| |
BGonline.org Forums
Elderly players and time clocks
Posted By: Marv Porten
Date: Sunday, 16 May 2010, at 5:42 a.m.
I was watching a clocked match at the U.S. Open involving an elderly player (I won't use his name) and his time ran out with the score 8-6 (or maybe it was 9-7) in an 11 point match. While I understand the need to avoid delays, perhaps someone can come up with a way to accommodate elderly and physically challenged players that doesn't delay the tournament. This person travelled thousands of miles, paid a $600 entry fee, and incurred hotel and airplane expenses. The backgammon community should be able to find a solution that would encourage similar players to continue playing in backgammon tournaments and not feel that they are throwing money away.
I'd like to toss out a couple of ideas for consideration: (1) When possible, and with the consent of their opponents, elderly or physically challenged players can start their matches earlier than the scheduled starting time, and clock use doesn't start until the scheduled starting time (in other words, they play for a while without the clock running); (2) If it appears that the elderly or physically challenged player is close to running out of time, the director is called. In the director's discretion additional time can be added (for both players) if it won't delay the tournament (for example, it might be a third round match, and the fourth round doesn't start until the next day).
I'm sure that some people will have better ideas, and some people will argue for no changes at all. Either way, I think it's a subject that should be discussed.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.