I've gone through the process of building up a tournament for a relatively new meta. While some players will actively engage in the process of registering player numbers etc it can serve as a barrier to some others particularly newer players from entering their first tournament. It can be particularly off putting for players from other game systems that do not have a strong co-operative mechanic (ARO) and may serve as a barrier to entering. Is it possible to have events with "guest" players reportable? You could standardise ELO's to be for new players so at 1000 pts or whatever starting points are. I think it ensures that events with new players particularly in new metas can be a thing whilst not be overwhelming to those that are on the line.
Yo don't need to send the lists for tournaments unless it's a big one or the organizer demands it, so they only need an ITS pin... of which, if you want, can try to get several as "reserve numbers" for those who want to try a tournament but are unsure about registering an email to get one... Which is kinda strange, frankly, since if your first contact with Infinity is a tournament, few will enjoy it: too much time for the new people to end their games, and the ones who have to wait for the next round to start can become frustrated.
It's not so much first contact. I really enjoy the infinity tournament scene. I actually think it's one of the draw cards for newer people to the scene. My experience to tournaments before infinity wasnt the best. Mainly MTG and Warhammer but anything that eases structured play without compromising the results I think can only be good. It can be a brain drain but afterwards I'm pretty happy with just having a chat and getting to know other players. Its the mechanics of the game that allow this and I do hope for some newer players it can be a bit of a hook. Reserve regos are a way to do it but at the end it has the same result as allowing guest regos to be part of events
