Tourney Director Orientation

Welcome to tourney hosting at iPlay.  We have a wonderful group of Ops and players here. We hope that you will enjoy your time here with us as much as we do. Our Dept is called Club/Ladder Admin Liaison. 

The CLAD staff is in the Club Admin lobby from 12 Noon CST to 11 pm CST - 7 days a week to assist you.  Please utilize these services.  Should your question not be answered, lobby staff submit your question/concern or you may e-mail the appropriate administrative staff below:

Cactus_Flower - Administrator 

simply_sweet - (L.O.A.)

jade1255 -  trainer

CreamPuff - (L.O.A.)

Now that you have the above contacts, please keep in touch with us with your questions. The owners of iPlay prefer that all club issues come to us. They stay very busy with our programming and server needs, and in most cases, we can answer your questions.  You are always welcome to e-mail any of us with any questions or concerns.

          All hosts conducting Open events at iPlay MUST
     review the TD Orientation information and complete
     the certification process.  Trainer/Club Owner must
     advise Cactus_Flower that trainee is ready to
     test.  Trainee then fills out the Request for
     Certification form and you will be contacted by
     country_flower@iplay.net to set up a time a testing
     time. Test time will only be arranged when BOTH
     notification from Trainer/Owner and test application
     have been received.  ONLY a test given by CLAD will be acceptable.

hosting policy

Effective February 10, 2002, it will be required for all hosts, training, junior or certified, to have their TD Verification form on file with iPlay Club Admin department prior to holding any open events without a certified TD opped with them. Should a Verification submit be returned to you for corrected or more complete answers, that host will not be eligible to hold events without a certified TD present and opped with them until they have submitted a completed, correct form which has been accepted by the Club Admin department.

All certified hosts are required to have a Verification form submit on file in order to hold open events in Iplay.  Should you change or add clubs that you host for, notification from the the club owner must be received prior to holding events for the new club.  Club owners are required to keep their staff listing up to date via e-mail notifications to Club Admin department.

Hosts in training are required to have a certified host from the club (trainer or owner) with them during events until they have completed their training and are certified with the Verification form on file.  It is best for the trainer/owner to op up with the host in training so that all players and Iplay staff know that they are in compliance with this policy.

The earlier you can be in your lobby, the better, as players at Iplay like to sign up about an hour in advance, then leave and return at start time. Iplay Host Policy is that you must be in your lobby and Opped no later than 30 minutes before start time. Please read over the entire Policy at under that tab. Club Admin staff verify host shows by 30 minutes prior with lobby checks.

Hosts are not permitted to change the format of their game from what is listed on the schedule.

Tools available to assist hosts in running their events are iPTourney, Lobby Commands, and all pages incorporated by reference with hints, tips and training for all TDs.

important pages and information

Please bookmark the club page http://clubs.iplay.net in your browser Favorites. You will refer to it often. You should also bookmark the Tourney Schedule.  Please make sure you read all information in each of these pages to ensure you understand all policies and procedures. 

the following is general policy and procedural information

Pay particular attention to the ads and Winner’s banners run in Main. Any break in this policy and your tourney will be deleted from the schedule. There are exceptions, ie. new hosts, mistakes happen.  If a host turns an inappropriate or longer than 5 line macro{ -- 3 warnings ONLY!-- }will have the tourney removed from the schedule for 2 weeks, with no guarantee that the same slot will be available to re-post the event.  All macros that are run in any iPlay lobby other than a private club lobby are limited to a 5 line maximum.  There are no exceptions to this rule. To avoid an accidental macro, it is best to close all lobbies except your own once you find out the Op name on duty. SNAPS will be taken and sent to Owner of Club, CLAD, & Hospitality.

For Open events, same format games cannot be scheduled at the same time with exception of prime time hours of 6-12 PM CST, when 2 same game formats are allowed. There is a maximum of 3 same game events allowed per hour.  This does not apply to Spurs or "Members Only" clubs or events, such as TOC's. Refer to the club policy page for additional scheduling information.  You may schedule your tourneys at any time and they will be posted on the "Members Only" Schedule. Members Only and League events do NOT get advertised, nor are hosts allowed to advertise in iPlay lobbies.

Hosts may not run tourney ads if the auto ad spitter is working. Rarely is it out of order. Your tourney ad will run on the following schedule: 60, 30, 15, 10, 5 minutes prior to start time. The ads run in Main, Ranking and Social lobbies.   Starting at 5 minutes before (when the last ad is run for an open event) up until 10 minutes after the on the hour start time of an open event, the TD may request players to fill tables/teams by sending an op message (omsg) to the hospitality sysop in the Main lobby.  When sending your omsg to the sysop in Main include the number of players needed (or general request of "players needed") as well as the game being played, club and lobby where the event is being held.

Example:  #omsg (main op) 3 players needed for (game) in (club) (lobby).

If you think your ad is not running, go to the Club Admin lobby to watch for your ad. Again, this is a very rare occurrence for the auto ads to not be working. The best way to see if the ads are running is to open the Club Admin lobby and watch for them.  This lobby is slow on chat and it is easy to see the ads whereas in Main, the amount of chat you see makes it scroll faster and you may miss it.

If you are requesting a sub for an event, make sure you include all relevant information in your omsg to the Main lobby.  If a player leaves an even in progress prior to their completing their game(s) the TD may omsg the player:

Example: #omsg (player nick) please return to X lobby the event is not over. 

Under no circumstance is any staff member to pursue a player into any other lobby and address that player's leaving the event in open lobby.  The TD should request the player(s) return and/or request a sub to fill the seat needed. 

A word about the use of OMSG command.  TDs are expected to show respect to players and staff at all times by keeping their omsg's polite and respectful.  Disrespectful omsg messages sent to iPlay staff, club staff or players will not be tolerated.  Omsgs are NOT to be used in place of IM's or ipTalks for private chatting.  They are to be used when running events, requesting assistance,  training purposes, etc.  Remember that all club staff AND iPlay administrative staff see your messages.

all tourney directors / hosts

All banners and ads that are run in any iPlay lobby other than a private club lobby are limited to a 5 line maximum.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  Be advised that macros for winners banner or tourney ads that exceed the 5 line limit will result in 3(three) warnings then that event will be removed from the schedule for 2 weeks, without a guarantee spot will still be there.

At the end of the Open tourneys, the host may run a 5 line ad in Main lobby—ONE time. The only info this should contain is the tourney name, host name, Winners & Runners-up. No club advertising is allowed such as web addy, etc. This banner is limited to 5 lines, which include any decorative lines preceding or following the text. Design this banner however you want, but do not exceed line length or limit, and run it ONCE.   

Example:    

                line 1)            <*>*<*><*>*<*><*>*<*><*>*<*> 

                line 2)            Pegasus Club Spades Tourney 

                line 3)                   Winners: Bobby/Mary 

                line 4)                         RU: Ed/Jerry

                line 5)               WTG all & ty for playing!!!! 

A word about macros: If your nick is long, your macro lines will have to be much shorter, as there are only so many characters per line in the lobby. A long nick with the example above would go beyond the 5 line limit and spill over.  Please practice running your banner in an empty lobby and have someone else look at it.  Sometimes you have to shorten the winner’s names or club name to make it fit, or consider a shorter nick for yourself.  Also, if you adjust your screen size to a wider/larger window, it may look ok to you, but not when viewed with the default lobby size.

You may use the same design for a back up Lobby ad should the ads not be running. Always verify with the staff on duty in the lobby to find out if the ads are actually not running.  You may have just missed it. Each line should be fairly short in order to get the best eye appeal. Long lines and too much text spill over and end up broken up or too "busy" looking and makes it hard for players to read. Keep it concise. 

Example:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pegasus Club Spades--Mirrors

8 PM CST in Maiden Lobby

Host: Funnyman ICQ # 00000000

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Make sure you are familiar with all
policies and procedures on all pages.

Do not submit a Club Policy Certification request form
if you have not been directed to do so by your club owner/trainer.