ARA Board Meeting Minutes - May 20, 2024
Board Members in Attendance: Claire, Dave, Bichen, Steve, Nima, Max, Edwin, Luke, Zac
Open Session
ARA Invitational community vote
Jan 18 – 20, 2025 won out of the provided options
The invitational will be all autotables with scoring
Since we do not have the WRC seat quota, everyone will need a precise placement
12 hanchan scramble into 6 hanchan set play
Working Group Updates
Tech
Looking at a bulk import feature to import clubs and people
Web app has some time before it is ready, NAO is a potential release timeframe
Outreach
Discussion on club affiliation and getting a list of all clubs
How big does a club need to be for ARA recognition? Discussion about club tiers based on size and accessibility of meetups
Logo discussion: 2 options, the circle one is currently more favored. There is an opening for more submissions by the next meeting
Rules/Judging
The US has been given leeway to build the lower penalties to suit open tournament culture here as we are the main ones using it
Based on community and working group discussion, we have suggested all empty calls to be dead hands
Due to use of red fives and commensurate uma, the WG has suggested to decouple the chombo of -20 from lower penalties so it can be adjusted
The draft lower penalties are complete and will be sent to WRC pending final review
After the WRC rules mods get updated with WG suggestions, work will begin on the strike system for warnings and a judging pamphlet
Riichi Nomi Open Pairing Format
Presentation of modified swiss system by Mike (Good Enough Jongers)
A few options proposed for how to deal with final rounds
Bylaws and Structure
Board is working on a draft bylaws to determine structure, how votes are held, who can vote, and classes of clubs and members
Closed Session
Proposal of PML Open 2024
Potential for split venue with some specifics on how the dual bucket system must be carried out to follow the WRC guidelines. More details to follow when venue is determined
RNO Pairing
As there are no issues with any of the proposed methods to deal with the final rounds or the system itself, the board leaves it to RNO staff to pick their preferred method
Pro Group Certification
MJStars is working with Saikouisen to bring the pro test to the US
WRC has partnered with JPML and NPM to do the same
The board and ARA will not align with one or the other, and all players are free to choose if interested
International Online Riichi Mahjong Championship (IORMC)
In the past, IORMC qualifiers were brought under the ARML umbrella and Edwin managed the setup
Edwin does not currently have the bandwidth for this, so IORMC is becoming an ARA initiative with a new working group. Edwin will continue to provide support as able, Max volunteered to assist
Education Working Group
Channel was created for this working group, members and initiatives TBD
Next Board Meeting: June 17, 2024 8PM ET / 5PM PT