32 Draw=No Win for Others

Other notable losers of the 32 draw that did not even swing a racquet:

• The most obvious are kids that did not get in, but what about the officials that did not get hired because they only used 8 courts?
• The t-shirt vendor whose order was cut in half from last year or the racquet stringer who is available onsite at many tournaments (and was nowhere around).
• The tennis ball vendor who sold fewer cases of balls to the tournament because they played only half as many matches and no third set (therefore no new can of balls). BTW, the match tie-break for both main draw and back draw matches was another topic of conversation amongst parents.
• The food vendor who sold fewer lunches to the tournament players.
• The host hotel for the tournament. Consider this possible conversation between TD and Hotel Mgr:

TD: Hello, Hotel Mgr. We're having a Boys' 12 National Tournament at our club next month and we're looking for a host hotel and sponsor.

Hotel Mgr (thinking to himself): A national tournament? People flying in from all over the country and needing a place to stay? We booked so many rooms last year and that tournament lasted 5 days...

Hotel Mgr: GREAT! We'd love to do it again this year!

TD: I was thinking we'd have the check-in there and also hold the mandatory meeting there, followed by a pizza party.

Hotel Mgr: GREAT! I'll bring in extra staff and I'll give you a great tournament rate. About how many players will be arriving on what day and for how long?

TD: Well, the USTA cut the draw to 32 and shortened the tournament to 3 days, so that means that half the field will be out after the first day.

Hotel Mgr (thinking to himself): I've had wedding parties book more rooms and everyone stays the whole time. I'm not so sure about this.

• And last but not least: HIGH-TECH TENNIS. For the past 3 years, we've provided video services at the National Open BG14s in Dothan, AL (64 draw, 128 players), which has been a great tournament at a great facility with a great tournament director and great tournament staff.
  
  For whatever the reason, Dothan lost that tournament this year (thanks again) and so we were left with the National Open B12s (32 players). We contacted the TD and she was more than happy to accommodate us. She was glad we were available to enhance their tournament.
  
  We had a good tournament percentage wise (consider it was one age, one gender, 32 draw) but let's face it, percentages don't pay the bills. At national tournaments, we normally add 20-25 new customers, which is always good. We're growing our base and more players are taking advantage of the tools and technology out there to help them improve and to document a small slice of their tennis development.
  
  At this national tournament, we picked up 3 new customers from Florida.

Since they only used 8 courts, we did a HIGH-TECH TENNIS first and recorded every single match of the tournament (thinking no one will buy a match that you don't record).

The only problem was that in last national tournament in 2010 that FELT like a national tournament, we recorded more matches BY REQUEST than were actually played in this entire tournament. 

No big winner here...

When so many lose, WHO WINS?