[Ansteorra] explanation of Bye

[Elisabeth B. Zakes]

> Please pardon my ignorance but what is the Bye?
>
> Thora

followed by

> With one fighting bye, how far are you allowed to progress in the
> tournement and how is it handled in double elim?  In tournements I am
> familier with the term, in that someone 'drew the bye' and didn't have to
> 'play' to progress to the next round, what are the different ways it is
> handled in SCA tournement formats?
>
> Susan the Curious

Okay, I've been a List Clerk a time or two, so I'll take a stab at this one.

A Bye is a round when there is an odd number of fighters, so rather than
just letting the odd fighter (take that however you will <g>) sit out a
round, he draws the Bye: a Bye fighter is supplied so that the odd fighter
will have his stamina decremented approximately the same amount as everyone
else in the round. This also keeps his muscles from cooling off too much.

In some tournaments, if the Bye wins, the odd fighter has a loss counted
against him, but if the Bye loses, the Bye fighter (not being formally
entered in the tournament) does not. This is known as "the Bye counts" or a
"destructive Bye." He can fight in each and every round in which there is an
odd fighter (and we try to make it a different odd fighter each time) if he
wants to.

In other tournaments, using a non-destructive Bye, the odd fighter advances
whether he wins or loses. Personally, I prefer this type as it keeps a
fighter from being eliminated from a tournament by someone who isn't even
entered. I think all fighters should be given the same chance to see the
person who defeats them go on to win the tournament.

There is another type of Bye which is difficult to handle. It's what I and a
couple other List Clerks call a "wraparound Bye." There is a way in a
double-elimination tournament to adjust the bouts in a round where the Bye
fighter is actually someone who *is* entered in the tournament and still not
have him fight more fights than he's supposed to. For anyone who's curious,
I can show you, but it's easiest on paper and we should probably be
face-to-face.

Feel free to throw other questions in the ring!

Aethelyan Moondragon
Bryn Gwlad
occasional List Clerk