“A ladder tournament is a form of competition for games and sports. Unlike many tournaments, which usually have an element of elimination, ladder competitions can go on indefinitely. In a ladder competition, players are listed as if on the rungs of a ladder. The objective for a player is to reach the highest rung of the ladder.”
At East Kilbride Table Tennis Club, we have made use of this format to encourage and facilitate competitive play on selected club nights each month. A new ladder is created for each tournament with competitors names drawn at random and placed on the ladder starting positions – this offers the opportunity for less experienced players spend a bit of time further up the board than they would normally be.
Competitors are allowed to challenge anyone above themselves on the ladder and must play everyone on the ladder before challenging the same player a second time. The ladder competition is timed and finishes at an agreed time.
They make for exciting nights and frequently deliver surprises right up to end of the session.
ektabletennis.com 