Hello,
Rule T19 refers to the fact that "small tournaments may have fewer alliances". There are a couple aspects to this rule that are not written in a definitive way, meaning there is some room for interpretation when it comes to structuring a tournament. More specifically, the rule states:
Events (or divisions within an event) with 32 or more Teams must use 16 two-Team Alliances for Elimination Matches as shown in Figure 28. Events with fewer than 32 Teams (i.e., the requisite amount for 16 full Alliances) must limit the number of Alliances by dividing the number of Teams by two, less any remainder.
What we were curious about is when there are less than 32 teams at a tournament, the tournament manager must "limit the number of alliances by dividing the number of teams by two". However, the rule uses the phrase "limit". Does this mean that the number of teams divided by two is the maximum amount of alliances that can be in elimination matches, therefore allowing the tournament manager to make use of less alliances to their discretion? Or is the tournament manager required to use that exact amount (dividing number of teams by two) for alliance selection?
For example, if a tournament only has 26 teams, the tournament manager must limit the amount of alliances to be 13. Does the tournament manager now have to form exactly 13 alliances during alliance selection, or can they use a more convenient number, like 8 alliances, since it is less than the "limit" of 13?
Thank you in advance for your time.