GT System wiki

Eli Neuberger, Ann Arbor District librarian and author of Gamers? In the Library?, suggested using GT System for the hardest part of running gaming tournaments,  the ‘heavy lifting’ of creating brackets, points, matches.  You create brackets online without the frantic scribbling on paper or on an spreadsheet.  There hasn’t been a 2010 announcement of events, but contact information is found on the wiki to find out more.

GT System is a framework and a set of web tools for producing videogame tournaments of any size for players of any age or experience level. It gives you everything you need to promote and run a videogame tournament at your institution, and it allows all GT system players to see where how they stack up on local, regional and national leaderboards!

Patrons drop and add on-site to tournaments, so all the pre-game work can get blasted by surprises.

One experience:

I ran a Mario Kart tournament without this system – our library had an Under 12 years and Over 12 tournament.   The children’s librarians did not fully get across to some kids/parents that they were wait listed, so all showed!  Had to work quick on my blank ppt to change the brackets and matches I worked on.

Also, there were going to be 4 adults working the tourney, and two couldn’t come.  Left a lot of work setting up controllers, announcing brackets for one while the other worked the room, helped sign in kids, talked with parents, took photos…

I was fielding calls from college students about using cheats and their own controllers.  Having played Mario Kart, I was familiar…but not the endless hours these kids had!  You might just have to make decisions on the spot– just stick to them!

Eli told us that if you have elementary kids, someone will cry.  I think at least three kids cried.  It’s hard when their parents are there, and you want them to have fun.  But competition is a fact of life, and not everyone gets the blue ribbon.

Siblings bring their own twist; I had a set of triplet boys, and two made it to the finals of 3.  The great thing was the parent who told me the triplet who won was not athletic or academic, so it was a win on a big stage for him, a first.

I created certificates for the top three winners, and a gave a gift card for GameStop to the winners in each age group.

The library I’m at now has weekly teen gaming, monthly elem. level gaming, and many tournaments.  I’ve offered to try a MK tourney again- loved the cheering and laughing a whole room of parents and siblings made.