Added your vote, D&S. ;-)
Just a heads up, I'll be getting together some officials to rate the current batch of tournaments we have out there. I'll be working on the tournament rankings based on which tournaments qualify the inspection. We'll be dividing them up into tiers. Here's an iffy breakdown as to how it'll go and for you guys to check out what will qualify a tournament under what tier:
Gold Tier
-A win here is worth 1000 points on the rankings
-Tournament is checked daily/very often by it's coordinator(s)
-The coordinator(s) are efficient with deadlines, prizes, and match-set ups
-The format of the tournament is unique
-The rules and regulations of the tourney are met and well-implicated
-There are a large number of initial entries
-A entrant must participate in a sufficient amount of battles in order to reach the finals
-A substantial selection of prizes are available to winners and finalists
-This tournament attracts high-level PC battlers to it's sign-up sheet
Silver Tier
-A win here is worth 500 points on the rankings
-Tournament is well kept and checked often by it's coordinator(s)
-There are a decent selection of prizes
-The tournament's rules are clear and most measures are taken to instill them
-The format of the tournament is unique
-Most deadlines are met for matches, else the coordinator gives extensions often
-The amount of entries/participants is well off, but not as many as Gold Tiers
-This tournament has well-known battlers signing up
Bronze Tier
-A win here is worth 250 points on the rankings
-Tournament is fairly new or has yet to be well established on PC
-The amount of entries/participants are low/medium
**-There is a 'gimmicky' type of attraction to the tournament
-Coordinators check in occasionally or as often as they are permitted
-The format of the tournament is considered respectable, but not particularly unique
-The tournament's rules could stand some improvement or aren't always applied
-The prize selection is low
-The amount of battles needed to win the tournament is small/medium
-Deadlines for the tournament are sometimes not met and/or the coordinator doesn't do too much to hype battlers in getting them finished
-This tournament has a handful of established battlers joining
Copper Tier
-A win here is worth 100 points on the rankings
-Tournament is brand new
-Amount of entries/participants is small
-Prizes are low or non-existent
-The tournament's rules may be unclear or are not instilled very much
-Deadlines aren't well met or large extensions are given consistently
-Format isn't really unique and may even be somewhat copy-cat of an existing tournament (whether the coordinator sees that or not)
-Reaching the finals or winning doesn't take many matches
-The particular battlers who enter aren't well-known on the community yet
-The tournament's thread is sometimes used as a chat-room without any strict regulation of such
Zero-Tier
-This tournament doesn't count on the rankings
-Tournament has not officially finished once yet. A tier upgrade can occur once the tournament has finished.
-Tournament is either too new to have a tier, or does not meet acceptable standards
-Tournament had little or no creativity/thought put into the creation of it
-Tournament acts like a 'gym or league'
-Tournament is poorly run and thread acts as more of a chat-room or for 'whoever wants to battle'
-Tournament is a clear copy of another currently on the forum
-No prizes/prizes that are extremely common and not worth competing for
-Rules are unclear
-Coordinator always/sometimes uses CHATSPEAK (no one likes that, and we can't read what you're saying, especially concerning deadlines, match-ups, and prizes)
-Unacceptably large amount of participants are expected for a terrible format or a very low amount of battlers compete/enter for the title
-Thread is dead or matches have been going on for 3-4 weeks with no results
-Need I go on?
**Note for gimmicky tourneys: Gimmick tournaments such as mono-types, roulettes, or any type of tournament that restricts what kinds of Pokémon can enter CANNOT excel past the Bronze Tier. These tournaments appeal to a particular audience only and it would not be right to say, for instance, that the winner of the Whirl Cup can receive 1,000 points to their ranking just by beating a few people with water types. They do not necessarily exemplify an excellent battler, and are more for fun/prizes than winning points anyway.
So, yeah, that's the gist of that XD. Remember guys, just because your tournament gets slotted in a Bronze or Copper tier, doesn't mean it's horrible. It usually means it meets too many of the listed attributes, even if it has some attributes of a Silver or Gold tournament. By cleaning up a tournament's format and coordinating things well, your tournament can move up a tier! But don't expect to vault up the ranks so quickly, considering the council that determines tiers may not meet and evaluate them for awhile.
I expect that around Thanksgiving, the list of tourneys and how they're going to be ranked will be released. We'll also make nice little badge-emblems for everyone to put at the top of their tourney threads that shows their tier.
Give me some feedback on this stuff, everyone and let me know what you think.