# contact the [[Tournament Committee]] at [mailto:naspa-tourney@yahoogroups.com naspa-tourney@yahoogroups.com] to request sanction, in advance of the deadlines listed below. The [[Media:Tournament_Listing_Information.pdf|tournament listing form]] may be used to gather information about your tournament for sanctioning. If your tournament will use the [[Collins]] (SOWPODS) lexicon, see the page on [[directing SOWPODS tournaments]] for the additional information required.
# ensure that a certified [[tournament director]] will be present throughout your event.
== Right of First Refusal ==
With respect to tournaments scheduled on or after January 1, 2014:
# Tournaments currently on the calendar will have first right of refusal to their traditional date (same weekend of the month, same holiday weekend, etc.).
# If more than one tournament within a conflicting radius has rights to the same date, the competing directors may each apply to the NASPA Tournament Committee (TC), which will determine which tournament may be held on the conflicting date (brief, but sufficiently detailed, applications are preferred). The TC will consider all factors it deems relevant, including without limitation:
## The history of the respective tournaments (how many years running, average attendance, etc.).
## Other dates traditionally available to the respective directors.
## How far in advance the respective requests are received (subject to Item 3 below).
# Directors who have previously held tournaments may request tournament dates up to 3 years into the future, but such tournaments are subject to being delisted if a director with rights to the same date also requests a tournament, and prevails in the TC application process. For that reason, directors are encouraged to communicate with other directors in their region with competing rights to a date, in order to coordinate scheduling.
# If a director wishes to secure a date, and other directors also have first right of refusal to that date, the director may elect to identify the other directors to the TC when requesting sanctioning. The TC will contact those directors specifically identified in the request, and provide them with a 30-day period in which to submit a competing request. If the other directors decline to request the date, or fail to respond within the 30-day period, their first right of refusal to the date will lapse.
# Tournaments not previously held can be scheduled no more than 10 months in advance. Tournaments that take more than a 2-year hiatus will be considered tournaments not previously scheduled for the purposes of this policy.
# Certain tournaments will be accorded special status, as determined from time to time by the NASPA Executive Committee, and may be scheduled without reference to this policy (currently including: NSC; CNSC; Can-Am; WSC Qualifier).
# The TC may remove a director’s first right of refusal if, in the judgment of the committee, such removal is in the best interests of tournament SCRABBLE, considering all relevant factors.
# The TC may grant other exceptions to this policy in exceptional circumstances.
== Kinds of tournaments ==