In Cleveland we now have experience running a bunch of different tournament formats (match play, elim brackets, knockouts, pingolf, herb, etc.) that have been conceived and polished by many talented tournament directors before us. @PinballNarcissist’s Amazing Race format, which is really cool, is the only original format I’ve seen since I’ve started. So I’m always trying to figure out a new format we could invent to maybe give back to the community a little, and just to have a fun new way to compete.
Today I was reading about olympic weightlifting rules, and thought there might be something there that could be converted to a pinball tourney format. Here’s the most pertinent part:
Official Procedure[edit]
In each weight division, lifters compete in both the snatch and clean and jerk. Prizes are usually given for the heaviest weights lifted in each and in the overall—the maximum lifts of both combined. The order of the competition is up to the lifters—the competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting at that weight or trying a heavier weight after any other competitors have made attempts at the previous weight or any other intermediate weights. The barbell is loaded incrementally and progresses to a heavier weight throughout the course of competition. Weights are set in 1 kilogram increments. When a tie occurs, the athlete with the lower bodyweight is declared the winner. If two athletes lift the same total weight and have the same bodyweight, the winner is the athlete who lifted the total weight first.1
Basically, I think you could use a familiar qualifying round format or IFPA ranking to determine weight classes. Instead of weights, you could use scores, scores within a certain range (e.g. 100-150m on Demoman), or game-specific objective + score (clean and jerk?).
Would it be possible to run a format like this that would not just appeal to the most hardcore players?