Resources
Tournament organisation guides
27 practical articles for tournament organisers — from choosing the right bracket format to running a full event day. Focused on combat sports but applicable to any format.
Sport guides5 guides
Judo tournament guide
Weight categories, IJF competition systems, repechage, mat requirements, draw procedure, and how long a judo event takes.
Updated May 2026
Judo scoring system
Ippon, waza-ari, yuko, shido penalties, golden score, and how scores are recorded on the scoreboard and used in pool tiebreakers.
Updated Jun 2026
Hansoku-make — match vs tournament disqualification
What hansoku-make means, the difference between match and tournament disqualification, how shidos accumulate, and what it means for brackets.
Updated Jun 2026
Wrestling tournament guide
Freestyle and Greco-Roman: weight categories, mat dimensions (12×12 m), competition format, match duration by age group, officials, and a planning checklist.
Updated May 2026
Taekwondo tournament guide
WT weight categories, kyorugi competition format, PSS equipment, repechage, court requirements, draw procedure, and how long a taekwondo event takes.
Updated May 2026
Planning13 guides
How to run a tournament
A step-by-step walkthrough of planning, registrations, draw, schedule, and day-of execution for a local or regional tournament.
Updated May 2026
Choosing a tournament venue
Competition area, warm-up space, changing rooms, spectator capacity, technical requirements, parking, and a full venue checklist.
Updated May 2026
Tournament staffing
Which roles you need, how many people each requires, how staffing scales from a club event to a national competition, and how to brief your team.
Updated May 2026
Tournament budget planning
Fixed vs variable costs, typical cost ranges, how to calculate the entry fee needed to break even, other income sources, and common budget mistakes.
Updated May 2026
Tournament marketing & media
Communication timeline, social media strategy, press contacts, press release writing, participant information email, and a full marketing checklist.
Updated May 2026
Sponsorship & partners
How to structure sponsor packages, approach local businesses, set up hotel and transport partnerships, activate sponsors on event day, and secure repeat sponsors.
Updated May 2026
Estimating tournament duration
How to calculate total matches, account for changeovers and warm-up time, and avoid scheduling overruns on event day.
Updated May 2026
Livestreaming your tournament
Cameras, OBS, bandwidth requirements, streaming platforms, music copyright rules, commentary tips, and services for sharing per-match video after the event.
Updated Jun 2026
Arena presentation and decoration
Roll-up banners, sponsor walls, table skirting, flowers, national flags, podium setup, and how to dress a tournament venue to look professional on event day.
Updated Jun 2026
Kata competition
What kata is, individual vs pair vs group formats, how judging works, planning a kata event, and how kata competition differs from fight competition across sports.
Updated Jun 2026
Team competition in combat sports
How team events work: weight-order matching, scoring a team match, tiebreakers, reserve athletes, bracket format, and planning differences from individual competition.
Updated Jun 2026
Running large repechage events
Mat assignment strategy, scheduling repechage bouts alongside the main bracket, time buffers, athlete calling, and results recording at scale.
Updated May 2026
Weight category management
Running multiple categories simultaneously, staggered starts, weigh-in flow, handling small categories, and building a realistic day schedule.
Updated Jun 2026
Formats9 guides
Single elimination in depth
How single-elimination brackets work, how byes are handled, seeding strategy, and when to use this format over alternatives.
Updated May 2026
Double elimination brackets
Winner bracket, loser bracket, grand final mechanics, match count, and when double elimination is right for your event.
Updated May 2026
Round robin tournaments
When round robin is the right choice, how to structure pools, tiebreaker rules, and how to combine pools with elimination.
Updated May 2026
Repechage systems explained
What repechage is, how it works in judo, wrestling, and taekwondo, the different scope variants, and how it affects match count.
Updated Jun 2026
Double repechage
The IJF double repechage system: two-table split, dynamic pool assignments for athletes who lost to eventual semi-finalists, and cross-table bronze finals.
Updated May 2026
Direct repechage
First-round losers enter repechage immediately, regardless of who beat them. Everyone gets at least two matches. Simple pre-wired pool structure.
Updated May 2026
How to seed a tournament bracket
Standard seed positions, how many to seed, seeding criteria, bye allocation, pool seeding, and common mistakes to avoid.
Updated May 2026
Advanced seeding strategies
Performance-based seeding algorithms, handling late withdrawals, seeding in repechage formats, and avoiding bracket clustering in large fields.
Updated May 2026
Tiebreaker rules explained
How to resolve equal points in round robin pools. Head-to-head, classification points, three-way ties, and how tiebreaker rules differ between sports.
Updated Jun 2026
Need numbers, not just guidance?
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