Can the TO play in a Store Championship?

Tournament Organizer Participation:

The TO may participate in a casual- or competitive-level tournament for which he is responsible only if there is a second Tournament Organizer present. This second TO must be announced at the beginning of the tournament, and is responsible for all rulings for games in which the primary TO is playing. During a premier tournament, judges and Tournament Organizers cannot participate. Tournament Organizers and judges for premier championship tournaments (Regionals, Nationals, and Worlds) are expected to commit their full attention to organizing and judging the event, and therefore are not permitted to participate in their own Regional, National, or World Championship events as players.

Tournament Organizer Participation:

The TO may participate in a casual- or competitive-level tournament for which he is responsible only if there is a second Tournament Organizer present. This second TO must be announced at the beginning of the tournament, and is responsible for all rulings for games in which the primary TO is playing. During a premier tournament, judges and Tournament Organizers cannot participate. Tournament Organizers and judges for premier championship tournaments (Regionals, Nationals, and Worlds) are expected to commit their full attention to organizing and judging the event, and therefore are not permitted to participate in their own Regional, National, or World Championship events as players.

Thank you!

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Casual
Casual events stress fun and a friendly atmosphere. These events help build local communities and are a great way for new players to experience their favorite game without worrying whether they know every little rule. This tier may include leagues, weekly game nights, and any event using a Star Wars: X-Wing™ Miniatures Game variant

Competitive
Competitive events require players to have general knowledge of a game’s rules. While experienced players will come to these events to compete for prizes, players should not be punished for their lack of understanding in the finer points of Star Wars: X-Wing™ Miniatures Game rules. Players can come to these events expecting a consistent experience from store to store. This tier includes Store Championships and unique, one-off events such as the X-Wing™ Wave 4 Assault at Imdaar Alpha event.

Premier
Premier events are the highest level of competition for Fantasy Flight Games tournaments, and all players, judges, and tournament organizers involved are held to the highest levels of conduct. Players are assumed to be familiar with
the game’s rules, as well as the latest FAQ and tournament rules, and should expect all rules to be strictly enforced. Regional Championships, National Championships, and World Championships are premier events.

So yes to SC's !

I am a TO of Underhill's Games in Cuyahoga Falls OH. I would encourage you not to play in your own Store Championship as the TO. I often will participate in the regularly scheduled events at Underhill's but will not for the SC. The reason being is there is prize support included in the kit to reward the TO of the event already. You will recieve a set of Focus tokens and the Dice Bag, winning a second set would deprive another player from recieveing the goods. It will come off as greedy and could drive people away from participating in future events. The desicion is your of course as the rules do allow it.

It will come off as greedy and could drive people away from participating in future events.

If I were a TO and finished in the running for some sort of prize, I'd just pass it on to the next lower person in the ranking.

I am a TO of Underhill's Games in Cuyahoga Falls OH. I would encourage you not to play in your own Store Championship as the TO. I often will participate in the regularly scheduled events at Underhill's but will not for the SC. The reason being is there is prize support included in the kit to reward the TO of the event already. You will recieve a set of Focus tokens and the Dice Bag, winning a second set would deprive another player from recieveing the goods. It will come off as greedy and could drive people away from participating in future events. The desicion is your of course as the rules do allow it.

Depending on the size of the event, I would agree with this. Last year I played in the SC that I TO'd, but there were only 8 people there. This year my store isn't hosting one, but I was asked to be the 2nd TO in another one that's probably expecting ~20 people. Since both of us are very experienced TO's, we plan on breaking up the room into two halves, where we both basically cover 4-5 tables. Any more than that though and it's becoming unfair to your opponent.

I will say that in the times that I've both TO'd an won stuff, I've given the TO stuff to the next place down.

I am a TO of Underhill's Games in Cuyahoga Falls OH. I would encourage you not to play in your own Store Championship as the TO. I often will participate in the regularly scheduled events at Underhill's but will not for the SC. The reason being is there is prize support included in the kit to reward the TO of the event already. You will recieve a set of Focus tokens and the Dice Bag, winning a second set would deprive another player from recieveing the goods. It will come off as greedy and could drive people away from participating in future events. The desicion is your of course as the rules do allow it.

But I want to play as well...

So if I place high enough to claim some of the prizes, I'll just not claim it and pass it one tier down.

If I make the cut, the player who positioned in ninth place (if we cut to top 8) can have one of the top 8 player prizes instead of me. If I then get to top 4, the highest ranked after the Swiss round that lost in the top 8 game will get my top 4 prize and so on.

Only if I win and claim the Regional bye would I claim that as that is not part of the TO swag.

That would be fair, wouldn't it?

I am a TO of Underhill's Games in Cuyahoga Falls OH. I would encourage you not to play in your own Store Championship as the TO. I often will participate in the regularly scheduled events at Underhill's but will not for the SC. The reason being is there is prize support included in the kit to reward the TO of the event already. You will recieve a set of Focus tokens and the Dice Bag, winning a second set would deprive another player from recieveing the goods. It will come off as greedy and could drive people away from participating in future events. The desicion is your of course as the rules do allow it.

But I want to play as well...

So if I place high enough to claim some of the prizes, I'll just not claim it and pass it one tier down.

If I make the cut, the player who positioned in ninth place (if we cut to top 8) can have one of the top 8 player prizes instead of me. If I then get to top 4, the highest ranked after the Swiss round that lost in the top 8 game will get my top 4 prize and so on.

Only if I win and claim the Regional bye would I claim that as that is not part of the TO swag.

That would be fair, wouldn't it?

I think this is entirely fair. I'm doing the TO/player thing at an event next weekend. I doubt very seriously that I'll be in a position to claim anything aside from that sweet Soontir card based on my play, but if I manage to get into the prizes for the top players, somebody else will be taking those home. I don't need two dice bags (or even one, really) or twenty focus tokens. If, miracle of miracles, I manage to win the thing, I'm taking the Regional bye card and the trophy, because that's the benefit of winning the thing.

By and large, the X-Wing community has shown itself to value the spirit of the game over the hoarder collector mentality of other games. And I love that about this game.

If, miracle of miracles, I manage to win the thing, I'm taking the Regional bye card and the trophy, because that's the benefit of winning the thing.

Only thing I would caution against... Is if you do consider this to be fair, and I'm not saying it's not. Make sure you never have to make any sort of ruling on a game you're playing. That's true pretty much all the time, and the rules actually require it.

But just make sure you avoid even a small appearance of you winning because you were the TO, especially if you're talking about something as big as a regional bye.

If, miracle of miracles, I manage to win the thing, I'm taking the Regional bye card and the trophy, because that's the benefit of winning the thing.

Only thing I would caution against... Is if you do consider this to be fair, and I'm not saying it's not. Make sure you never have to make any sort of ruling on a game you're playing. That's true pretty much all the time, and the rules actually require it.

But just make sure you avoid even a small appearance of you winning because you were the TO, especially if you're talking about something as big as a regional bye.

Yup. This has never been a problem in any of the tourneys I've TO'd, but I've made a point to ensure that I'm not making rulings on my own game. If I do make a ruling, it's in my opponents favor. But as far as in/out arc, we'll either call someone else over, or roll for it. I have no actual power in my own games. And this is why you technically need 3 TO's if you're playing in it. A second TO is supposed to make the calls on your games, but what if the 1st and 2nd TO get matched up? Then you need the 3rd to make the calls =P. (Note, this is excessive when it's a small tourney, and it's bad practice to play in a large tourney while TOing).