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BGonline.org Forums
Penalty points
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Penalty points (Joe Freedman)
Date: Wednesday, 24 April 2013, at 3:23 p.m.
If both players are late, yes, they should both be penalized. They are holding up the tournament. So if it is a match to 7 and they each get 2 penalty points, they can start at 2-2 and that will mean they will be less likely to hold up the tournament. If I am the director and suspect there was "collusion" that the two players simply decided they would take a longer break (which is unfair and inconsiderate) I might determine to penalize them both a point or two as well as penalize them both ON THEIR NEXT MATCH.
Do you think I'm being a prick for doing this? I think, just the opposite. I think I am being considerate to all the people who followed the rules and were held up.
When that large group came back late for dinner and didn't get penalized, it not only held up the people they played that round, but all the people the following rounds. We don't enforce penalties to "punish" people or to be nasty...we do it because it rewards those who follow the rules and because it prevents future problems and rule abuses.
Of course Brian felt bad that all those people were late and that he was partially at fault. But it didn't take brain surgery to prevent the problem. As I was walking out the door to go with the large crowd, I put the restaurant into my GPS and it said it was a 40 minute trip. EACH WAY! I was quickly able to convince the people in my car that it would not be smart to go to that restaurant. I was in the middle of a match with Ed O'Laughlin, leading 1away/4 away Crawford, and I wasn't about to take a chance on a penalty point and I wasn't about to go to dinner and rush the hell out of everyone I'm with to make sure I get back in time.
Yes, Joe, Brian and the rest felt bad and apologized profusely. Based on your comments, I guess we should change the rules and state that if you feel really bad about being late and you are sincerely sorry, there should not be a penalty.
If the rules are too strict, change the rules. But whether you like the rules or not, you have an obligation to live by them, and PARTICULARLY if you are the tournament director, you have an obligation to enforce them. It AMAZES ME that anyone can take issue with this position. But I am sure I will always be amazed by the opinions of backgammon players.
(Why can't we just save a lot of time and trouble by having everyone agree with me in the first place?)
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