Tournament organization, how to not go crazy

eating an elephant
one bite...

I like how tops3 ran cars as they arrived.  Not much more random than that.
no qualifying
GTR did shorts for qualifying (I didn't like that as much) but thats another option

I have thought about qualifying as the host using best lane,
and if the car doesn't make it,
go to a B main (cough GTR fix my car for the b main option in play)...lol

but, even though I have never hosted, I have tought alot about it

when it comes down to it, you are the host
and, well, only 4 (2) can run at any time,

just settle back and sling them, and communicate to all of us

setbacks happen, but we are all pullin' for ya'
and the track looks amazing

dr

As a first time Host I took a Picture of every entry as they came in, Visual reference. As well as grouped them as they came in. Posting the pictures and filing them in Comp for reference if needed, Keeping them in the 6 pack display till Race time. Having a couple of note books to keep things straight helps a Lot! The Bone Shaker Race is coming up Fast and will do the same with a Showing of entries. Not as many cars as you are expecting but this has helped me a  bunch to keep things in order. Small stickers on the Belly is a Good idea.

The largest tournament I've run was the DIRS that had 32 cars but it ran across 8 tracks in the two different countries, so making sure we never lost a car, not damaged etc was key.

I kept a spreadsheet of all the groups (they varied at each track) and the total points for each car and the cars were all kept in the same container for the whole thing. It was essentially a couple of clear plastic sewing/craft type kits that had a spacer where you would fit one car per slot and some padding. We kept photos with the cars with the driver name etc, that was super helpful because there were a few that looked quite similar.

That worked really well, but you just have to be organised.

Here's the playlist if you want to see it all youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjHfp56kTNditZVu_UzKShwN66h7RfyfT&si=q6xmKhWjyq_z2oR8

It's not easy man. I am in the middle of filming a main in race right now that has about 42 cars. It's a stock Matchbox tournament and a lot of the entries are using the same casting in the same colors.... so its very easy to mix them up. I made a printout of all the team names and made a few copies, then cut out the names to place them next to the cars before they raced. After they do there laps, I put the cars not moving on right back in the box they came from and keep the team tags with the cars moving on. It's not a great system, but its working for me.

With over 100 cars to manage, first I would start with a couple of stiff drinks and the nwait for a genius idea to come to me...

Good luck 

I never ran a race that large but even 64 was a headache. To help keep things together, I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of these little square bins. Then put the car(s) in each one with their entry ticket. It helped a ton. Take out car...race...put car back in...

If people sent in special cases or whatever else, I would keep that entirely separate on a table and well labeled so they'd get stuff back. But I tried to use the bins as much as possible.

Taking photos as things arrive is certainly not a bad idea, so long as you have a method for keeping those nicely labeled so you can find things for returning.

I'm still new as well. Something I do is a lot with what others are saying. When I get the cars, I notate by either a picture with the package or leaving some of the redline derby entry forms with their packages. The cars I put into a bin with the other half of their form. I got a bin from hobby lobby for about $10 that holds 50 cars. Make sure both forms have the car type and driver for reference, and take a picture of the bin with the cars in them for latter on when you forget what car went where. The rest of how you will qualify and bracket them out is up to you. But the most important thing is get organized before you even start opening them like a kid on christmas morning! Hats off to ya! 

Godbless Christian

As of Today these are the contestants i have. Thanks for all advice. Had to get my retired dad involved.  He loves making spreadsheets. 

Spreadsheets for the win!

This is what I used for doing the time trials for the KotM I'm hosting for the people I work with.

I also had all the cars lined up in order along the finish line and rotated them as the groups ran. This might be unique to my track but it worked out well. Most people submitted cars in the blister packs so it was easy to tape the entry slips to them to keep track of who is who later.

Maybe in a small way this can help... I edited the RLD form to allow the addition of a picture under the address box. That way I can include a picture on the form to link the car and address without any extra burden on the host... I take the pics anyway, so a simple change I am making to help keep track. I also put two forms on one sheet to cut down on the paper...

I've just started last year and decided to take on around 400 cars including around 60 internationals.

I bought a heap of plastic containers that hold 12 cars each and have put the details such as driver name, team, weight in with each car and move them to a new container with all the winners of that section of the season.

You'll also have the cars kinda burned in your memory as you will see them again and again whilst editing. 

I also have a book with each race, lap times and results with the winners highlighted for easy reference. 

I also write on top of the containers, what race/round so I don't get lost and that's worked really well.

The season has taken over 12months so I feel your anxiety. 

I also am ahead in recording and editing wich takes A LOT of pressure off.

If you have any other questions please reach out.

Cheers Lee (Larry Mainline)

Everyone's tips and suggestions have been awesome.  Much appreciated.  The general support has helped. Now I feel more pressure to do a good job.                    I'm looking forward to the experience and can't wait for the controlled chaos to begin.     This Beetle Bonanza is going to be wild. 

You can do it!!