to see a water warfare league. I'd come to as many tournaments as possible.

[isoaker]

Would there be a registration fee? If so, how much? Definitely not. Water warfare should be free for everyone.

While water warfare should be free for everyone, when talking about holding tournaments, there are quite a number of possibilities for external costs depending on what is being arranged. When a large enough group of people are gathered, one often needs permits, possible security, etc. Also need people to man booths, referee, etc. Might be possible to do through a volunteer basis, but just want to be sure you are considering the scope of your imagined event. Registration fees could be something trivial, say $1, and put towards pizza at the end. ..of course, if there's corporate sponsorship, perhaps registration fees could be waived.

[martianshark]

Would there be a registration fee? If so, how much?
How long would the tournament be? An afternoon? A whole day? Multiple days?
Team warfare or individual free-for-all-style combat or other? If teams, what size teams?
What would be the maximum number of participants be?
What type(s) of games would be played? OHK? OHS? CTF? Other?
What is the size of battle ground per game?
What scoring/tagging system would be used? Honor? Tag devices?
Apart from being the best of the competition, would there be a formal prize?

1. Yes. I would probably charge about $5 to raise money for prizes.
2. Probably several days; It would take that long for all the teams to compete.
3. Probably teams; about 3-6 people each team.
4. Unlimited. I would have teams battle each other to narrow down the winners.
5. Probably mostly 1HK and capture the flag.
6. A good-sized park with different areas and stuff would be good.
7. I've heard of water war vests. We would probably use those.
8. Yes. The entry fees would used used to get a big gun or something.

[SEAL]

Well, that's a point, but it shouldn't be any more than $5 USD.

I don't really know if any of these events would be that big though. Who would be organizing them anyway? I suppose that if water warfare became recognized as a sport, we might get more of a turnout, but until then, I don't think we should have fees.

The prizes can be anything from a trophy, to a rare CPS blaster or even a pre-built homemade.

[HBWW]

- $10 per team of 4 sounds reasonable and would be good to help the event move around better without being too much money to turn people down.
- Definitely multiple days.
- 4v4 team games where the winning team moves up on the hiearchy. Up to 8 or 16 teams depending on how many people there are.
- Gridded T-shirts standardized, 4 solid squares to kill. (Must be in 2x2 pattern.) Refs ensure fair play. CTF could be a good standard game, but a standard deathmatch/soakmatch/(whatever you want to call it) would also be good. I'd be less for elimination based games, but those could work too.
- Up to 8 or 16; 4v4 games.
- Both teams have to select a set of battlefields that they have access to and could meet-up and play in. Amongst these battlefields, both teams will tour particular fields of interest, and a poll will be taken amongst both teams to vote. If there is a dispute where one team votes for one battlefield and the other team votes for another, then a random 3rd field must be selected by the tournament "authorities". All teams must have a chance to get a thorough understanding of the battlefields before playing. There are no size, cover, nor other restrictions (other than safety and avoiding public situations) on the battlefields. If both teams agree on a battlefield but disagree on its borders, then a tournament "authority" will decide the borders for them, aiming for two to four acres worth of playing area.
- Referees are ALWAYS needed in competitive situations, no exceptions. I would also be fore gridded T-shirts as they are more percise and show water splotches more easily without being excessively restricting on where players may be hit. Players with backpacks will need to have a large gridded tag (such as a cloth) placed on the backpack which follows the same rules; 4 filled squares in 2x2 patter equals elimination. Grids are 2 square centimeters each.
- Blaster limitations: Must use clean water sources. Blaster problems do not excuse a team or player from a game; all teams and team members are responsible for their blasters and any equipment needed for water supplying. (Water must be provided by battlefield, but if no water is available on the field, then it must be prepared beforehand.) Water only; no gimmicks such as coloring or ooze are allowed. Water balloons and spongeballs are also permitted (balloons must be cleaned up after match(es)); WBL's may be permitted with regulations on safety, and WBL's are not allowed on smaller fields. (< 1 acre)
- Yes. The prize may be a water blaster (CPS/Monster line only) or perhaps, if good equipment is available, a water warfare themed statue/trophy of some sort. Most likely that won't be possible though.

[isoaker]

For duration, seems like members are preferring a tournament to run for multiple days. Are you guys thinking 2-3 days or possible week-long tournaments?

Scoring is always a tricky thing with water warfare, but since referees are pretty much a given, should be easier to avoid cheating and having Players following the rules. That said, the number of referees needed depends both on the number of Players per game as well as the size of the battlefields. The problem with having referees is that their presence may unintentionally give away Player locations during a game so need to be wary of that.

[martianshark]

I would have it go for a week, I guess. But if there weren't very many teams, we would only need a couple days.

[HBWW]

If the refs are deliberately moving around as to give away other players' positions, that's a problem in and of itself. Obviously, refs also need to wear distinguished clothing.