Freestyling & judging: IDEA for tourney at Megaplay

[the gattchoon]

So, I've been doing some thinking about holding that DDR freestyle tournament at Megaplay in Mishawaka. Since there seems to be a willing crowd, I hope it works out.

I know the majority of players on these forums live far from Mishawaka, and the people I would ask to be judges (not many) probably want to freestyle, too. So I have a couple of questions and an idea.

1. How many freestylers are willing to come down to Megaplay to perform?
2. Would it be more appealing to people if it was a score/freestyle tourney combined?
3. When would be the best day/time (in general) to hold a tournament, since some of you work? (And also, which seasons, with some of you still in school for most of the year.)

Now, for the judging idea.

Since Mishawaka is far from the ideal spot, if enough freestylers were willing to come and perform, what do you guys think of the following idea: all performances will be recorded and put online (like on YouTube) and you guys can watch from home and vote for your favorite performer.

With the whole "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" type reality shows, I think this idea would fit in fairly well. =P

The pros to this are that:
1. A panel of judges can't be blamed for favoritism/bribing
2. I would put up a poll on here (IndyDDR) for voting so actual numbers/percentages of votes are seen and each ACTIVE member is limited to one vote only (then I can't be blamed for hoarding numbers in private =P)
3. For people who would like to see performances and don't compete but driving down to Mishawaka is an inconvenience, here you go

Of course, there would be some cons, as in people registering new accounts just to vote more, or people not voting enough, and a debate on how long the voting should last (a week, maybe?). And of course, the inevitable: the competitors still having to drive down to Mishawaka to perform/compete. Sure there will be favoritism, but at least more people have say in it.

So please, discuss! This is just a quick splurge since I'm trying to think of ways to make it convenient for some people. Help me out! =)

[Ho]

Of course you know I'm interested!

Saturdays work best for me. I don't have to worry about work and have all Sunday to recover if it's a long day and/or some distance away.

Case in point, I just went to a tournament in Louisville yesterday. Mishawaka is roughly the same distance (in the opposite direction), so I don't see any problem with heading up there for a tournament provided I have no conflicts on the date.

I have found that about one month advance notice works well. It's long enough that people can plan around it without being so far out that people forget to do so.

As for judging...the last several freestyle tournaments I've held have used a system I call Freestyle Idol. It's an elimination style voting patterned after American Idol. Each of the contestants performs and then the audience votes for their favorite(s). Each audience member may vote for as many contestants as they like but may not vote for any one person more than once per round. The contestant with the fewest votes is eliminated. Then all the contestants perform again for another round.

That's the short version. I can explain more if you like. I have previsions for ties and eliminating more than one contestant in early rounds if there are so many contestants that it would take too long otherwise.

I like this format because it has people performing more often--especially the ones who go far in the tournament. You have an opportunity to see your favorites perform 3, 4, or more times rather than just once or twice. Although this can be hard for the contestants--especially those who prefer prepared routines to improvisation.

The disadvantages are that the audience can change during the tournament, so the same people may not be voting throughout. Some rounds may have more or fewer voters. You of course have the possibility of favoritism, and showmanship usually wins since the criteria is basically whether people watching like it or not.

I think a panel of judges can be more fair if the right people are chosen and there are very specific (and objective as possible) criteria used for judging. However, arranging this is extremely difficult and issue you mention of people complaining about the judges is a very real and troublesome possibility. As a result, I've kind of shied away from that style simply to not deal with those issues.

Internet judging is an interesting idea. I don't know that I'd want to rely on it completely, but it certainly holds potential. Obviously the impression of watching a performance on video and watching it live can be very different. Also, it would be kind of a bummer for the contestants to have to wait to find out how they did. This could also make distributing prizes (if any) more difficult.

I might propose that you could do Internet judging in addition to some other system on the day of the event. Basically, award placings/prizes that day live and then have an Internet vote as sort of a "People's Choice" or "Internet Choice" later. It might be interesting to see if it turns out any different.

[x3Mamimi]

Ooh, I don't think so. I mean...
Not to be mean or anything, but you saw those kids from kokomo, they can barely play...but freestyle? I can't imagine anyone else willing enough to drive down AND that can freestyle.
It'd be like you nick brian and Jared. Lol.

[x3Mamimi]

btw!
http://www.xanga.com/MegaSDN
Lol. It's our 'DDR TEAM' site.

[Bionix]

Give me plenty of notice and i will make a appearance and my get some Ft wayners to come up as well.