The UK Open is the UK Backgammon Federation’s flagship event in the annual calendar of tournaments across the country. The first UK Open, organised by the UKBGF, was held in September 2014 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, and the 137 attendees that year included the top two players in the world and the reigning world champion (Mochy, Michy, and Akiko). Every year since 2014 (except for 2020 when it was forced to move online due to the pandemic), the UK Open has been a large, live, multi-flight tournament attracting international players, sponsorship, and some of the best prizes on the UKBGF Tour. For more information about previous UK Open tournaments click here.
We are now looking for the right team to run this prestigious tournament in 2022. Could this be you? Or do you at least know of a potentially fantastic and great value for money venue where the event could be hosted? Let us know in either case.
For those who would run the UK Open, the organisation would be up to you but the UKBGF is willing to discuss what level of support can be offered to the event, be that financial or otherwise. The event must be for a minimum capacity of 128 in the Masters Flight and 64 in the Intermediates. Ideally there should also be provision for young and/or novice players. A Midlands venue is preferred so that travelling to the event is not too onerous from any part of the UK, and although in recent years the UK Open has been held over a long weekend (Friday pm, Saturday and Sunday) in August or September, there is flexibility subject to avoiding close date proximity with another UKBGF Tour event.
Streaming and live commentary of matches must be organised, but their (reasonable) costs would be covered by the UKBGF.
The UKBGF will consider applications from any reputable organisers who are keen to offer the best possible player experience. Anyone interested should contact the Board as soon as possible by emailing contact@ukbgf.com for more details, or for discussions. Applications to run the 2022 UK Open must be emailed to contact@ukbgf.com not later than Wednesday 24th November 2021 and should comply with 2022 UKBGF Tour requirements (enquire at tour@ukbgf.com). They should also provide as much detail as possible at this stage, including the selected date, duration, venue, format, fees, any necessary support required from the UKBGF, and other essential information such as member benefits which the organiser will incorporate in the tournament structure. Please also just drop us an email if you have any queries or would like to discuss things further before you decide whether you would like to apply to run the event.
The UKBGF Board will consider all applications to run the 2022 UK Open which have been submitted by the deadline, and the selected organiser will be informed as soon as possible after this date.
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