In order to maintain continuity in the game and to protect the integrity of your entries, the Internet Sumo Pool requires you to enter a "shikona" (fighting name), an email address for confirmations, and a password. You can then log in to the site in order to make your daily picks and set your tiebreakers for each basho.
If you are going to be absent for a basho and don't want to play, please go to the registration page and check that you will be absent. You are allowed to skip one basho and register as being absent, you will retain your banzuke position for the following basho. If you miss the following basho, you will receive a 0-0-15 score that will drop you down the banzuke.
With so many players, ties are inevitable. Please submit two tiebreakers. The first is the Maegashira rikishi that you think will have the best record in the basho. This will be used to break most ties. If that still leaves a tie, the second tiebreaker is the Sanyaku (Komusubi and above) rikishi that you think will have the best record for the tournament. These should be submitted prior to the contest, but will be accepted up until just before the Day 3 match.
Your shikona, email, password and tiebreakers can be submitted using the registration page.
If you are going to miss a few days, you can set a "formula" that will allow the game to pick for you while you're gone. You can prioritize up to nine elements:
| Height | Taller | Shorter |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Heavier | Lighter |
| Age | Older | Younger |
| Wins This Basho | Most | Least |
| Wins Head-to-head | Most | Least |
| Last Bout | Won | Lost |
| Last Bout Head-to-head | Won | Lost |
| Side | East | West |
| Rank | Higher | Lower |
If the algorithm you select is unable to resolve a pick, you will be considered absent for the day. Note that Side and Rank are guaranteed to resolve to a pick, therefore it is probably wise to include one or the other as the last element in your formula.
You can submit this formula in anytime during the contest, as long as it's before your absence. The auto-pick formula can be used for up five (5) days during the basho, but not more than three (3) days in a row. This should accommodate most people who don't have computer access on the weekends.
Your formula can be submitted using the auto-pick formula page.
The object of the game is to pick the winner of each day's pool match. These matches are chosen by Moti Dichne (Kintamayama) and posted to the sumo mailing list* with the title "[Games] ISP Bout".
You can enter via the daily entry form. The Makuuchi matches take place between 1600 and 1800 Japan time, which is 0700-0900 UTC (GMT) and 2:00AM-4:00AM EST except for the final day when Makuuchi bouts start 1/2 hour earlier. Picks will be accepted until 1600 JST (except day 15 when the deadline is 1530 JST), since the pool match could be any time in the following two hour period. You may change your pick as often as you want -- the last one received prior to the match will be the one that's used. You will be sent a confirmation email each time you submit a pick. If you don't receive the confirmation email due to the vagueries of the internet, you can check your pick was recorded on the today's picks page.
Your score is simply a win/loss record, just like that of an actual rikishi. Scoring is automatically done daily when the kekka for the day is downloaded from the Nihon Sumo Kyokai web site. You can check the online standings page daily to see how things are going. Final standings will be manually posted to the list following each basho.
The winner is the player with the most wins in the 15 days. In the event of a tie, the tiebreakers described above will be used to determine the "yusho" and "jun-yusho" winners.
There may or may not be prizes awarded. The point of this is to just have fun, not to try to win cool stuff :) But prizes are welcome, of course!!
All players will be ranked after each basho, and a banzuke will be posted to the mailing list around two weeks before the next basho. Zenjimoto is the current banzuke shimpan..
A player may be promoted all the way up to the rank of Sekiwake by simply winning a majority of her/his matches each time. Promotion to the ranks of Ozeki and Yokozuna requires added criteria much like in the actual sport. Totoro's hoshitori contest rules for Ozeki and Yokozuna promotion will be followed.
* If you aren't subscribed to the Sumo Mailing List, send an e-mail to MajorDomo@statgen.ncsu.edu with a blank subject line and "subscribe sumo" (no quotes) in the message body.