I tend to prefer team games to pairs, but I noticed an interesting quirk in the NAOBC multi-day pairs events. You prepay for ALL days of the event. For the 2-day pairs events starting today, you pay either $64 for the limited events, and $70 for the open.
However, you do NOT get a refund if you do not qualify into day 2. Instead, you are automatically entered into the regional one-day pairs event the following day, with the same masterpoints limits.
It looks like you pay the NAOBC+ or NAOBC rate for Day 1, then the regional event for day 2. That seems a little bit weird to me. I understand it’s much easier when BBO charges everyone the same price, up front, rather than a per-day charge. However, it seems VERY unattractive to tell players that they are required to pay for and play a one-day regional after not qualifying.
Double Consolation Game?
The three-day pairs events are set up the same way. If you do not qualify for Day 2, you are kicked into the two-day pairs event. For THAT event, if you do not qualify for Day 2, you are kicked into the one-day regional. So on that third day, it becomes the double consolation game for two different NAOBC+ / NOABC events!
First off, that should be a quite large field, for artificial reasons. It will have 75% of the field from the three-day pairs event, AND 50% of the additional field from the two-day pairs event, assuming that event attracted pairs previously not interested in the 3-day event.
Does that mean, if you ARE going to play any one-day game, pick the last day of the 3-day pairs event, which is Sunday, July 25th, for a bonanza of tables (and possibly, a biased field). Something about this feels a little bit like the Freaky KOs from two years ago…
My advice to BBO and ACBL: please let players just pay by the day on BBO for multi-day pair events. Or charge for the whole thing up front, but then refund all the pairs who do not qualify (using BBO dollars, which should be easy).
For reference, the rules on the entry fees:
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Entry Fees
Grand National Teams: Free
NAOBC+ Events (multi-day open events): $20 / player/ session
NAOBC Events (multi-day limited events): $17 / player / session
Regional events (one-day open events and one-day limited events): $15 / player / session
Purchase of entries for two-day NAOBC+ and NAOBC events will cover both the first and second days’ sessions. After the first day, those who finish in the top half of the field will automatically be entered into the two-session final. Those who finish the first day in the bottom half of the field will automatically be entered into the next day’s two-session Regional event. Regardless, participants will be charged for one day of NAOBC+ and NAOBC entry fees and one day of Regional entry fees. Those who qualify for the finals of their event will have earned a discount.
Entry to the Three-Day NAOBC+ and NAOBC events work similarly. Participants will pay for one day of NAOBC+ entry fees and two days of Regional entry fees. However, players finishing in the bottom half of the three-day NAOBC+ and NAOBC events will also have a free entry to the NAOBC+ or NAOBC Two-Day Pairs that start the next day.