A Better Bye.

I write this post for the powers that be, match directors, Marshals, club officers and the CFDA.  This is something that you should think about and maybe experiment a bit with.

We love the CFDA bye even though it is inherently unfair. We love it because it is unfair. We all look forward to being that lucky shooter that advances without competing. It is not going away because we love it so much, but maybe there is room for improvement in some events.

For illustration, I am going to talk about the Old Timers Category at the Texas State Championship.  There were 7 shooters and it was  a 3x last man standing event which took 10 rounds to resolve.  It took 10 rounds because the event winner lost his first match and therefore 19 loses were required. Because of CFDA byes one shooter did not compete in each of the first 8 rounds.  The  first 3 rounds (7 shooters) produced 9 loses. The next 3 rounds (5 shooters) produced 6 loses. The next 2 rounds (3 shooters) produced 2 loses. The last 2 rounds (2 shooters) produced 2 loses, for a total of 19 loses resolving the issue.  Ten rounds were required because in the first 8 rounds one shooter did not compete in the match format.  In additions to the 10 match format rounds, 8 shoot offs were required to allocate the bye.  That is a total of 18 rounds.

Now what happens if every shooter is required to compete in every round.  In the first 3 rounds (7 shooters), there would be 12 loses. In the next 2 rounds (5 shooters) there would be 6 loses.  Then in the final round (2 shooters) there would be 1 lose for a total of 19 loses.  The matter would have been resolved in 6 rounds with no shoot off rounds.  So you go from requiring 18 rounds to 6 rounds.

It shortens up the match to such an extent that in the same amount of range time you could have shot a 4 x.  Four x would have required 25 loses.  Probably 4 rounds at 7 shooters for 16 loses, 2 rounds at 5 shooters for 6 loses, 1 round at 3 shooters for 2 loses and 1 round at 2 shooters for 1 lose for a total of 25 loses.   The matter would have been resolved in 8 rounds using 4 x if you eliminate the noncompeting CFDA bye procedure.

So the questions for the shooters is which would you prefer? A 3 x with CFDA bye or a 4 x event without the CFDA bye.  A side benefit is that you will get a better sort because the inherent unfairness of the CDFA bye is eliminated.

How do you do it without the bye. It is really pretty simply. The Rule would be:

"All shooters must compete using the match format in every round except when a Rule IV.6 forfeitures occur.  If there is an odd number of shooters in a round, the last three shooters will compete together using the match format to its conclusion. Each shooter will be scored individually against each of the other shooters of the trio, a loss to either results in an x for the shooter. (This always results in one win and two loses, except in Arizona Five match format.)"

To give it a name I am going to call it the Arizona Bye.  I think it will work well and could be use to great advantage in some of our side matches.

We are seeing more and more bracket matches on the championship day.  I think this is good but one of the adverse side effects is the additional wear and tear on the shooters remaining in the main match. In 2016 Powder Keg won the Master Gunfighter bracket at Texas and I won the Gunfighter bracket.  We both had the same comment, "Boy, that was a lot of work and shooting to do before the main match resumed!"  Powder Keg went on to win the State Championship and I  was eliminated  in the first round after the bracket shoot.  Some shooters forego the bracket shoot to rest for the main match.  We might think about the Arizona Bye for these bracket matches.  It probably would shorten the rounds necessary by 50% and the sort would be better.

You never know how something is going to work until you actually do it.  We are going to test out the Arizona Bye at some Loess Hills Jackpot shoots to see how well it works. In fact whether I shoot or not at the next Loess Hills Jackpot shoot will depend on whether we have an odd number of shooters.  If I need to sit out to make the number odd I will.

I always do Gunfighter Ratings on all of the shooters at Loess Hills Jackpot shoots.  I don't need this to rate the shooters, I know who is who, but it is a good tool to evaluate how well the format is working.  If a top shooter places much lower than you would expect you can look at the gunfighter rating to tell if he or she was just having a bad day or whether there is some other aberration involved in the format.  Most of the  time it is the unfairness of the luck of the draw.

I suggest clubs give the Arizona Bye a try.  At the club level is the place to try these  innovations out.  Give it a try.  I heard some other clubs are now trying Arizona Five.  Try it you will like it.  Try the Arizona Bracket shoot. I am tuning up today for that Arizona Bracket Shoot at Tombstone.  Booked a room Saturday night so I can stay for the promenade on Allen Street.  Hope I am celebrating and not drowning my sorrows.