A tournament director (TD) is an official at a competitive sporting or gaming event, who typically perform a number of key functions. The extent of the tournament director's duties varies depending on the size of the tournament, the nature of the competition, and the number of other officials to whom roles can be delegated. Examples often include: * Declaring that competition may begin * Refereeing game play * Organizing

elimination tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

brackets, or pairings of a Swiss system tournament * Tracking scores and statistics * Enforcing rules and regulations * Arbitrating disputes * Officiating awards ceremonies Tournament directors often refer to individual sports like

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, where each competition is organized separately. In

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

, the position is called ''race director''. In

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

, the tournament director is known by the French name, ''directoire technique'' (commonly abbreviated to ''DT'').

See also