Double Elimination Chart

Advance Preparation:
Print the above chart. Photocopy/enlarge onto an overhead projection transparency. Use a pen specially made for writing on transparencies. These are not expensive and may be acquired at a local business supply outlet. Select the variety with "water soluble" ink, so that errors can be corrected and that the chart may be reused later. (Warning. The transparencies produced from Ink Jet printers onto transparencies are themselves water soluble. Don't try to reuse those unless you print on the reverse side in mirror image!)

Assigning Scouts to the chart:

First, count the scouts who are competing against each other. This will be the highest number used in the chart. The rest of the numbers will be "byes".
Randomly distribute the chart numbers to the Scouts. (I use 4"X5"X.25" boards with big numbers drawn on them and string attached so that they can hang their number on their chest. Each scout draws a number, which he wears until his tournament has been decided.)

Running the races:

Starting in the upper left hand corner of the chart, call the heats by number. Unless all heats in the column contain "byes", every heat is run, even if it is against a "bye". This is to equalize "graphite shakeout".
For each heat, decide which car is to run in which lane by either a "coin flip" for "choice of lane" or by having one of the racers draw a lane number out of a box.
In the upper half of the chart, the car which finishes first in a heat is recorded on the line to the right. The car (or "bye") which finishes second (never the word "loser") is recorded in the corresponding line in the lower half of the chart.
You may "run the chart" by progressing all the way down column A, then B, etc. Or, you may delay the bottom half of the chart by one round... Top of A, Top of B, Bottom of A, Top of C, Bottom of B, etc. (The latter procedure delays the departure of Scouts from the competition.)
Something special happens near the end of the chart: Notice that the survivor of the top half of the chart goes on to a long line. His number goes on to both of the heavy lines there. This is because he must have two second place finishes to be eliminated. On the other hand, the survivor of the bottom half of the chart already has one second place finish and need accumulate only one more to be eliminated.
First and Second Place for the tournament is determined in the last race. Third place is determined in the last race on the bottom half of the chart. Fourth, fifth and sixth places may be (somewhat arbitrarily) determined from the survivor heats in the bottom half of the chart.

Technical notes:

The chart may be used "as is" for 8 or fewer racers. If this is done, note that all of the Column A heats contain a "bye" and all can be skipped. Similarly, the "round of 8" on the lower half of the chart are all "byes".
The chart may be extended by adding a column to the left. (In those heats, one of the racer numbers will be taken from the number presently shown in the chart. Subtract it from 33 to obtain the other number. (Racer numbers in those heats will total 33.) Then add a second chance bracket of 16 whose survivor will race against the survivor of the second chance bracket of 8.
One of the four racers in column C in the top half of the chart will be eliminated! This "put me off" initially. I obtained some other types of D/E charts and did accuracy comparisons using computer simulation. The other charts did not produce overall accuracy equal to this one. So, if I must use a Double Elimination procedure, I "grit my teeth" and use this one!