Hi all,
On the heels of another successful LVO I thought it would be interesting to chat with the organizers of the 40k Champs tournament and get their thoughts. Adam, Daniel and John were kind enough to answer a few of my questions and provide some advice to aspiring TOs.
1. How long have you been involved in running events? Both the LVO and others? Do you run any other competitive events currently?
Adam: I’ve been running events, GW game systems and other company’s, since the late 90’s/early 2000’s. I have been helping run LVO since 2016, along with Danny. John came on a year later. I also run Battle for LA and Hammer of Wrath GTs in the Pasadena, CA area along with a narrative campaign. all 40K. I also judge and help run a number of FLG events like the upcoming Cherokee Open, Bay Area Open, the Las Vegas Team Tournament, and sometimes the SoCal Open. This year I am also helping Adepticon with their 40K event. I get around.
Daniel: I have been judging LVO since 2016, the first year that Reece and Frankie gave up the reins, so they could focus on building the rest of the convention. I also help run local Los Angeles GTs, Battle for LA and Hammer of Wrath, and I also ran SoCal Open in 2022. I’d like to run more FLG events like Adam, but with small children, it can be hard to disappear for a weekend.
John: I have helped organize events locally in the Pasadena CA area for about 15 years including leagues and tournaments. I began judging at LVO in 2016. I help organize Battle for Los Angeles and Hammer of Wrath in Pasadena.
2. Running an event of this size requires you to divide and conquer so what is your role on the team?
Adam: I seem to have settled into the BCP guy. In addition to helping judge the event I basically help players if they are having BCP issues or if we need to add or drop people. If it’s a BCP issue I am usually the first one to help try to figure it out before we go to the BCP guys. As the weekend progresses I also help with the Shadow Round and help with the finals on Sunday.
Daniel: I used to be one of the main BCP folk, but Adam took over that, and now I am one of the main “walking judges” that patrols the hall consistently. I also help paint judge and when it is needed, help clarify any tournament wide rules disputes that fall into that not-yet-FAQ’d grey area. I also administer and run the Shadow Round.
John: I am the head judge, my role is organizational and as a final decision maker
3. What are some changes from previous LVOS that you implemented this year? What improvements were you most proud of?
Adam: We started to do a token system for players to get signed up to the event. It started earlier in the year but it really helped with getting players signed up in BCP. I think the thing I am most proud of is the Code of Conduct. It started as a result of issues we had one year. I had based it off of Soccer, I also referee soccer matches, as it also has a “Spirit of the Game ” element to it. John took the idea and basically fleshed out the rest to what it is now. It continues to evolve as the years go on.
Daniel: The token system, while not perfect, did really help get people into the event and us starting on time. We also introduced a new painting rubric and procedure to help streamline a lengthy process, and we look forward to further refining this system. We are always looking for ways to improve, and every small matter becomes a larger problem to someone, so we try to ensure that we are consistently improving whatever we have control over.
John: This year we really focused on getting the terrain sorted out and responding to player feedback on the terrain from the other FLG events in the 2022 season. We still have work to do on that but we are definitely on the right track.
4. Were there any events or incidents that caught you off guard during this year’s tournament?
Adam: The thing that really caught me off guard was how many people actually showed up. We normally have a 10-20% drop off but this year it was about 1%.
Daniel: The lack of attrition was huge. When you have over a 1,000 players registered and end up rolling with 960, that is a big deviation from the usual 10-15% attrition rate.
John: I was a bit surprised by the number of players who were content to allow their opponent to keep track of the game score, which led to issues later on with scoring the game properly.
5. Any humorous occurrences (intentional or otherwise) that made you chuckle during the event?
Adam: A lot, both inside and outside of the event. I can’t even talk about some of them in public, lol. It’s always great seeing what wacky army ideas people come up with, especially since they understand they are not there to win but to have a good time.
Daniel: There are always a lot of laughs judging LVO. Whether it be funny matchups such as two beautifully painted Hawkshroud Knights playing against each other to just fun interactions with people that you don’t get to see but once a year, there is always a reason to laugh. Dayton and his outfits (he has moved to AoS) is always good for a shocked laugh or three.
John: My favorite question was “If my opponent has a rule that says I fight last, do I have to actually fight last?”
6. Anything you have circled on your list to improve for next year’s event?
Adam: The terrain. it’s almost always the terrain. Each year there seems to be some issue with terrain. Whether it’s the “magic boxes” or just that it is too light on some table or it’s a set or terrain piece not in the packet, there always seems to be some issue with terrain. This is doubly so whenever a new edition drops.
Daniel: Getting our terrain packet to be 100% updated, even with some of the older terrain sets that were necessary to accommodate so many players, is definitely a priority. We are also looking at a system to better track the terrain as too often, pieces get moved, lost, or damaged, and this has a negative play experience for other players later in the tournament.
John: We will continue to look for ways to improve the terrain.
7. Any advice for aspiring TOs? Especially those trying to take their event from a GT level to a major?
Adam: Don’t try to do too much too fast. It can spiral out of control very quickly. As it gets bigger you then want to start reaching out to people to help out and make it an event that people will remember and want to come back to.
Daniel: Remember that the size of an event is not about who the “big names” are and how many show up but rather what are the needs and wants of the average player. You cannot grow an event without enticing people who normally don’t go to events to show up, so it is often better to invest in prizes and support that anybody going can win rather than cater to the very best of the competitive or painting crowd. The more that you do to make the players feel wanted and appreciated, the larger your event will grow in time. It is a process, and when I first started judging LVO, we had several hundred people, and now, we are on the cusp of hitting quadruple digits.
John: Being organized is 90% of the battle to running a good event. You cannot be successful at running events without good organizational skills and management.
Thank you all for your time! I think it’s interesting to hear about how low the attrition rate was for this event. I could see how that can cause a lot of issues. Also happy to hear you are all working on the terrain issue. I think that’s likely one of the most difficult parts of an event to get right. Can’t wait to see what you all have cooked up for the future!
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