De-La
"Money makes a man strange ..."
"Money makes a man strange ..."
What tournament is it and is there a live stream?
What tournament is it and is there a live stream?
The question is, "Did Ralf call to notify anyone of his situation?" If not, the forfeit should probably stand. Something so small as a phone call might have changed everything. Ralf could have called someone (a player) who could then notify the TD of the situation and the match could have been halted, allowing him time to get there. Without that information the TD's hands are tied. If it were me, and I know that a player was delayed because of an accident, I would tell his opponent that I'm delaying the match. If I heard nothing from anybody and the player (anyone) was fifteen to twenty minutes late, then the forfeit would stand.
It's an interesting situation... Ralph has car accident, is physically fine, but stuck doing police reports, paperwork, etc. Tournament Director asks Deuel if he'd like to play at 3pm to accommodate Ralph's faultless situation. Corey says nope, playing at 12:30. Ralph didn't get there by 12:45, forfeited match.
So... question: Is Corey scared of Ralph and took this opportunity bypass the match? Or is this nothing personal, and just the way of playing in a tournament... a big jelly roll through an entire match?
Do you think Ralph would've moved the match for Corey?
If Corey was playing someone considerably less threatening, do you think he would've moved it?
After reading all the threads, here's how I process the situation.
''The game itself is bigger and more important than any one player.''
If one fiddles with the above statement in any way, it keeps our game backpeddling, like it has for decades.
Ralph is a players player and represents the sport as to how we all would like it to be protrayed to us and too the public.
He didn't call because he realized it was his problem and no one elses and I'm sure he understood the predicament he was in (this alone shows class).
He's in another country and I'm sure all his travels have taught him to be humble and respect other's, and made a choice to not call. Had it been Phil Michelson, I'm sure the traffic officer may have dealt with matters in another manner, but its a pool player to the American public, and we know how much respect they get.
I feel the forfeit is the right thing to do because he knew the rules before hand. It shows class on Ralphs part, Corey should not be involved in the process, it falls on the TD and they got it right. I've seen too many phone calls disrupt an event, it happened to me with Mizerak, he never showed and my match got rescheduled.
The question is, "Did Ralf call to notify anyone of his situation?" If not, the forfeit should probably stand. Something so small as a phone call might have changed everything. Ralf could have called someone (a player) who could then notify the TD of the situation and the match could have been halted, allowing him time to get there. Without that information the TD's hands are tied. If it were me, and I know that a player was delayed because of an accident, I would tell his opponent that I'm delaying the match. If I heard nothing from anybody and the player (anyone) was fifteen to twenty minutes late, then the forfeit would stand.
I wasn't really trying to hang Corey up for this, but it is an interesting question... at least to me. I expected him to postpone just because I had figured it was some sort of professional courtesy... extenuating circumstances, and all.
But yeah - I think if it had been earlier in the tournament, or something less important, he probably would've waited. At least... that's my opinion.
On the other hand, rules are rules... but surely there has to be some sort of exception for events like this?
Jay, there is no phone call that makes it right and fair to the opponent. It's like being a supervisor at work: whatever the company policy is for, lets say emergency leave, are the rules for all your employees, no exceptions. Because the second you make one exception, every single employee thinks that their personal emergency is equally dire and also worthy of exemption: problems with a spouse; day care center had water damage; dead car battery; death of a third cousin; and on and on. The *only* way to be fair is to stick to the rules.
I personally believe that scheduling exceptions to the rules, particularly for higher profile players, is one of the things that is wrong with our sport. Everyone wants to be a good guy with the Ralfs, the Earls, the Johnnys, and the Mika and give them the benefit of the doubt. But that is not fair.
At the player's meeting for the 1pocket we were told that the official clock was the one on the tournament room wall. If you weren't there at your appointed match time, by that clock, you began to forfeit games. If you cared, you set your wrist watch to the time on that clock, and were in place well before your match time, or lived with the consequences.
That's fair.
Lou Figueroa
Thank you Lou, but the opinion I offered was not based on it being Ralf. Or anyone else for that matter. There have been instances in the past where we have extended a courtesy to players in the case of a medical emergency, such as a delayed dialysis treatment or on site injury occurring. I'm not saying this is the "right" thing to do, just that there is precedence for it. I have personally never had a problem when I told a player that I was moving his match back, because someone had an emergency that delayed them.
Whether this is the correct thing to do or even the best policy is something that I will rethink in the future, in part thanks to this thread. Perhaps I have erred in this respect and need to re-evaluate how I handle emergencies by players. Thanks again for your opinion and that of the others on here.
The exceptions made for emergency situations have only taken place when it was brought to light beforehand that someone would be delayed for whatever reason. If it was after the fact and a forfeit had been called, then it's too late to reverse that call. Once again, maybe there should be no exceptions for any reason. I will discuss this point with my co-directors at the next event I work.
By the way, there have been medical delays for matches in major tennis tournaments that I'm aware of, so it is not totally without precedent in other major sports.
Jay, there is no phone call that makes it right and fair to the opponent. It's like being a supervisor at work: whatever the company policy is for, lets say emergency leave, are the rules for all your employees, no exceptions. Because the second you make one exception, every single employee thinks that their personal emergency is equally dire and also worthy of exemption: problems with a spouse; day care center had water damage; dead car battery; death of a third cousin; and on and on. The *only* way to be fair is to stick to the rules.
I personally believe that scheduling exceptions to the rules, particularly for higher profile players, is one of the things that is wrong with our sport. Everyone wants to be a good guy with the Ralfs, the Earls, the Johnnys, and the Mika and give them the benefit of the doubt. But that is not fair.
At the player's meeting for the 1pocket we were told that the official clock was the one on the tournament room wall. If you weren't there at your appointed match time, by that clock, you began to forfeit games. If you cared, you set your wrist watch to the time on that clock, and were in place well before your match time, or lived with the consequences.
That's fair.
Lou Figueroa
I personally believe that scheduling exceptions to the rules, particularly for higher profile players, is one of the things that is wrong with our sport. Everyone wants to be a good guy with the Ralfs, the Earls, the Johnnys, and the Mika and give them the benefit of the doubt. But that is not fair.
I would of said to Corey "You're playing at 3 whether you like it or not."
Upon reading this, if Ralf didn't call then the TD wouldn't have a clue as to what was the holdup. I still feel if it was a situation was out of the persons control I would make an effort to accommodate them if it meant no disruption to the flow of the tourney.
IF this is the way it spun out, the tournament director should have never thrown it to Corey to make the call in the first place, because A: it shouldn't be Corey's call -- it's the TD's call and; B: exactly because it puts Corey in a bad spot.
The TD should have the cojones to make this call without consulting the opponent. The rules is the rules and we need more solid enforcement, not player coddling.
Lou Figueroa