Video Policy Feedback Requested

by Maggie Geppert, Acting DoOP & Steve Hartmann, retired AU OP

15th December 2017

In light of recent events it became clear that the Continuing Committee would need an official policy for the use of video at future high level events. Steve Hartman (chompers) took the lead on developing this policy and I want to thank him personally for all the hard work he put into its development (and this article, which I am publishing on his behalf).  This policy is slated for inclusion in the next Organized Play Guide revision and reads as follows:

The use of video to film and publish tournament matches is permitted by the Continuing Committee. The use of video is at the tournament director’s discretion and only permitted if each of the participating players consents to being filmed and published. The result of a tournament match at its conclusion is final and cannot be altered.

If evidence of serious* breach of the Tournament Code of Conduct is discovered, the Continuing Committee may take steps to investigate the incident. Penalties may be issued but cannot include altering the result of the tournament match.

* Anything that may incur a level 3 or 4 penalty could be considered a serious breach of the Tournament Code of Conduct.

Tournament Director should contact the CC's Social Media Manager if they wish to upload the videos to the CC's YouTube page.

This policy will take effect when the update to the Organized Play Guide goes live.

Let me tell you a little about how we arrived at this policy. Through discussion it was determined that three elements would need to be addressed:

1. Should video be allowed by the Continuing Committee?

One option was to ban the use of video but this came at a significant cost. The use of video is a powerful tool for the promotion of the game. If we want to expand the player base and recruit new players we need as much exposure as possible.

The other extreme was to mandate the use of video. This approach came with significant issues that could not be overcome including individual players technical expertise and player consent to being filmed.

The third option was to pick the middle ground. The use of video would be allowed at the discretion of the tournament director.

2. Should players be asked for consent prior to being filmed and published?

There is no way players can be forced to be filmed which in turn means the use of video cannot be mandated. There are laws established in different countries that would prevent this from happening.

3. What level of protection can we provide for players that consent to being filmed?

The last piece of the puzzle was giving players that consent to being filmed some protection. If we don’t do that then why would anyone consent to being filmed?

First we wanted to reassure players that the result of the match is final and cannot be changed. This has always been the case. Once a match ends and hands are shaken the results are final. There is no going back and changing it. We are just confirming what everyone should already know.

The second part enforces our expectations that players conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. The Tournament Code of Conduct lists a range of penalties that can be issued for various breaches of the rules. Level 3 and above penalties are quite serious and could include severe misconduct, deception and collusion. If evidence of this sort of breach of the rules is observed during a filmed match then the Continuing Committee will investigate and may issue suitable penalties. It is anticipated that this sort of breach of the rules would be rare and hoped that action of this sort will not need to be taken.

Feel free to discuss the new policy. We are interested in hearing your opinions.

If you have any questions or suggestions for future revisions and/or inclusions to the OPG please send me (jadziadax8) a PM.

Discuss this article in this thread.