Since 2006, the size of the FPA Worlds has exceeded the competition capacity of the current Competition Manual. Therefore, the FPA Board has begun updating the Competition Manual to better support our larger player base. his work does not include any changes to the judging system itself, only the sections guiding tournament directors in running events and eventually, a possible refresh of what is expected from players.
Revisions are being approved on a section-by-section basis so the new guidelines can be used at FPAW this summer. The first approved section is Event Progressions. This section defines how many rounds of competition there are, how many teams in each pool, etc.
The main changes include more rounds of competition with new names. Instead of four possible rounds (Qualifier, Preliminary, Semifinal and Final), we now have five (Qualification, Preliminary, Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final), and the Manual outlines how many teams are required for the addition of a new round of competition.
Our next step is to build FPAW competition schedules from these Event Progressions, then look at whether any other sections are in need of updates.
Here is a pdf of the new Event Progressions section.
The FPA Board is interested in translating the new Competition Manual sections to other languages. If you are interested in doing that, please contact me.