Welcome to version 4.3-way of the Rovak Routine!!!

This method of hosting freestyle prelims to get a seeded Top 27 bracket for a 1v1v1 tournament format

Based on Massey's Method, strength of schedule and number of votes are what matter

Round 1 gives all dancers 3 battles, Round 1 results cut list down to the First 33 dancers

Round 2 is optional, but is recommended to produce accurate dancer ranking:

4-Battles involves an extra battle that is not done as a chain of battles

Custom allowes for any number of custom battles to occur, can be used alongside previous option

Timing: Round 1 has battles that match the number of dancers, Round 2 4-Battles features 11 battles

Example) if 40 dancers participate, are given 35s per battle

Round 1 will take 75min with a 5s to 10s turnover between battles

R2 4-Battles will take 20min with a 15s to 20s turnover time between battles

Total event time will have a duration around 1 hr and 35 mins

Judges will vote on each battle using a 3-axis judging system (Strong Left, Left, Strong Middle, Middle, Strong Right, Right, Tie)

strong votes used when a dancer dominates their battle. 3 to 5 judges must be used.

MAKE SURE YOUR JUDGES KNOW raising 2 arms in the same direction counts as a strong vote

Judges are allowed to vote for 2 dancers with regular votes (Example, L and M vote from the same judge)

Dancers are assigned numbers when they check in at the event, have numbers printed in order

Ask dancers to self-categorize themselves as: Seasoned, Experienced, Novice

Seasoned: dancers that regularly qualified in the battle events for the Big3 cons

Experienced: dancers that have competed in multiple tourneys outside the Big3

Novice: dancers new to battle events and/or haven't won an official battle before

Categories are loose definitions, but assist in the accuracy in the routine

Step 1) ask Seasoned dancers to gather, check-in half of them now (the rest check-in at the end)

NOTE: the 1st two Seasoned dancers are the the Anchors for Round 1, inform the dancers

that the Anchors have the first and last battles of Round 1, and make sure you have

dancers that are okay with this. Their role is important

Step 2) ask Experienced dancers to gather, check-in half of them now (the rest check-in after Novices)

Step 3) ask Novices to gather and check-in all of them

Step 4) check-in the other half of the Experienced dancers

Step 5) check-in the other half of the Seasoned dancers

This method is used to ensure dancers will get 2 opponents roughly the same skill level

Dancers will battle in numerical order

Each dancer will get 3 battles in Round 1, forming a chain of battles that starts and ends with the Anchor

Judges will vote after each battle, votes are recorded on "Judges Votes" columns

Strong Left (SL), Left (L), Srong Middle (SM), Middle (M), Strong Right (SR), Right (R), Tie (x)

Dancer on the middle moves to the left, dancer on the right moves to the middle, and a new dancer will take the left side

The dancer that is new on the floor is always goes first in the battle, followed by the middle dancer

Dancers that are not present for their battles are cut, no exceptions

Write anything in the "Drop?" column and move onto the next dancer

At the end of Round 1: dancers in cyan made the cut to First 33, dancers in orange are standbys

ROUND 2, 4-Battles:

Dancers that make the First 33 will battle in order that appears in the "R2 4-Battles" sheet

Dancers will get 1 more battle, with a total of 11 battles in this version of the 2nd round

After every battle, call out who is currently up on the floor followed by who is on deck

If a dancer is not present for their battle they are cut from the First 33, no exceptions

Write anything in the "Drop?" column, spreadsheet automatically handles dancer order

ROUND 2, Custom Battles:

Dancers that make the First 33 will battle in order that appears in the "R2 Custom" sheet

Allows event organizers to score any extra battles that happen during prelims that occur

Make sure to use dancer numbers to label who is involved in each battle on the custom sheet

Results & Bracket:

Once all prelim battles have been recorded, the "Results" sheet displays Top 27 in green plus 3 standbys in yellow in Dancer Number order.

The "Bracket" sheet displays the Top 27 in seeded order along with the finals bracket.

NOTE: avoid revealing bracket seeding to the judges until after finals to reduce confirmation bias

A dancer's bracket position is based on their seed and aggrigate rating of the dancers on their bracket line.

Example: the #1, #26 & #27 seeds will always face each other in the 1st round, but their added

rating will determine if they are above or below the #9, #10 & #11 seeds in the bracket order

Should I use this routine even if my event has less than 33 dancers signed up?

Yes! Using seeded brackets will always be better than a randomly generated one. This method is

very accurate at determining a dancer's relative rating when there's a lower number of dancers.

The system is even able to handle uneven brackets when less than 27 people sign up.

Should I use this routine if my event has more than 40 dancers signed up?

Yes, but you would need more than 90 minutes to have over 40 dancers tryout using this method.

Why do you call it "First 33" and not "Top 33"?

Partly because the First 33 is still part of prelims, partly because "Top 33" isn't the most accurate term.

Wouldn't making all the seasoned dancers battle each other in Round 1 eliminate them?

Actually, the opposite happens. From a dancer's perspective, you want to go against strong opponents in prelims

Got any other questions you'd like to ask me?

Email me your questions at eigenrovak@gmail.com