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In the last few months/years, my gaming area has lost a lot of interest in 40k.
That's understandable. Cost has increased a lot (we're in Australia), newer games have come on the market which eclipse 40k in price/rules/speed/whatever.
But I'd still like to see the 40k community flourish, as I, my fellow players and even most of the people who have left the game still like the background and the models.

So, I'd like to run a 40k event. It will be relatively small - 16 to 32 players is about average attendance for This is the first time I've done or considered anything like this, so I'm really looking for tips, hints, guides or opinions on what makes a great small tournament. What are the things that I might not realize that I need?

I figure my list goes something like this
- Hall Hire. Need a venue with ample parking, space for 20 tables, toilets, possibly bar facilities.
- A supply of trestle tables if the hall doesn't have the,
- Sufficient terrain for all the tables. That includes base boards and 12 pieces of terrain across all the tables, plus tubs to carry it all in. And a 4WD or 3 to transport it all.
- A computer and a printer to do matchups and record results
- Snacks, Drinks. Cashbox and change to sell with.
- Objective markers, spare dice + tape measures, table numbers
- Prize support and/or trophies. I'm really not sure how to go about sourcing prize support...
- Players packs, custom missions, FAQ's, painting scorecards, sportsmanship scorecards


So what am I missing? I think this is all the things that I need to make an event work - now what makes it great?

Looks like you have a great start..Here is a few I can think of from my past experience...

-Make sure you plan and clearly lay out the rules before hand - On missions, painting, allowing forge world or other things that can affect scoring in the games. the more detail the less chance you will get a gamer trying to do something underhanded. Clear rules will stop you from having to make an awkward call late in the day for something trivial

- A timer - most rounds are timed.. you can have a manual one or on your computer. but Murphy's law it will break right before you start..so bring a spare.

- Enough well trained judges to go around - You don't have to have every book memorized and don't need an army of judges, but if there is prizes on the line you will encounter people doing not nice things to try to get ahead. The tournament environment seems to promote this even more..

- A place to clearly post standings..Big paper you can hang.. or dry erase board on easel

I would recommend attending national level tournament.. Adepticon here in the states.. those boys have it down to science...never had a bad time there; Take notes what is good and bad of the event.. and then use it for yours.