1st North American Riichi Open
This is a tournament scheduled for June 13-14, 2015 to take place in Montreal (Quebec), Canada.
Name
As the name implies, it purports to be the first open ([fr] omnium) tournament in North America for riichi mahjong. The criteria for this are:
- Open access to anyone.
- Three-month advance notice.
- Related to Japanese mahjong.
There have been many things called "tournaments" in North America: it is not the organizer's goal to mock previous events but to propose a better standard, similar to what is occuring in Europe at this time.
Location
The tournament will take place at the Collège de Maisonneuve (3800 Sherbrooke East) in the South wing (Room E-3313). Presence is required Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 until 17:30.
Cost
Given the pressure to keep costs as low as possible due to budgetary concerns from the organizer and the capacity to pay of most people, it was decided to set the price at 40 CAD per person, including both lunches.
Rules
While not denying the need for a global standard, the organizer decided that for a first tournament, the rules would attempt to make a suitable hybrid between local rules and the World Riichi Championship rules used previously in 2014 in Puteaux, France.
(More to come...)