2020 International Online RIichi Mahjong Competition - CAN Qualifiers

It’s that time of the year again! In cooperation with the Canadian clubs, the CAN qualifiers are now officially announced for the IORMC competition held in November!

What is the IORMC? Originally a competition between South Korea and Japan in 2011, it has turned into a worldwide competition with countries from all across the world! With a short format, it’s not rare to see haymakers thrown left and right as countries (and now individuals!) battle it out for top honors!

This year, there will be 5 qualifier sessions, starting on Saturday, August 8th and for each Saturday afterwards save for a break on August 22 & 29th. More information and the registration link can be found here.

2020 International Online Riichi Mahjong Competition (IORMC) - USA Qualification

It’s that time of the year again! US qualifications for the IORMC competition held in November will be starting soon!

What is the IORMC? Originally a competition between South Korea and Japan in 2011, it has turned into a worldwide competition with countries from all across the world! With a short format, it’s not rare to see haymakers thrown left and right as countries (and now individuals!) battle it out for top honors!

This year, there will be 4 qualifier sessions, held on the Saturdays following the 4th of July. More information and the registration link can be found here.

Request for Proposal for 2021 North American Open

NARMA is looking for a host for the 2021 North American Open.

If you are a club, and you think you can host the 2nd iteration of the tournament, please send a Request for Proposal (RFP) to tournaments at nariichi dot org. Any questions can also be sent to the same e-mail.

Your RFP should include at least the following:

  • Dates, including alternate dates

  • Location

  • Max field size (if any)

  • Tournament Format (including schedule)

  • Staffing Levels

  • Contingency Plans (i.e. substitutes/fill-ins/etc)

  • Tournament Budget (Profit/Loss Statement)

  • Food/Lodging Arrangements (if any)

Tournament Sanctioning Guidelines/Call For Tournament Results

NARMA, in an ongoing process to provide standards that will allow tournaments to be recognized internationally, have revised our sanctioning guidelines to be more in line with established standards. Please refer to the link on our homepage for the new policies. A PDF version is also available for download.

To that extent, we are also putting out a call for tournament results. If your tournament can meet the sanctioning guidelines, and was held in the last year, please register as if you were going to hold a tournament, and one of our members will reach out to begin the process of reviewing your tournament retroactively approved.

2018 IORMC USA Qualification Session #1

Standings and Session Results

The first of five qualification sessions happened today and we have some early front-runners to head up the USA squad.

Panhandle Mahjong's Ryan Adams (Panda84), who has put up very good results in tournament play, did so again here with three 1st place finishes with his only blemish being a 3rd in the third round. Even still he posted an average of 33.45, a full 8 points clear of 2nd place Tina Koshimoto (破顔の楽士), who put up 2 first and 2 second place finishes to bank an average of 25.45.

Right on her heels is one of USA's representatives from last year, Kinyan Lui (Yukitora), who also put up 2 first and second place finishes, and sits just a little over 2 point adrift with an average of 23.20.

Holding onto the 4th spot for now is Nathaniel Kozinski (tateniu). A last place finish at Tina's table in the final round dampened a good effort, but he still sits with an average of 16.15.

The next 4 players also finished in the positive, and are one good session away from contending for a spot. Even for those who struggled in the first session, they still have the ability to drop a session later on if they play at least 4 of the 5 scheduled dates. So there's still time to put in some good scores and contend for a spot on the USA roster.

Upcoming Tournaments

For those that have not been following the calendar, there are 2 tournaments coming up in the next few months.

The Rochester Institute of Technology's Nine Gates Mahjong Club will be holding its 2018 Rochester Riichi Open on March 3rd & 4th on their campus. Rochester has one of the larger clubs in the country and its alumni have since moved on to clubs all across the country including Seattle and California.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Mahjong Club will be holding their 2018 Riichi Open at the Grapevine Convention Center on April 14th and 15th. Just make sure to have your taxes done before that weekend!

In addition the Seattle Riichi Mahjong Club has tentative plans to hold their 2018 Seattle Riichi Open in July of this year. Stay tuned for more details!

Check out the Events page for links to their pages for more information as well as to sign up!