One of the objectives of the 2023-24 BPA Board of Directors is to give the membership greater visibility into the deliberations of the board and to give insight into the things being discussed. To that end, we are publishing a quarterly “Tenth Chair” update so that everyone has a better sense of what’s going on with the board and the deliberations we are undertaking for the convention. This article details the WBC After Action Meeting 2024.

WBC After Action Meeting

July 27, 2024, at WBC

40 Members including the Board

Meeting Topics

Convention Director’s Report

• 1,460 paid attendees as of Friday night, likely to exceed the 2023 (numbers were preliminary because of multiple databases being consulted)
• 19 countries, 49 states and 4 provinces in paid attendance
• Ongoing conversations with the resort regarding early closing food locations
• There has only been one major safety incident at WBC 2024. It was a very unpleasant experience that required a membership to be terminated
• GM Pins will be given out next year

Questions from the floor

• It was asked if we knew why there was less non-WBC related guests at Seven Springs this year. Answer: No information known on that subject, though it is now known that WBC is Seven Spring’s biggest convention.
• It was brought up that the resort gift cards are very difficult to use, and that the food services can’t check what the balance was. Answer: The retail locations can check balances, but that is still a problem outside of their working hours.
• It was asked if we could pressure the hotel into installing more grab bars in the showers to help with mobility issues. Answer: Will be brought up to the hotel staff
• It was brought up if the resort is cashless, it would be very helpful to have access to other forms of payment, such as Apple Pay. Answer: Will be brought up to the hotel staff
• It was asked if we could ask for a cheaper breakfast buffet next year, perhaps one that only offers coffee/a la carte options. Answer: Will be brought up to the hotel staff
• It was brought up that the schedule felt very front loaded, with in particular many racing games being run simultaneously. Answer: Ken noted that only 61 events were finished as of Friday night. A lot of this year’s schedule movement was Ken trying to move things earlier to free up rooms. Will try to aim for better balance next year. Ken will also push more events to the ballroom next year even if round tables are not requested.
• It was brought up that the schedule would work more efficiently if the 2-hour games lines up in odd number time slots (9, 11, 13, 15, etc.) to avoid overlap. Answer: Ken will consider pushing back on GMs that don’t ask for these slots in order to build a better overall schedule.
• It was asked how games earn legacy status. Answer: Any game that has been run for 10 years, meets minimum player counts, and is not part of the century for the upcoming convention is presented to the board for a legacy vote.
• It was asked whether Ken would consider running a similar program to the Euro-schedule for the war games. Answer: No. Scheduling the rooms for the Euro schedule is incredibly difficult, and adding a new track of games will make it even more difficult.
• It was asked whether the board will allow gaming on Tuesday in the future. Answer: The board is considering a change in the auction format and will update the membership on a final decision.
• It was asked whether the auction can move later in the week. Answer: The goal is to not overlap the auction with the vendor’s room. In part so people can spend their money from the auction in the vendor’s room.
• It was brought up that most food services locations were chronically understaffed during the week. Answer: Ken assured the membership it will be an ongoing conversation with the hotel.
• It was brought up that there were structural issues in Wintergreen, including a tile falling from the roof. Answer: Ken believes it was isolated, but also that these sorts of issues may help in pushing a better contract re-negotiation with Seven Springs.
• It was brought up that despite years of requesting it, there is still no changing table on the Seasons floor of the convention center. Answer: Ken will again bring this forward to the hotel.
• It was brought up that the Fast Tracks quick service could not make charges to hotel rooms. Answer: Ken brought this up to the hotel, and they were very surprised. Likely will be fixed for next year.
• It was brought up that the GM Breakfast was much appreciated. Answer: Ken appreciated the feedback.
• It was brought up that the airport shuttle was difficult to schedule with this year and offered a lower quality service than in the past. Answer: Ken noted that the resort is no longer allowed to run the shuttle themselves because of Vail policies. Ken further noted that the BPA will consider managing the shuttle ourselves in the future.
• It was brought up that the domestic shuttle was difficult to find contact information for. Answer: Ken will include domestic shuttle contact and procedure in next year’s program.
• It was asked whether there will be minutes of this meeting and the Annual Meeting. Answer: Yes, minutes will be formally published for both meetings this year.
• It was asked whether other venues will be considered during the renegotiation process. Answer: We are starting the re-negotiation process early to ensure we can consider all options. That said, the board at present does not see many other viable options that maintain the family environment Seven Springs offers.
• It was asked why some people were not on the all-time attendance board. Answer: Ken has spotty records from the earlier days of the convention so please let him know if you believe that you should have been on that board.

Junior Coordinator’s Report

• Megan gave the following updates:
  • 39 juniors this year, with 16 of them pre-registering (+2 year over year)
  • T-Shirts were a big hit
  • Many young parents looked into the room and seemed impressed
  • Request for junior’s GMs to get adult shirts
  • Movie Night went over very well despite technical issues in Fox Den
  • Printed badges were also very well received
  • Average tournament size was 12, largest was 23, lowest was 7