How Our Contest Works

Da Rules:

How do I win?  By getting the most points, of course!  There are three ways to get points:

1) Pick the winners. We ignore the nonsense of the play-in games and start with the round of 64.  Correct picks in the round of 64 (which I still consider the first round) are each worth one point, round of 32 are worth 2 points, Sweet Sixteen round 4 points each, regional finals 8 points, national semi-final 16 points AND the national champion picked correctly (from the beginning) is worth 32 points! This amounts to an orthogonal 32 potential “base” points per round.

2) Upset bonus points. Because of the high risk involved, we give an extra reward for your savvy and nerve if you correctly pick an upset. As a bonus, you get half the difference in the seeding of the underdog team and the team they upset.  (E.g. the number 11 seed beats the number 6 seed in the first round, and you had it pegged correctly. You would get (11 – 6) / 2 = 2.5 bonus points!)  So, go ahead and risk a few selected upsets.

3) Repicks can still get you half credit! Unlike any other tourney contest we have ever heard of, we allow you to keep making points even if your original favorite gets knocked out early. E.g. your favorite to go to the Final Four loses in the first round  and is therefore not even in the next three games. What to do? I will automatically assume your repick to be the higher seeded team. But if you want to repick and upset, just inform me of your repick before tipoff of the game in question <Repicks@Goerings.de>. If correct, you would still get half of the potential points for that game! (This includes half the potential upset points!)  

• Updates of where you stand

The current standings of the contest will be updated in real time at the conclusion of each game of the tournament (thanks to Google Spreadsheets). The fastest way to follow the standings is to keep an eye on the current standings page.  (You may want to bookmark this link.)  

• Repicks

When and how do I repick a game? When the team you picked to win a game did not make it that far, and is not even playing that game, I will automatically assume your repick to be the higher-seeded (favored) team. You do not need to inform me of your repick. If, however, you want to repick an upset, you need to inform me (via e-mail, fax, phone call, or carrier pigeon) before tipoff of the first game of that day’s games. (If you go with pigeon, he or she must arrive before tip-off!) Repicks are allowed even when it isn’t necessary (sometimes a strategically wise thing to do), but keep in mind that they are only worth half-credit.  

We are actually having more fun than any person should have with repicks.

Click HERE to hear the singing telegram version of repicks being made.

Or click HERE to see Brian Hoffer attempting a telepathy upset repick.

• Winning and Awards

The Tropy™ Winner, Ice Cream Winner, Final Four and Elite Eight Winners will be announced after the championship game in a wrap-up email to the Tropy Update maillist. It is entitled “One Shining Memo”.  Please feel free at any time to ask about anything that is not clear. You can contact me at TropyCommish@Goerings.de 
  

Hope you all have half as much fun as I will!

Your Tropy™ Commissioner,

Daniel