Bagnell—-Wild Tournament (Elimination)

The Bagnell-Wild tournament is a special type of elimination tournament that
makes possible a more accurate picking of the second and third places. In the
tournament showing the technique of seeding, Fig. 2, team G won the championship.
It is possible that team G eliminated from competition some team that is better ©
' than team A, the other finalist. For this reason, all the teams that were beaten
by team G previous to the championship game are placed in a new elimination
tournament to see who shall play A for second place. In this case teams H, F,
and C were defeated in the order named. H, F, and C play as shown in the drawing,
Fig. 2A, and the winner plays team A for second place.: Team C wins and is crowned
the second place winner even though it was eliminated in the third round of the
original tournament. Since C is the second place winner, it is possible that
team C defeated some team that is better than team A. Since team I is the only
other team beaten by C, team I and team A must play for the third place. Team I
wins, making team I third and team A, which went to the finals, really in fourth
place in the tournament.

Double Elimination Tournaments

The double elimination tournament has the advantage that each team must be
defeated twice before it is out of the running, thus providing more play for the
contestants. Figure 4 shows such a tournament drawn for sixteen teams. It is
cumbersome to work out, but once blanks have been provided, this tournament is
as easy to administer as any other. As drawn, it is necessary to play thirty or.
thirty-one games, depending on the number of games necessary in the final play-
off. If team 14 had lost to team 8 the second time they played, it would have
been necessary to have another contest before team 8 was eliminated the second
time. An eight team double elimination can be played by using the top half of
the drawing and taking team 3 back to the right for play with team &.

Ladder Tournament

Ladder tournaments provide for continuous competition and are never really
completed. A group of people or teams, for example 8, wish to participate in an
activity. Drawings are made and the eight names are placed on pegs, nails, or
suspended between two uprights like the rounds of a ladder, one above the other.
Play is started by issuing a challenge to the team above. If the challenger wins,
the two teams trade places. By challenging and winning, a team or player can work
to the top, and after the tournament has continued for some time, the teams
naturally arrange themselves on the basis of quality from the top down. This type
of tournament must have set rules about playing dates, etc. A group of poor
sports would soon ruin this method of play. Some of the usual rules provide for:

1. Play within 48 hours after a challenge.

a. After a challenger has been defeated, he must play some one else before
rechallenging above.

3. A challenge may be for two places above. (This enables a good team to
get to the top faster.)

4. The top team shall not have to defend its position more often than once
‘a week.

5. After a team has been challenged, it must play, instead of issuing a
challenge to the team above itself.