All players registered in a tournament who desire a bye for a given round are required to make their request by 6:30 p.m. (Toronto time) on game day. The request can be made by telephone to the SCC Vice President (Maurice Smith). The request can also be also be sent by email to regrets@scarboroughchessclub.ca.
Players who fail to show up for their game before 8:30 p.m. and do not request a bye before 6:30 p.m. are given a rated forfeit result. These players are also withdrawn from the tournament. On first offense, a player may apply to the President in person to re-join the tournament after missing one round of play after their forfeited game. Players who have forfeited twice in the current chess season (September through June) must sit out two games. Accordingly stiffer penalties are added for players who repeatedly forfeit with one game absence being required for each subsequent forfeit (for instance, three forfeits requires three forced absences).
In the event of a real emergency that is completely out of the player's control, a player who misses their match and does not request a bye can appeal to the club President to waive the penalty and receive a regular 1/2 point bye. These exceptions will be rare and the President's decision is final and cannot be appealed.