Sorry, but as an American I can't really relate. The grinder is a unique event and not comparable to every Nationals, because the top judges are (presumably) already onsite for Worlds. OP doesn't have to buy them all tickets. If the best judges are at least supposed to be there anyways, I don't see the sense in not using them for an event of the grinder's size.
Well, the LCQ attracts international players so that does raise an important point, even if you can't relate to that. It doesn't matter if the Judges are already within Worlds, the Grinder still benefits from some of the best judging considering the invites and prizes on offer. The problem with using them for a 'typical' Grinder and Worlds is that they simply cannot perform at their best for the actual event. If POP wanted to keep the Grinder the same, as well as have Judges at their best for Worlds the next day, then their only option would be to fly in further Judges.
I would argue that in the case of the grinder, the contestants have already invested in a trip to worlds which lends the grinder more weight than simply a chance to boost one's rating locally. Also, generally speaking, players can afford to bomb one states or regionals and still get the invite. As one might expect of a tournament called the Last Chance Qualifier, there is nowhere to go if one loses. Thus, every round IS someone's shot at worlds, instead of merely contributing to someone's shot at worlds.
The amount of people who invest in a trip to play in Worlds, and assume they will get an invite from the LCQ (and usually do) are a very small minority. The Grinder is probably going to attract around 1000 players, and most of them would consider it a small possibility that they do get invited. People go to Worlds for the experience, to see friends, usually experience a holiday destination and possibly play if they do make it through the Grinder.
Getting an invite through rankings is really tough, have a look at the players who missed out an invite this year to see how important every match is. If someone does bomb a high K Value tournament, that means they need to perform to a high level in every other event that year, and everyone is capable of having a bad game/tournament. Why should bad Judging calls put someone in a situation when they don't have a chance to mess up at any point?
Sounds familar right?
I don't know about you, but I plan to shoot for a positive record at Worlds. I don't expect to win or even top cut. Just the opportunity to participate in Worlds guarantees that I will have an excellent time at the tournament, even if I go 0-7. I'm not gonna drop, no matter how many losses I accumulate. I WOULDN'T like to show up at the grinder and lose right away this year, because that would be IT. That would suck. I think the determination of who gets to participate in worlds is more important than the selection of a world champion among those people.
I missed an invite by about 10 spots, so I'm not playing this year, but I wouldn't class myself as a someone with a great shot of winning and would just be happy playing in the tournament. I like your attitude, and would happily go 0-7 as well, but most people who play in Worlds don't share that feeling. Look at the drop list this year, and most people go down that route once they realise that they can't Top Cut.
The World Championships are being held this summer, not the Grinder. The people who have spent thousands of dollars travelling to San Diego because they have an invite, the people who have spent the year travelling up and down the country to get the invite - those are the people that the World Championships are for.
What's the point of the Grinder? To give out some last invites. They don't give out Booster Packs, or Medals, or Scholarships. Calling it 'The Grinder' or 'The Last Chance Qualifier' doesn't make it sound particularly fun either because it's not supposed to be! POP have said themselves that they don't want new players playing in the Grinder for the first time, because it's not a suitable tournament for them. If you lose, then yes that's it, because the Grinder's aim is just to find suitable people to take the last invites. If you want a tournament where you can play out several rounds, have a chance to win invites as well as other great prizes with hundreds of other people, that's what Nationals is for.
'Scientifically proven' reeks to me of grad student psychology studies, which are kind of irrelevant to my life. Considering that to function to the highest level is a subjective judgment, it really doesn't matter to me. My concern is, 'will the judge be able to make the correct call, and if not, will he know that he needs to consult a colleague?' I do believe a good judge should at least know to consult an index or colleague even when not sufficiently rested; however, assuming the grinder gets out by 2 am at the latest, judges will still get 4-5 hours of sleep, and that's a pretty extreme example where we're only dealing with masters judges and most people who have missed the invite will have dropped. I can't see it as conceivable that a judge could get fewer than 4 hours of sleep unless he were dawdling, and most judges will probably get closer to 6 hours. With worlds' being a relatively small event, I would also imagine that the grinder would be more heavily staffed than worlds itself, meaning they could alternate judges. For example, judges who finish judging juniors at 10 get a good 8-9 hours, and kick off the day at 8 (possibly being there by 7 for planning). Then, judges who were up till 2 dealing with the last few masters join the scene at 9. There are so many ways OP could have dealt with judges' not getting as much rest as they would have liked, without sabotaging the most important group - the players.
Lol, I have never studied Psychology in any form. It's just common sense that if someone has a lack of sleep, they're unable to perform at their best. Judging isn't always straight forward rulings, and there's a lot of difficult decisions to make which require a high level of concentration. Even if a Judge is tired and consults another Judge, won't they be tired and have the same problem as well?
The average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night, so anything less than that means that Judges will perform at a worse level. You keep using words like 'imagine' or 'can't see it as conceivable' when you guess how the event will be run. POP and the Judges are there, and have experienced what happens every year. You can't really tell POP how to do their job without even knowing how much sleep the Judges get, any problems there, or without having any experience of running the event yourself.