(copypasted from the previous copypaste, i believe this was originally written by Mcmeghan but who knows)
(massive tl;dr but give it a read, especially if you're new to Tour Hosting!)
Smogon Tour 26 is starting on September 14th! We will be opening host sign-ups for only 3 weeks at a time, so nobody will have to worry about making commitments that they can't keep. The second set of sign-ups will become available when time draws near.
Hosting is an important responsibility and is absolutely integral to the success of Smogon Tour, so please try your best to be ready to host at your scheduled time. You are certainly welcome to ask me any questions you may have about hosting - especially if this is your first time. If you will not be able to attend, it is up to YOU to find your replacement (preferably a day in advance or earlier, so they know for sure) and make sure that your back-up host is ready to go.
Hosting the Smogon Tour is a great way to get more involved with the site, and this tournament's continued success is truly the result of a massive team effort put forth by Smogon's staff. Users who prove to be consistent, responsible, and effective hosts that possess good judgment will be considered for the Community Contributor badge (and let's be real something like 9 out of the last 10 TD's started out on that path by hosting Smogon Tours).
We will be looking to give priority to experienced hosts, and Tour regulars. Please don't let that discourage you from signing up for the first time, because we will be sending out an instructional PM to all hosts and i will dutifully answer any questions you might have - we will even walk you through the process personally if you are nervous, so don't be afraid to sign up! We will be accepting one primary host and two back-up hosts for each day of the Tour. Anyone that can post in this forum is eligible.
Before signing up, please make sure you understand when 6 pm, 4 pm, and 2 pm Eastern will be in your timezone. We've had people in the past sign-up and receive hosting positions only to suddenly realise that the time they signed up for was at, for example, 6 am in their timezone. As you can imagine, this has lead to some issues before with finding back-up hosts at such short notice, because the main host wasn't aware of when they actually had to host and failed to inform their back-up of the issue.
We are also going to be quite particular with host selection to do our best to prevent the unimaginable from happening, as it often does each season. Don't let that discourage you from signing up, since many of our star hosts have been people who have never done it prior to their first time.
Additionally, since this has become a recurring trend in recent seasons:
1. If you sign up to host, then tell us you can't host but sign up to play on the day you were assigned, you will be barred from playing on that day and will be prohibited from playing for the entirety of that week. Please treat your hosting position with respect - your job is incredibly important.
2. If you sign up to host, but decide you'd rather play instead, the same ruling as explained in #1 applies.
3. There will be exceptions to this if there are legitimate reasons, but blatant attempts of avoiding the responsibility of hosting when you yourself signed up to do the job will not be tolerated.
Remember that if you cannot host the tour you've been assigned, tell your substitutes and the TDs about it as soon as possible!
***
WEEK 1 - SM OU
- Friday, September 14th @ 6 pm EDT
- Saturday, September 15th @ 4 pm EDT
- Sunday, September 16th @ 2 pm EDT
- Friday, September 21st @ 6 pm EDT
- Saturday, September 22nd @ 4 pm EDT
- Sunday, September 23rd @ 2 pm EDT
- Friday, September 28th @ 6 pm EDT
- Saturday, September 29th @ 4 pm EDT
- Sunday, September 30th @ 2 pm EDT
