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2016 Sportsmanship Award Nominees Last updated 12/1/2016
 
Without any further ado, let's present the class of 2016—and as always, it is a deserving group. The following individuals were just some of many nominated for the reasons indicated below and owe their appearance here to both their own actions and the fervency of their sponsors in relating it to BPA. As is our practice, all BPA members are urged to vote for one of the following when submitting their membership form and voting for Trial events before Jan. 31, 2017. Those who have already joined for the 2017 season are encouraged to submit their votes separately. Reward a good sport with our biggest prize … free lodging at the next WBC.
 
18XX - Grant LaDue was one of 17 qualifiers to appear for the semifinals and volunteered to drop out so that the bracket could be balanced with four 4-player games.
Attack Sub - Brian Conlon won his third qualifying game by unknowingly making an illegal move. When brought to his attention, he immediately notified his opponent and they reset the game from that point. He ultimately lost the game, and with it, his chance to advance to the elimination rounds.
Breakout: Normandy - Steve Worrel pointed out a hole in his opponent’s line, allowing him to correct the error before taking advantage of it. It is the second year in a row that Steve has been cited for this gracious behavior in this event.
Can’t Stop - Scott Buckwalter, one of 17 qualifying semifinalists, withdrew to allow optimal brackets for the 4-player game.
Combat Commander - Nels Thompson was not a player in this event, but was a GM for a neighboring event. Due to the disturbance an infant was causing in the area where both event Finals were being conducted, Nels stepped forward and offered to push the baby in his stroller so that both events could proceed without further disturbance. Nels spent the next hour turning circles with the child while both Finals continued.
Diplomacy - David Rynkowski spring for doughnuts for the room before Round 2 and then played on two boards when the numbers were not amenable to multiples of seven to fill a board in the 7-player game. Lastly, he volunteered to sit out of Round 3 when the numbers were again inconvenient and instead coached a board of new players as defacto GM.
Empire of the Sun - Craig Yope tirelessly teaches and coaches new players, often to his detriment, in a “pay it forward” style that is becoming more common than exception at WBC.
Evolution - Adam Oliner sat out two heats when there was an odd number of players, costing him a chance to advance.
Fire in the Lake - Michael Redman, the defending champion, graciously sat out the first heat to allow another player to fill the last table.
Five Tribes - Laurie Voisin was acclaimed the winner of her preliminary game. After the game was put away and everyone had left for other activities, Laurie returned - pointing out a scoring error in the scoresheet that put her in third place. She not only pointed out the mistake but then found the real winner in Open Gaming to inform him that he had indeed qualified to advance and she had not.
King of Tokyo - Sean Druelinger tied for the win in his opening round, but deferred any tiebreakers to the 12-year old opponent who then proceeded all the way to the Final.
Kremlin - Rob Seulowitz allowed an inexperienced player to retroactively make a move that hurt his own position.
Race For the Galaxy - Eric Brosius reassured a new GM while being understanding about a GM error that could have cost him a win.

Republic of Rome - Chase Bramwell served as AGM and remained present and attentive even though not playing. He had dropped out to allow another player into the heat.

Santa Fe Rails - GM Rob Kircher was nominated by one of his players when he stepped aside to allow a late arriving 17th player to take his seat in the third heat. At the time, Rob was the 15th qualifier and in danger of losing his chance to advance.
Sekigahara - Bruce Hodgins was generally helpful to his opponents, pointing out better moves and key areas to defend. One of his “students” went on to win laurels in the event.
Settlers of Catan - David Sander was seated for the semifinals but graciously stepped aside when a higher rated player arrived at the last minute.
Small World - Jason Ley agreed to coach new players in the second heat - costing him a chance to advance.
Squad Leader - Chuck Leonard offered again, as he does every year, to teach new players the game.
Twilight Struggle - Randall MacInnis offered again, as he does every year, to teach new players the game.
War At Sea - Charlie Drozd was nominated by his opponent because Charlie had twice pointed out errors that if left unchanged would have resulted in an easy victory.
 
Honorable Mention: Jim Bell, Samantha Berk, Malcolm Castranova, Andrew Drummond, Amy Klayder, Sue Lanham, Stan Myszac, Melissa Wagner, Sara Ward, Ashton Worley