2015 Evaluation Form Submissions

Summary Report of Feedback

The Championship Committee reviewed every feedback statement submitted for the 2015 NASC. Following is a summary of the feedback provided. Below this summary statement are several graphic representations of the feedback provided in key areas.

The major area of dissatisfaction with the tournament was the playoff format. A small number of players reported loving or liking the format, and a slightly larger number of players was neutral with respect to the format. But the overwhelming majority of players responding reported either disliking or hating the format. Changing the format was also the most common response to the question asking "if you could change just one thing about the NASC, what would it be."

Despite the hugely negative reaction to the format for the event, nearly half of attendee respondents reported a preference for a variation of a playoff style format. Slightly more than half reported a preference for returning to a non-playoff format. Non-attendee respondents reported a stronger preference for returning to the previous format, with over 63% expressing a preference for that format. Nevertheless, a significant minority of non-attendee respondents also expressed a preference for a variation of a playoff style format.

The Championship Committee will review this information with the Advisory Board, and will determine whether the information provided is sufficient to make a format decision for the 2016 NASC, or whether additional polling data should be solicited from the membership. The Championship Committee will continue to address this matter with the Advisory Board, and will keep the membership abreast of planning and decisions in this matter.

Other areas of the tournament were generally very well received. Respondents expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the knowledge, fairness and helpfulness of tournament staff, overwhelmingly prefer the current schedule of 7 games per day, beginning at 9:00 a.m., and were pleased with the after-hours events. Respondents also reported a high degree of satisfaction with written and verbal announcements and the speed and accuracy of issuing pairings.

Room temperature was the only other issue that received mixed reviews. While many considered it too cold, one did note that they'd rather be too cold than too hot, and another mentioned that they always bring layers to SCRABBLE tournaments - not a bad idea!