(for reference, my RIP 13.5 post)

things went a little differently this time, largely for the better! on the TOs' side:

• they scaled back the number of tournaments drastically, down from 4 major ones (singles, girls singles, doubles, couples sightreading) to just singles and doubles
  • this was clearly a much-needed change of pace after all the delays and TO burnout from prior events.
  • the delays this time around seemed pretty tame; ironing them out completely requires a bit of luck, which is not usually on the TOs' side
• they announced that the event would drop in frequency from bi-yearly to yearly
  • we're all lamenting the loss of the November ".5" tournaments, but this is primarily a student-operated event & they gotta focus on, like, graduating
• they asked for volunteers much more loudly this time
  • apparently zero people filled out the volunteer form last event, so the core team had to juggle absolutely everything
  • not to spoil the next section but this changed this year ^^

and as for me personally:

• I volunteered to operate the singles bracket for a few pools!
  • it was a pretty chill experience overall – the biggest things to me are that it requires your near-constant physical presence & an ability to learn new faces pretty quick.
  • I can imagine the physical presence constraint being problematic for a TO who's stretched thin across multiple pools.
• I was actually somewhat in practice for dance games this time!
  • did I tell you guys I got a home dance game setup going? shit I think I forgot
  • it's gonna take more than a few months to get back to where I once was, but nonetheless…
• I advanced through two pools!!
  • 1st in my seeded pool, then 2nd, then 4th and out. certainly an improvement over walking away 0-2
  • this was the most matches (9) I've played in any ITG tournament to date!

so um yeah it was a fun time I'm happy I got to help make it happen & proud of my gains over the last few months! dance games rule