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With
WBC 2006 slowly receding in the rearview
mirror, I’d like to
thank you for being part of our annual gaming
celebration. We work year ’round preparing
for WBC but the most important element in
a successful convention is you. All the preparations
and GMs in the world mean nothing without
our fellow gamers to compete against and
renew old friendships in this annual reunion
of friendly foes.
You did not disappoint,
as we reveled in the gathering of so many
of our friends with shared gaming interests.
Our 148 tournaments included 10 events with
triple digit entries, averaged 43 participants
overall, and crowned champions from 28 different
states and provinces. Those winners included
13 incumbents who retained their respective
titles another year, 45 who won their first-ever
BPA championship, five GMs who won their
own event, seven members of the fair sex,
and 11 who claimed multiple titles.
A complete preliminary list of event winners is now posted at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/champs2006.htm.
This list will be supplemented in greater detail later in the year when our GMs
have submitted their After Action Reports and the 2007 Century lineup is announced.
One might say that
2006 was the year of the slugger at WBC,
as prodigious performances abounded with
seven double winners, two triple champs,
and a pair of rare four-baggers dominating
the box score. Bruce Reiff, he of the massive
plaque collection, added to his string of
always having taken home wood, by toting
home four more with wins in Auction, Attika,
Pro Golf, and San Juan.
Alas, it could have been even worse for those who root against WBC’s lumber king
were it not for Ken Whitesell, who narrowly upset the five-time champ of Football
Strategy 17-14 in the Final to deprive him of an unprecedented fifth wood and
fourth Century event win. Thus, by the slimmest of margins, was the never-achieved
WBC Grand Slam, four Century championships, averted.
Fate swung an even
sharper double-edged sword for Jeff Cornett,
who also homered with titles in Euphrat & Tigris,
Slapshot, Battle Cry and Medici but was denied the Grand Slam moniker on
a technicality, as the latter two had lost
their Century status to probation rules.
With both events likely to return to the
Century in 2007, Jeff can’t be blamed for
cursing the umps. He wuz robbed! And, thus,
two more tales go into WBC lore to weave
the fabric of past glory and vicarious feats
denied.
But
back to the more mundane…there was
good and bad news this year at Lancaster
Host, and they both involved renovations. The
good news was that the hotel received a much
needed facelift; the bad news was that it
was ongoing during our conference. To that
end, I’m including this statement from Jon
Shisler, General Manager of Lancaster Host:
"Thank
you for joining us in Lancaster
PA for WBC 2006. We are proud to be your
headquarter hotel. As you may have
noticed, many renovations are in process.
By the end of the year we look forward
to having every single guestroom completely
renovated and, by March 2007, we look
forward to a lobby facelift and renovation
of most of our meeting rooms. I would like
to apologize for any inconvenience you
may have experienced during your visit.
Renovations are absolutely necessary
but do pose an inconvenience for our guests
which although unavoidable, is certainly
regretted. This major project is expected
to conclude early in 2007 and we look
forward to seeing you again next summer with
property and service levels better than ever!”
That’s the official
story and they’re sticking to it. If you’ve
been reading our internet discussion folder,
you’ve been treated to quite an expose on
hotel experiences that run the gamut from
good to bad. It is in people’s nature to
complain—just
as it is in our nature to slow down to stare
at an accident scene. As Convention Director,
I had a few issues myself, but I didn’t see where joining the queue
of those playing “can you top this?” would
do anyone any good. I question the corporate
wisdom of scheduling renovations during a busy, sold out convention season,
but what’s done is done, and it is in our best interest to focus on the
years ahead in an improved facility. 
Nevertheless,
I would like to address a few of the rumors
that were making the rounds in defense of
the Host. The story that the Host was overbooked
by a hundred rooms is just that—a “story”
exaggerated by numerous retellings. It is
true that a few people were moved to nearby
hotels…necessitated
by a delay in the arrival of scheduled furniture deliveries for renovated
rooms…but
the number was minuscule and Host employees did their best with temporary
furnishings to fill as many requests as they
could. Such moves are not unheard of in the
hotel business and occurred at our last site, as well, with less valid
excuses. I have personally been “moved” from
far more expensive hotels due to overbook
situations. It happens. As for failure to
receive requested cots and refrigerators,
please note that such extras are NEVER guaranteed
regardless of reservation but are subject
to availability. Due to the length of WBC, our refrigerator requests
are higher than the norm. However, I am
told that this number too will be increased
during the ongoing renovations. Lastly, the
protracted check-in delays can again be laid
at the feet of ongoing renovations, as the
staff labored with rooms coming in and out
of availability, requiring reassignment of
rooms as they became available. While I regret
the inconveniences some of you encountered
this past year, I am convinced that the Host
remains the most 
viable location for WBC
and that the best is yet to come.
The countdown to
WBC 2007 has already begun. Due to reservations
for space commitments, plans for next year’s
Pre-Cons must be completed soon. If you’d
like to GM an event during a Pre-Con slot,
let us know NOW. If you’d like to introduce
an event to WBC in 2007, stay tuned to our
newsletters which will announce in November
the opportunity for potential GMs to submit
event forms for inclusion on the membership
ballot. You can also stay appraised of the
WBC “buzz” by monitoring our new Discussion
Boards on Consimworld which have been reorganized
into multiple thread folders. A direct and
free link to these discussion boards is http://tinyurl.com/ryvrd.
Among the topics you can view and comment on are the ongoing scheduling initiative
for Euro events being organized by Eric Freeman to better track and
deconflict WBC Euro events. Those interested
in joining this co-operative effort should
contact Eric at freemaneric@comcast.net.
We’d also like to
hear from you with your nominations for GM
and Sportsman of the Year. Or conversely,
if you’d like to critique any event or GM
performance, we’d like to hear that as
well. Plans for the next WBC are set in motion
early, so if you have any observations
at all on what we could do better, please
send us your thoughts at doncon99@toad.net.
One thing we did do better was our third and best ever Auction which
is rapidly taking on a life of its own as a treasured preamble to
WBC. The new Auction Store addition more
than scratched any “flea market” itch and
was a great success by almost any standard.
E-Bay junkies can follow the action on our
“live”
auction results where
the sales are now posted.
I hope you enjoyed
your visit to the World Boardgaming Championships. If you paid for more than one day’s admission,
you automatically became a General member
in the BPA for the remainder of 2006. If
you purchased only one day’s admission you
are considered a Guest without membership
benefits. Your membership entitles you to
participate to conclusion in any BPA Play
By eMail tournament started in the remainder
of 2006. Please check our event
calendar for
new and upcoming email tournaments and updated announcements pertaining
to the BPA. It also entitles you to a $10 discount for all pre-registration
prices of any and all remaining BPA mini-cons in 2006, including:
- Waterloo IV—The Napoleonic Wars—Oct. 13-15,
2006 in Greenville, SC
- D-Day IX—Breakout Normandy—Nov. 10-12,
2006 in Timonium, MD
- Euro Quest
IV—German style games—Nov. 9-12,
2006 in Timonium, MD
- WAM V—Card Driven wargames—Jan. 25-28,
2007 in Timonium, MD
- Enlightenment
IX—Age of Renaissance—March 23-25,
2007 in Timonium, MD
- WBC 2007—July
31-Aug. 5, 2007 in Lancaster, PA
BPA will begin
accepting 2007 memberships in December.
Please do not renew your membership before
December, while we are reviewing our membership
prices.
WHY YOU SHOULD PRE-REGISTER:
- It is at least $10 cheaper than “At The Door” rates.
- You can save an additional $10 (or $20 total) by joining the BPA during our annual December membership drive.
- Joining in December allows you to vote in our Annual Trial Events survey that selects 25 Continuing Trials for next
year’s WBC. You have already helped determine 100 Century events by your participation this summer, but only by joining BPA in
December can you help select 25 Continuing Trials. Membership also entitles you to vote for the BPA Board of Directors and/or GM an event.
Higher membership levels grant more votes and admission to the WBC Pre-Cons.
- Pre-registering before June 1 gets the WBC schedule mailed to you before the convention.
- Pre-registering saves time—avoid delays
at registration while you wait for a badge to be printed.
- Foreign currency exchange can be handled by Paypal. Contact the convention director at
doncon99@toad.net.
WHY YOU SHOULD
NOT PRE-REGISTER: Membership fees are
sold at a discount in exchange for a guarantee
to attend and are consequently non-refundable.
Only Tribune level memberships are transferable
to a person or year of your choice.
Lastly,
please take a moment to join our mailing
list to receive our free email newsletter
which will keep you appraised of all BPA
activities and news pertaining to the World
Boardgaming Championships.
This special notice is a one-time mailing to all
attendees of WBC and
will not be repeated unless you have joined our
mailing list as
directed below.
Don Greenwood
WBC Convention Director
========================================================
SUBSCRIBE: If
you have not
yet subscribed to our new mailing list,
please do so as we
are unable to add you ourselves. To
receive our free
monthly newsletters you MUST
rejoin the BPA mailing list by
visiting http://lists.boardgamers.org/mailman/listinfo/bpamail to
confirm your address
and your desire to be on this
list. Subscribing
takes only a moment, ensures
your privacy, and increases
likelihood of receipt. The
newsletter will
continue to be posted in the
WBC folder in the Conventions
section of Consimworld and on
the BPA web site but will otherwise
be unavailable to those who do
not join the list in this fashion.
Visit the BPA website
at http://www.boardgamers.org
