Tournology helps you coordinate and participate in any type of competition. Do you want to run a background check? Or, if you're feeling brave, take the plunge!

Jengology stacks up the competition

by Matt | September 2nd, 2009

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On August 15, Waverly was buzzing with excitement as over a dozen Jenga experts gathered to test their skills.

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We needed to make sure the playing fields were level within 1° of accuracy. Luckily, the Carpenter’s Level app for the Palm Pre made this easy.

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A few of the players had already signed up for Tournology before showing up at the tournament. The rest of the competitors had to create accounts, and register for the tournament. We worked on several improvements to the signup process since our Pitch tournament, and it seemed to go much smoother than the last time.

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Tensions were high as the first Jenga blocks were extracted from their nestled cocoons.

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Like Icarus, some were too grand in their ambitions, and Jenga-ed a bit too hard. One could almost hear the melting of wings as blocks tumbled to the ground.

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The competition was fierce, but friendly.

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As the Final Countdown played in the background (looped is probably a more appropriate phrase), the contest came between John and Karli.

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In the end, there could be Only One, and Karli ended up walking away with the grand prize.

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Congratulations to everyone who participated, and thanks for helping beta test Tournology!  You can see the results of both Round Robin groups here and here.

Paralympic Games: Blind Football

by Zach | September 13th, 2008

Here at Tournology, we enjoy all classifications of competition, but sometimes we run across a sport that is particularly interesting, challenging, and really highlights a true competitive spirit. We’re talking about Football 5-a-side, taking place in the Paralympic Games 2008 in Beijing, China.

Photograph on The Boston Globe’s Big Picture Blog: Brazil vs Spain 2008 Beijing Football 5-a-side

Similar to Futsal, Football 5-a-side is played on a field smaller than a full size football pitch, but surrounded by walls to prevent the ball from going out of play. Each team has 4 field players and the goalkeeper, but the difference is: each field player has a visual impairment. The ball has special compartments with ball bearings inside [1] that emit noise to allow the players to track it, and each team also has a coach that serves as a guide, positioned behind the opponents goal to help target shots on goal. There are two twenty-five minute halves, with a penalty kick tiebreaker.

As with all Paralympic Sports, the difficulty is keeping the level of competition fair, as some disabilities are more severe than others. To solve this problem, the Paralympic Games use the idea of Classifications, which they describe as being no different than a weight class in wrestling, but for an athlete’s disability level. Football 5-a-side classifications allow for a maximum visual acuity of 6/60 and visual field of 20 degrees. Anyone less impaired than these classifications is not allowed to compete, and approved participants wear blindfolds during the match for the fairest competition (and are penalized for even touching these blindfolds during the match). The Goalkeeper may have full visual faculties, but must not be a registered professional in the last five years.

For the true Tournologists out there, the tournament structure of the event is a single group 6-team round robin, which determines the seeding for a final playoff match: 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, and 5 vs. 6 to determine final rank and medals.

Check out the other amazing pictures from The Boston Globe’s Big Picture Blog: 2008 Summer Paralympic Games.

And here is a great video about the Chinese Paralympic Team: