TUGS \\ Preliminary Round \\ Work In Progress Thread

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

That's because the preliminary dates were fixed later than that new on PJ.

Where was I even supposed to find the new date? The organizing TUS first post was never updated (the post I check to make sure I got the date right), and there was never a new Pixel Joint news entry to notify our members of the new date.

I had memorized the July 23rd date, so I was able to do other projects while waiting and simply checking the date every time I'm reminded of it.

This is where you were supposed to find the date.
I don't think checking the content of that thread on a regular basis would've hurt.
There was never a new PixelJoint News entry. I thought that the interested members of PixelJoint would look on the Spriters Resource, and more specifically the related thread, for updates.
The whole point of that thread was to gather the participants to make the event suit their needs according to the feedback they gave me.
The reason why I suggested dates so early and far in advance was because they were liable to change and additional information was bound to be given. I wanted people to be prepared in advance in case they were changes.
TUGS is a Spriters Resource-based event, which is why I encouraged PixelJoint members to create accounts here and to get themselves involved with this project. The fact that you kept distances with the community meant that you put yourself out of information's reach.
In hindsight I should've organized this with some other members, but there is only so much I can do as an individual, and a lot of time and energy on my behalf was required to start and keep TUGS going. I hope you understand that.

so when does the dueling begin?

The dueling begins when the judges have finished ranking the entries!