Eola Community Center is located at 555 S. Eola Rd in Aurora, IL.  Please arrive no later than 8:30 am so you can check in, warm up and we can start your event on time. The tournament matches will start at 9:00 AM.  Please limit the warm up time between the matches to regulation 2 minutes or we will run out of time.

Parkingparkingaroundeola

The parking is all around the ECC but if you have trouble finding a spot you can park in the nearby church parking lot which is just south of ECC as shown on this satellite photo.

Check-in

When you arrive, please go to control desk so you can check in. You will need to sign the USATT waiver & release form so in case something happens to you, tournament officials or park district will not be liable for injuries. If you owe any money you will be asked to pay the balance, if we owe you money this is the time to get a refund.  The group assignments will be posted on the table so you can find out who is in your group and which table you will play on. The tables will have large numbers on them so you can locate your table easily. Here is the drawing showing the layout of the tables in the gym so you can see where your event will be played.

We will setup bleachers along the east wall and chairs along the west wall, behind the barriers so each player can leave their belongings there and stay close to the action in his/her group. Please don’t put your entire equipment bag between the tables as we are already tight on space without them.

Scoring

We will play best 3 out of 5 games matches.Each game will be to 11 points with servers changing every 2 serves. If 10:10 is reached then serves will alternate on every serve until one player wins by 2 points.

Each group will get the scoring template on a clipboard, listing all players in a group and a place to record all match results. Here is an example match score sheet we will use.

omnipongscoringtemplate

Please record the score after each game and circle winning players NAME after the match is over. Please DO NOT circle each score (e.g. 11) as it makes the number hard to read and leads to data entry mistakes.  At the last tournament some matches were not recorded at all or recorded in a wrong row.  After you complete all matches on the a sheet please bring to the control desk so we can start entering the scores.  This will allow us to quickly finish entering them when the remaining matches are completed and determine who won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Winners

It is a tradition at our tournaments to not just hand the checks/trophies but also put winners on the podium and take a picture.  This in my view provides a nice experience for the winners and allows us to distinguish ourselves from other tournaments.  Please see this tournament’s report.

Amenities

There are two water fountains in the gym, one with a filling station for reusable water bottles, so it’s best to bring your own large bottle of water and something to eat. There are soft benches just outside of a gym in the hallway and brand new chairs and small tables in the waiting area by the front desk so you can sit down and have something to eat there. Please DO NOT EAT in the gym. Park district officials warned us that this is not allowed. As I said it will be several hours of play so you may become thirsty and hungry. There are also a soft drink & lightly flavored water vending machine near the front desk and a snack machine in the hallway.