I'm just shopping around an idea for dealing with what I like to call “tournament funk”.

Has anyone ever tried having a free manditory coat check at 150ish player events?

How did the players react? Did it have much of an impact on the funk?

Proper spacing of players is important, but that alone doesn't seem to be sufficient so far.

I've never tried this. In fact, I'd recommend against it. The liability implications for the TO of forcing people to give you their stuff seem pretty awful.

I was at a PTQ recently that had an optional free coat check. The players seemed to like it.

My very first staffing at a Magic tournament was actually running a coat check at a States back in 1999 (ya it was a while ago). The feedback I got was almost exclusively negative. The vast majority of players really did not want to check their coat or more importantly their spare cards/trade binders left in someone else's hands. It created a bottleneck for logistics since every player had to wait to check their items. If a player wanted to do a trade or go out for a smoke they had to claim their stuff and then re-check it in after. It was a lot of wasted time. In general it was more convenient for players to simply leave their stuff in their car. Luckily we did not have any theft on that day, but I could also see this as being a major issue that no store wants to have to deal with.

At an event I was working this past weekend, there were coat racks near the
entrance that were unattended. Any player who asked was told that they were
free to use, but not specifically monitored in any way. Several players did
use them, and more so as the day went on and the room got warmer. I didn't
notice any player funk, but I rarely do. I think this is a better solution
if it's doable, as long as players know not to leave anything valuable in
their coats.

I'll ask the million dollar question that is on the minds of many: what do coats have to do with body odor?

Originally posted by Riki Hayashi:

I'll ask the million dollar question that is on the minds of many: what do coats have to do with body odor?

As a middle school teacher, let me explain this one to you. In the morning it is often quite cold. My students show up in the morning wearing their wearing winter coats. Many of my students (in ways similar to a small number of Magic players) have not yet discovered the glorious benefits of deodorant. Now as the day progresses the rooms warm up, especially when filled with numerous active students. Rooms can often times get quite warm in the afternoon as the heat is often still blowing when the AC should be on. Students that do not place their coats in their locker and wouldn't dare let it fall to rest on the floor will sometimes begin to sweat, especially when faced with a difficult task such as a quiz or test. This can result in much faster buildup of body odor than if the student had removed their coat. Nothing in the world smells like a bunch of middle school boys wearing their jackets right after coming out of gym class.
Now imagine that my students were going to attend eleven back to back 50 minute classes and take a grueling exam in each one. Also imagine that they had no locker and were in an overheated convention hall instead of a temperature controlled classroom. Having somewhere to put their coats could make a difference, but so could handing out samples of deodorant. :)

Edited Marc DeArmond (Feb. 26, 2014 11:16:12 PM)

Body odor aside, think about the logistics of a coat check. Would you want one person in charge of coats? Where would you store them? HOW would you store them? Giant pile on the floor doesnt seem very conducive, so you would need to hang them up… How many stores have a closet that could conceivably accomplish this mission?

I know my store doesnt have one. Sure it has a back room, but putting 25-30 (our average numbers for FNM) coats back there would not be smart, nor would it be in any way organized.

As a player I really like when there are coat checks, even if they are unattended. A couple of PTQs I played there were a bunch of lockers to hang them and was pretty good. I also remember GP Lisboa´12 that there were coat and luggage checks for 1 or 2 euros and many people were using

On Thu, Feb 27, 2014 at 6:16 PM, Marc DeArmond <
forum-8703-ee31@apps.magicjudges.org> wrote:

> but so could handing out samples of deodorant.


While the smell of a tournament can become distinctive I have much greater
issues with the clouds of propellants that regularly develop. The former
has never impeded my ability to do my job while the later has caused me to.

I like the idea of just having some coat hangars somewhere, not to leave valuables, but it's good to not have to carry your winter coat around from table to table.

I think one of the main reasons this is not commonly done is in order to avoid issues if items become damaged or stolen while on a coat rack which the TO has been providing, even if not for a cost.

I have always thought that there should be a line of Magic deodorants based on the Scent cycle from Ursa's Destiny. I would rather smell the Scent of Nightshade or the Scent of Ivy over the scent of poor hygiene. Also, when does poor hygiene start to become something that judges can assign USC: Minors? Do we need to institute a “Belt Rule” to prevent plumber's crack? Maybe the TO can have some febreeze handy and players might start paying attention if they are always at the table getting deodorized.

I like the idea of the coat check, but theft would be a big concern. Who runs the coat check? Who is liable if something goes missing? What do you do with forgotten and left behind coats?

Originally posted by Matthew Munoz:

Also, when does poor hygiene start to become something that judges can assign USC: Minors?

Wow, it must be really disgusting, I mean,

Definition
A player takes action that is disruptive to the tournament or its participants. It may affect the comfort level of those around the individual, but determining whether this is the case is not required.

Yay, it affects the “comfort level” of those around the individual (the further, the better) but it's not really that the player takes an action to do that.

Don't know if it fits. But in any case, use the finest diplomacy. That's a very personal issue and might be due to illnesses or other factors apart from poor hygiene. Also, tolerancy to awful smell varies greatly from person to person. What a person consider unacceptable could be not-so-bad for others.

Seriously, I don't know how I would manage this situation. Probably the TO could help in this, if the smell is so awful, that's not a problem of the tourney but the venue itself.

Edited Joaquín Pérez (March 7, 2014 03:13:00 PM)