2016 Aurora Summer Open Results

2016 Aurora Summer Open attracted 91 players – 15 fewer than last year.  Nonetheless it was a successful tournament as far as mid summer tournaments go.  This is because, they are notoriously hard to fill  due to many players being on vacation.  In the end 57 players from IL participated but we also had players from WI (14), IA (5), OH (5), IN (3), MI (3) and even HI (1).

Only 2 spots were left unfilled in pre-6 pm events and 12 in the 6 pm events which are less popular due to their late starting time on Sunday.  Also, 8 new players joined USATT.

The tournament operations ran smoothly thanks to the following individuals:

• Michael Curry and Adam Koziel – who sacrificed their Saturday evening to setup tables and barriers in record time – 7 – 10 pm.
• John and Jim Brandt who put finishing touches on this setup in the morning
• Andrew Moy who checked in players through out the tournament and umpired several matches.
• Zach Moy who ran the control desk, entered scores and scheduled matches so as to minimize scheduling conflicts and let players go home as early as possible.
• Fox Valley Park District which made the gym available Saturday night and let us complete almost all setup the day before.

Take down of equipment was accomplished with the help from Mang-Yu Wang, Michael Curry.

I would like to thank all of the above individuals for making this tournament a great experience for participants.  You can read comments from players at the end.

While there were delays in individual round robin groups – sometimes as much as 20 minutes –  most groups started on time.  The last match ended at 9:15 and take down was finished at 10:50 pm.

Sponsors

I want to thank our sponsor Paddle Palace for providing this tournament with best quality balls – 3 star white Nittaku plastic balls – same as will be used at the next World Championship.  They proved to be very resilient and we only lost 5 of them due to breakage.

Results

The matches between Lester Lee, Artur Kurek and Xiyao Song – the top 3 seeds in Open Singles and U-2400 events – provided a lot of excitement to spectators.  Lots can be learned from watching these top players play.  Some matches were also recorded for post tournament analysis.

Results were published on OmniPong Monday evening to allow players to review them.  Reports and results were also sent to USATT for processing at the same time.  However, due to missing personal data and one USATT membership payment, the results were not processed until Wednesday morning.  If you like to see how your USATT rating has changed please visit this page.

Pictures

Here are the pictures of winners in the order in which the events were completed.

Comments

I asked for constructive feedback and here are the comments I got. Thank you all who took time to write this feedback.

Hi,

My feedback would be that the sound system for announcements was either inadequate or properly operated. It was almost impossible to understand on the other side of the gym. Also, I am a professional sound tech. I would be happy to give you some pointers on using your existing system or pointing you towards a more adequate system.

Also, the reflections from the Windows were really bad off the tables in the morning, but I think their shades were drawn later in the day, and that helped a lot.

Thanks,

Jered Shilling

Swavek,

It looks like I am down for a third in the U1400 which I didn’t enter. Glancing at the brackets, it appears that it should be Christopher Chin.

Thanks for a fantastic job as usual,
Ken Robbins

Hi Swavek,

Firstly i would like to appreciate you for being very prompt in conducting this, especially for a first timer like me, it was helpful. I got all the information i was looking for. Right from calling me after i entered the event and attending my call today morning to patiently explain the result process.
Looking forward to play if there is one by end of July.

Thanks and Regards,
Muthu.S

Hi Swavek,

I checked the result, nothing wrong with mine. The tournament was perfect for me, so I don’t have any feedback that will help.

Thank you for providing the chance for us to enjoy the game, I really appreciate it, and I am looking forward to the next tournament.

Regards,

Sixing Zheng

having more events for lower rated players in the afternoon appealed to me. the giant round robins are a simple solution to complaints by players of too much spread in points among players, and, if they are more successful than bracketed events, you should just run those. with the giant round robins you will always have the issue of people backing out because they are at the top of a draw, and, are obsessed with points. in my opinion, bracketed with restrictions will be harder for you to fill brackets unless you have a real good feel for who will sign up. perhaps optimal would be a restriction cutoff, where if a bracket is not filled before the last week of sign up, players not meeting the restrictions but wanting to enter are let in based on their ratings (sounds like too much work, back to giant round robins). if you are easily filling giant round robins, you should just run those. no need to get financial support for the tournament to satisfy those wanting to play against stronger (but not too strong) players for experience and enjoyment and willing to pay.
enjoyed the tournament,
bill

Swavek,

Thanks for the email. My results are correct. I think all three of my events started on time which was great. Even though I was the last match of the night, I am not sure how it could’ve gone any faster. I thought it was a great time.

Thanks for all your hard work,

Jim G

Everything correct. Always enjoy your tournament. Only problem I had was extreme glare from the windows on table closer to the control table. So much glare I could hardly see the ball. Was always hitting off side of my racket or off center. Missed very easy shots even . If those Windows could be covered would help quality of play a lot. Thanks.

Sonny H.

Thanks a lot Swavek for uploading the results so quickly. The results of my matches look correct.

Please find below my feedback on the tournament operations which you could include on your report.

I should say it was a well organized tournament with clear schedule and communication about the matches. The venue was very nice and spacious. The ambiance was good.

Thanks to you and all other tournament organizers for the great arrangements

Viswa

Swavek,

The tournament was fine and the results looked good. I don’t have anything to complain about. Really enjoyed the games anyway. Thanks for organizing the event!

Sent from my iPad (Kaibai Liu)

Thank you, We loved it, It was our first tournament in the USA. My son kenai won 2 out of three games in the 1000 or less and he is only eight I personally think he did great. we will be waiting for his rating.

My son Itziar Rios won 3 out of three games in the 1600 or less and he is only 12 I personally think he did great. we will be waiting for his rating.

Once again Thank you and we hope if we can to compete again in Aurora and visit the club.

Pablo kenai’s and Itziar’s father.

Hi Swavek,

Conclusion

Thank you all who participated in this tournament.  I hope you liked it enough to sign up for the next one on October 1st, 2016.

Tournament Organizer

Swavek Lorenc

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