Hosting a ARA-Sanctioned Tournament

One of our goals at ARA is to help clubs across the United States promote themselves, which includes promoting riichi mahjong tournaments. We are more than happy to promote your tournament, which can then be used for national rankings and by proxy for allocation quotas for international tournaments and for entry into ARA-sponsored invitational events.

In return, we ask that you run your tournament within specific parameters so that competitors who attend many tournaments across the country can receive a consistent experience. ARA event sanctioning ensures that our riichi mahjong tournaments adhere to high standards of quality and integrity.

To apply to have your tournament sanctioned by ARA please fill out this online form.

ARA reviews and approves sanctioning applications at our monthly Board meetings. To see when our next Board meeting will be, you can check the ARA Calendar.

Thank you in advance for helping make competitive riichi mahjong in the United States a reality!

Ranked Tournament Standards

To help deliver a consistent experience, tournaments are expected to follow the rules and standards as stated in the World Riichi Championship (WRC) Rules in addition to the standards noted herein. ARA reserves the right to change these standards without advance notice, although you will be informed and we will work with you to handle any difficulties this may create.

General

  • The event must be open to the public.

  • The event must be publicized at least 60 days in advance.

  • Organizers must make a good-faith effort to ensure a fair and successful event.

  • A participating competitor must be designated as a ARA Observer.

    • The ARA Observer should not be a member of the hosting organization, to avoid conflicts of interest.

    • The organizer must submit the name of the competitor to the ARA Board. The current Board Member managing the ARA Observer process is Edwin Dizon.

    • The observer must be announced to the participants, and that they may be contacted regarding issues during the event.

    • The observer must fill out an Observer Report and submit it back to ARA.

    • The hosting organization will have an opportunity to review the Report and submit any comments prior to its publication.

Staff and Equipment

  • Organizers, advisors and referees must be fair and impartial.

  • A head referee must be appointed who has the final say over rules adjudication and enforcement.

  • A set of dedicated floor referees (non-playing) at a minimum ratio of 1 floor referee per 8 tables (head referee included in total).

  • A minimum of 3 available substitutes in case of player absence (these can be staff members, but not referees) and to ensure that all players can play in every round without byes.

  • Tiles must be clean and unmarked. It is recommended that new tiles be used if possible.

  • Playing surface must be clean and have sufficient space for the tiles. It is recommended that mahjong mats should be used if possible.

  • The event must provide equal play equipment for all players in each competitive grouping (i.e. 1 autotable and 5 hand-shuffle tables in a 6-table scramble will result in an unequal play experience. However, the final “top” table of 4 using an autotable while the remaining players use 5 hand-shuffle tables to play for placements 5 – 24 is not unequal as the players are split into separate competitive groupings and each grouping has equal play equipment.)

  • The chosen site must be physically accessible to people with disabilities (most modern venues should be fine for this, but if you’re considering an unconventional location, please make sure it has appropriate accessibility.)

Play

  • The World Riichi Championship Rules must be used. The rules can be found at https://www.worldriichi.org/wrc-rules. Optional rules from the approved optional rules document may be used, which include but are not limited to gameplay elements such as red fives, nagashi mangan, and adjusted lower penalties.

  • Deviations from the time limits as stated in the WRC ruleset are allowed, including but not limited to:

    • Reducing the overall time limit from the stated 90 minutes.

    • At time call, players finishing the current hand, then playing one more (if necessary)

  • At the beginning of South 1, it is recommended that players do a score check by laying their point sticks on the table and clearly announcing their points to the other players. At the beginning of each all-last hand (South 4 or any hand after time is called), points should be counted and written down for reference during the hand.

  • Headphones or sunglasses may not be worn at the table.

  • Usage of phones, smartwatches, and similar electronic devices are not permitted once a game has started until the conclusion of the game.

  • Foreign objects such as notebooks and racks are not permitted at the table.

    • Tile racks and other objects used in cases of disability are permitted, but participants should notify the organizer prior to the event.

  • Smoking and tobacco products in any form are not allowed at the table.

  • In addition to the fouls and etiquette as stated in the WRC rules, competitors must make a good faith effort to play fairly, which includes but is not limited to:

    • They may not comment on other players’ hands during play.

    • They may not engage in unnecessary table talk.

    • They may not look at hidden information that hasn’t been made available to them, such as the tiles in the wall after a hand is complete.

    • They must meet basic hygiene and politeness standards.

Pairing Method Parameters

The organizer must submit their pairing method to be used for the tournament. They may use any pairing method provided it:

  • Is open source, i.e. the algorithm used is fully disclosed.

  • Minimizes/Eliminates repeat encounters between any two players.

  • If the pairing method includes wind assignments, any two players who have a repeat encounter must be seated differently relative to each other.

Suggested Playoff Rules

There are no set playoff formats, but there have been formats that have been used more than others. Suggested formats are below which you may use, and you are free to submit your own format.

  • In general, any playoff system will have more than 1 hanchan per playoff level (semifinals/finals).

  • A playoff system may be foregone if the event is short in size (less than 6 rounds total, including playoffs).

  • For players who make the playoffs, they are now competing only against the players in the playoffs and cannot place below someone who did not qualify, even if they end up with a lower final score.

  • The players in a playoff bracket play with random winds and seating.

  • It is not required to have rounds for competitors who do not make the playoffs, though in such a case effort should be made to allow players to watch the final or have some optional side event.

  • If points are carried over from the qualification session, players’ scores can be halved, quartered, or some other mathematical decrease, before carrying over to the playoffs. A player’s final score is the sum of this carried score plus their scores from the playoff round(s).

  • If points are not carried over, then the two hanchan can be played with the same players at each table. For example, if there is a two-stage playoff with 8 players the format may look as follows:

    • In the semifinals, the two tables are split up with players ranked 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th on one table, and the players ranked 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th on the other. Each table plays two hanchan.

    • The top 2 finishers at each table advance to the finals where they play another two-hanchan set. The players not advancing to the final may or may not have the same format for 5th through 8th.

Post-Event

  • After the event, the organizer must submit the following to ARA containing:

    • A list of the players in the event.

    • The results for each player in each round.

    • The final standings.

    • Comments about how the event ran.

    • A report on any significant incidents or disturbances.

    • A full report on any serious infractions of the rules, including any disqualifications.

    • Any suggestions for future events.

  • The player list, results, standings, and significant instances must be submitted within 72 hours of the event. The remaining elements must be submitted within 14 days of the event.

  • The observer is responsible to submit the Observer Report directly to ARA. We prefer submission over Discord message to the Board Member currently managing this process, Edwin Dizon.

  • The ARA Board will then send the Report to the hosting organization. They will have 1 week to submit comments on the Observer Report with any clarifications or responses to the content within. Both the Observer Report and the hosting organization’s comments will be published on our website.

  • In case of ambiguity or disagreements about how to apply the rules, the organizers must make a good faith effort to interpret the rules to the best of their ability. We recommend such cases are documented as they occur for recordkeeping and clarification from WRC.