tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1971967977259463444.post5417061575073871440..comments2023-10-10T11:35:02.920-04:00Comments on Terminus Est: On the subject of sportsmanship at tournamentsTerminus Esthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216648052452417162noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1971967977259463444.post-73299440704161747962010-03-17T00:13:18.952-04:002010-03-17T00:13:18.952-04:00I've seen some great examples of how to score ...I've seen some great examples of how to score sportsmanip. One method is at the end of the tourney you rank each opponent as follows. Suppose it's five games then you score your opponent whom you felt was the best sportsman 5 points. You score your opponent whom you felt was the worst sportsman a 1. Everyone else falls inbetween. I have looked at the results of this type scoring and for the most part the scores from one player tended to be the same with little variance. It's not as easy to chipmunk and you can block vote for your buddies. If possible try to make sure friends don't play each other if possible within the confines of a Swiss pairing style of system.<br /><br />Here is another good example of how to score sportsmanship. You have the following three choices to award each player:<br /><br />• My opponent was by far the best sport I have ever played. (-5)<br />• My opponent was a fair sport. (0)<br /><br />• My opponent was a poor sport. (-5)<br /><br />As a TO you know that no one player should hand out two or more +5 scores. If someone does talk to them, see who they played and tell them to be honest. Again if you see someone handing over 2 or more bagels sit down with them, talk about it and discuss these games with their opponents. It's very easy to spot block voting and chipmunking since there is relatively little middle ground. Most players should receive a zero. Very few should receive the top score. If you observe one player handing two or more bagels then have a discussion to see why. The TOs should proactively monitor these scores and this system helps the judges to spot potential shennigans. If you see one player hand out all bagels then that could be grounds for disqualification. I've DQd players before, I'm not afraid to do it and everyone is informed how the system works well ahead of time. A simple and easy to understand definition of sportsmanship should be provided so that players understand how and what they are scoring. The TOs play a huge roll and must be ever vigilant.<br /><br />Like I said when I judge I keep an eye out walking from table to table. If players seem to always have disputes with one particular person this is a big red flag. Keep an eye out and encourage players to speak during a game if they are encountering lots of problems. Be strict and apply discipline. They will love you for that.<br /><br />GTerminus Esthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216648052452417162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1971967977259463444.post-26714654553486311582010-03-16T23:33:57.517-04:002010-03-16T23:33:57.517-04:00"The anti sportsmanship maintains a firm stan..."The anti sportsmanship maintains a firm stance that some players are unscrupulous and will game the system, manipulating their opponents for high scores while at the same time chipmunking them in the process. Sure it happens but I don't think it is that big of an occurences to simply dismiss sportsmanship altogether."<br /><br />You have misunderstood everyone labeled as part of the "anti sportsmanship" camp. No one in any of the threads on Dakka is advocating dismissing sportsmanship. Rather, they are dismissing the arbitrary and subjective *quantification* of sportsmanship because it negates the legitimacy of any event billed as a competition. Conventional methods of enforcing good sportsmanship fail utterly and only open up the system for further and more egregious abuse from the same people that prompted the creation of the system in the first place.Danny Internetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01542445877929479447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1971967977259463444.post-22372451890979138102010-03-15T23:05:47.701-04:002010-03-15T23:05:47.701-04:00Thanks for your feedback Elessar. It's greatly...Thanks for your feedback Elessar. It's greatly appreciated.<br /><br />Like I said sportsmanship is a prickly topic. I was focusing on the topic of what is sportsnanship, why I think it's needed and finally how it can make you a better gamer.<br /><br />Sportsmanship is far more encompassing than a score. Refer to the definition I provided from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Sportsmanship is a state of mind. While the game is not a sport persay the concept still applies to the hobby, very much so in my opinion.<br /><br />To address your premise Personally I think the whole issue revolving around TFGs is being blown out of porportion. I do also think TFGs would rather there be no soft scores as I pointed out in detail in the original post. How to properly address the issue of TFGs is a whole nother discussion. I can start another thread so we can discuss that there and try to do it proper justice.<br /><br />I have had games against TFGs and they tank my soft scores but this is the exception generally speaking. I have found that big tournaments that are based solely on battlepoints tend to bring out the worst in people. If scoring sportsmanship makes most people consider their behaviour and how they treat their opponents then that is the basis for some merit.<br /><br />The anti sportsmanship maintains a firm stance that some players are unscrupulous and will game the system, manipulating their opponents for high scores while at the same time chipmunking them in the process. Sure it happens but I don't think it is that big of an occurences to simply dismiss sportsmanship altogether. Like I said above the proper way to handle TFGs is a whole nother discussion.<br /><br />GDoofushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10706591252633923286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1971967977259463444.post-69277374741563493232010-03-15T22:17:33.387-04:002010-03-15T22:17:33.387-04:00Sorry, but I don't agree with your lines of re...Sorry, but I don't agree with your lines of reasoning. Your article is deliberately worded in such a way that it implies the only rational way to comment is to agree, and if you don't you're TFG - you're missing the point that TFGs will also mark your Sports score down if they don't stomp you, maybe even if they do. Giving players the power to control how their opponent's do, and affect their chances of winning outside of beating/drawing with them is lame, and Epic Fail as a concept. Maybe people just didn't get caught cheating before the widespread use of Forums/Blogs?TheKing Elessarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04981821487098781957noreply@blogger.com