What are the rules on Comp Entry?
I just played in an event where the following situation arose:
The flier stated that Masters get a comp entry and next to it, it says: contact TD for details.
So I sign up for the tournament and talk to the TD he says I get the comp entry and no other specifics.
I wake up the morning of the tournament I am sick, throw up, have bad headache, but feel an obligation to play. I show up play first round and win. I feel even worse than when the tournament started and decide to leave. I notified the assistant TD’s/organizers.
The chief TD then comes up to me as I am leaving and asks me to pay the entry because I did not complete the event, saying that the rules state that I must pay if I do not complete the event. Then I make the arguement it was never stated anywhere and when I called him. the TD, to enter it was never mentioned. .
The question I have is even if I was not sick and decided to leave, by USCF rules do I have to pay the EF?
The argument they made was that:
It was in the rules and is common knowledge that comp EF implies you finish tournament or pay EF.
On the flier it was posted contact TD for details. (Note: I contacted TD to enter and it was never mentioned)
The two problems that I see are #1: I do not see this in the rulebook anywhere and #2: based on their logic of just writing “contact TD for details” and not telling the masters the conditions when they sign up. They can just make up rules and say that was part of the deal. Based on my knowledge of the rules the conditions must be posted somewhere.
Just a note one of the organizers came up and said I did not have to pay. They were nice to me and I appreciate it.
I don’t think there are any USCF rules regarding comp entries, except those regarding prizes and prize funds.
One reason why organizers may want you to contact them in advance is because that way they can use your participation as a drawing card for paid entries. That may also be why they initially reacted to your withdrawal that way.
Yes, I understand the reaction part, but what I am wondering is if it came down to it and they insisted I pay. Would I have to pay? Or is that at the organizers discretion?
What do you mean by “have to”? Could you be sued for it in Small Claims? Unlikely. Would you have to pay in order to enter the organizer’s next tournament? If he pressed the point, yes. Would the USCF treat it like a bad check and consider suspending you if the organizer complained? I very much doubt it, but I don’t think the question has ever come up.
You could offer not to identify publicly the TD who is attempting to extort money from you, and the organization for which he directs tournaments, if he in turn goes away and stops bothering you.
No, the organizers were very nice about it and nothing really happened. I have great respect for the people who ran the tournament.
I am just wondering hypothetically if they did press the point in terms of USCF rules what the case would be. I would think that USCF somehow has guidelines for this sort of thing. If a tournament is USCF rated, players and organizers have certain duties and rights.
The reason I ask is more along the lines of what rfeditor brought up.
Say they insisted I play or pay, otherwise they would not let me play in future tournaments. (I would pay before draging something little like this to small claims )
This would bring up a totally diffrent rule which states that you cannot prevent a USCF member in good standing from playing in a tournament unless they have broken the code of ethics, I think this is for people who leave tournaments without letting the TD know and worse.
By this reasoning it is illegal by USCF rules for an organizer/TD to demand that the person pay the entry, unless it was clearly spelled out somewhere in advance or when the comp entry was given. Because they would be breaking that old rule about discriminination or something like this.
Again this is just hypothetical, I am a new TD/organizer and wondering what the rules on this are.
That reasoning won’t work. A free entry is a privilege, not a right. An organizer can charge any entry fee he wants, and he can structure it any way he wants. If you don’t like it, your recourse is simple: Don’t play in his tournaments.
And no, there is no USCF rule about allowing players “unless they have broken the code of ethics.” There is DACI-28(5)(h), which forbids “(a)ttempting to interfere with the rights of any USCF member, such as by barring someone from entering a USCF-sanctioned event for personal reasons.” Refusal to pay is not a “personal reason.” A comp entry is not a “right.”
Taken literally, your argument would imply that an organizer would have to admit a player who simply refused to pay any entry fee or membership. I assure you that’s not going to happen.
I agree that the organizer screwed up in this case by not stating the terms of his comp entries clearly enough. It would be foolish of him to attempt to collect under these circumstances, and you’ve indicated that he’s not going to. But this is a purely local matter between players and organizer. Trying to “federalize” it is a really bad idea.
Yes, Free Entry is a priveledge for the player granted by the Organizer. On the other hand there is still the requirement that the Organizer adhere to what is printed in the TLA. That was the issue with the Miami Open tournament listed in other posts. I have seen tournaments with Free Entry, but with the EF deducted from any prize won. I have seen tournaments with Free Entry, but only up to a specific date. I have seen tournament with Free Entry and no other requirements, except meeting a rating requirement for the Free Entry. It has been a long time since I last saw a TLA where the Free Entry required the playing of all rounds! As the flyer [i.e. advertisement] stated you were to contact the TD, then if any information was not given by the TD you would not be held accountable. In such a case it is likely that a court of law would be on your side. Of course in such an instance you could always threaten to counter-sue for false advertisement.
A good Organizer should try to work with the players to make tournaments enjoyable.
At my club I offer free entry for masters. Sometimes they do not play all of the rounds. The lower rated players are usually just happy for the opportunity to play them for as many rounds as possible and I would never charge a master for dropping out early.
If an organizer offers masters an appearance fee (not just a free entry), the shoe might be on the other foot. It is reasonable to expect a player receiving an appearance fee to actually appear, in every round. Quite different from a free entry.
In many of local tournaments, the master(s) are most likely to win one of the top prizes. In other words, they get a free entry to compete for what amounts to a nearly guaranteed payday. For these small local events, I think there is at least an implied requirement for the master to play in all rounds, unless the organizer excuses him or her. This differs from large tournaments where Grandmasters receive free entry, but still have to pay their travel expenses and aren’t even guaranteed to win something.
(Note: This implied requirement is hardly enforceable in court. However, an organizer is well within his rights to ban free entries who drop out without permission or explanation. I know organizers who ban unexcused drop outs regardless of whether they are masters.)
One would be inclined to think reason and common sense would enter at some point. If a player is ill, attempts to fulfill his obligation, but becomes sicker as the tournament progresses. It would seem the TD and the other Players would realize this distress, and have some air of sympathy. I can not imagine anyone wanting to force a player to continue under those circumstances, or be exposed to the possible virus. Just my take on it.
Someone screwed up - either the person who thinks “it’s common knowledge” or the person who failed to explain the rules when he was contacted (perhaps he thought they were “common knowledge”).
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