Hello please advise me on tournament structure.

[NorthIslandTournaments]

Hello whoever is reading, my potential tournament mentor. I recently just started a job at an electronics store. I was told by the owner of a local chain of game stores that I should figure out tournament structures and ideas and to bring them to him. I was just talking to my new boss who was interested in the idea of either hosting or being a part of a smash tournament. I'm really interested in getting radio casters to advertise because today I met the radio hosts who were in my store promoting our boxing week sale. That means I have a venue, two potential sponsors, and advertisement on the radio. Theres the potential for two cities to run tournaments in because there are both my store and the other chain of game store in a nearby city. I have the radio stations in both cities with at least know my face and name. So I think I could do something big if I just organized it and knew how to run a smash tournament.
I I also really want to make it a big charity thing, I want kids to come hang out and watch with snacks and other cool stuff. I have to keep this on the low until I have a full plan figured out for my best chance!
Any any Senior tournament advisers or people who have roots and hands I'm just a guy in my room on the smashboards who is given an opportunity to do something super cool in my community with something I'm interested in. Cheers for the TL DR I want to run a smash tournament help me.

 

[Shieldlesscap]

I’ve never run a tournament before, but I think the main things you’ll need are:
- Interest (It helps to make sure there are people in your area who would go, especially since they can help provide the next thing)
- Setups (Every setup will likely need a dock, a Switch, a GC adapter, and a TV. It’s generally customary to bring your own controller so I wouldn’t worry about that)
- Bracket (Running a bracket isn’t really that hard even if it is overwhelming, and you can use Challonge to make it easier)

Another thing that you might want is a stream setup, those are always fun to watch.

 

[dav3yb]

Main thing you need is space, setups, and bodies.

Having a decent place to play with enough room will be much easier for people to come in and hang out.

You'll want setups for sure. Console, game, probably at least 1 gamecube adapter, and a display, preferably one that has been tested to have low input delay.

And you'll need people to actually play. Without them, there's not a ton of point.

Challonge is free and is really easy to use, and i'd suggest learning it. You can setup an event and just run a mock tournament with random names you drop in for entry. You can set it up as a large single/double elim bracket, or setup a 2-stage event that lets you run pools and a final bracket. You can run Challonge off a smart phone too, but having internet and some kind of full desktop helps.

I'd not worry about learning SmashGG right now, as it's, in my honest opinion, over engineered for what it does.

 

[XERXES92]

I haven’t run any tournaments myself, but as a regular competitor, I would say the #1 thing to focus on is organization. Nothing drives competitors crazy then an unorganized tournament. Make sure you have enough staff to keep your tournament running smoothly.
I went to a tournament where I waited 2 hours for my first match. They were in the 3rd round of winners before I got my first opponent. Other competitors shared the same experience. They winded up refunding all entrants because of all the backlash.
Besides that, have ample setups, and room for people to spectate and hangout. Beverages, snacks and food are also a plus. The main spot I go to has plenty of space , other games and setups to use outside of tournaments, and the staff is extremely hospitable and friendly.
Hope this helps a little.