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SPORTSMAN
OF THE YEAR: Congratulations
to Phil Barcafer who won the third leg in the BPA triple
crown of annual awards in what was the heaviest membership
voting turnout to date. Fourteen nominees garnered double-digit
vote support in a record turnout. Seemingly always a bridesmaid,
John Weber finished second in the membership vote. Rounding
out the top six finalists were Rob Flowers,
Steve Likevich, Greg Schmittgens and Mike Kaye in that order.
Get the details.
WBC TRIALS
ANNOUNCED: The event lineup for WBC 2007 is now
complete, pending GM commitments and
sponsor additions. The Annual Survey of the membership admitted
two new events (Combat Commander and Crusader Rex)
while welcoming back 22 returning favorites
from 2006 in the heaviest voting yet recorded in the December
membership drive. One event, Across Five Aprils, was brought
back after a three-year absence. The bar was raised 31% over
2006 totals with 138 votes required to make the cut. See the
voting totals.
ANNUAL CALL FOR GMs: Prospective Game Master
volunteers are asked to submit their event forms for WBC 2007 now. Many openings
are listed on the Orphans page. Any event listed
as Open needs a GM commitment by Feb. 28 or it will not be held. Prospective
GMs are urged to reread the newly-revised GM Guidelines, paying
particular attention to the tie-breaking rules for MESE
events. The full list of Century and eligible Trial events appears on the Orphans page.
WAM: The
next BPA gaming conference with laurels up for
grabs is Winter Activation Meeting January
25-28 at Days Hotel in Timonium, MD for fans
of card-driven wargames. Tournaments will
be held
in Paths of Glory, Wilderness War and Twilight Struggle, with additional
play of other titles as time allows.
BPA
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE: The recently
concluded annual membership drive was our most successful ever with
an increase of 20% over 2006’s record totals. Whether this portends
record attendance at the 2007 WBC or simply greatly credibility
in the voting process, we’d like to thank everyone for participating
and, thereby, further validating our event selection process. The
membership drive is now over and so are our 2006 price levels. However,
you can still join or renew your BPA membership throughout
the year and enjoy $10 savings over WBC At the Door rates. Upgrading
your membership to Tribune level grants free admission to any and
all WBC pre-cons.
2006
UPDATES: The 2006 chapter
summation of our Virtual History page
is now online to commemorate WBC 2006. You
can also find supporting archives for Laurels and
Medals.
BoD
NOMINATIONS: All BPA members are hereby notified of
their right to nominate members for the
three Board seats whose terms expire at the next WBC. To appear
on the ballot, a member must be nominated in writing by at least
three members; one of which must be himself/herself. Nominations
must be signed and received at BPA, 1541, Redfield Rd, Bel Air,
MD 21015 no later than Feb. 28 to be eligible for election in
that year. When contemplating nominations, members are urged
to consider that the BPA conducts most of its business by email
and needs Board members who are able and willing to offer their
time and skills to the organization in
a timely manner. Board members should be considered more for
their ability to contribute to the running of a successful company
than for their attachment to any particular game or genre. Besides
forwarding a signed nomination for himself/herself, each nominee
should submit by March 1 a statement not to exceed 100 words
summarizing what he or she can contribute in service to the
Board of Directors of the BPA. The nomination
form is online.
WBC EMPLOYMENT: Those who would like to be considered
for temporary employment during WBC as Junior Room Monitors or Security
staff should contact Don Greenwood at doncon99@toad.net.
Junior Room Monitor applicants should include references and resume pertaining
to employment as teachers, counselors, daycare or other applicable work dealing
with children. Compensation will be based on qualifications and is negotiable.
PBeM
NEWS:
AGE
OF RENAISSANCE: Harald
Henning reigned supreme over 43 others in the latest Age of Renaissance PBeM tournament.
Even though both the first two rounds advanced
runner-ups, Harald didn’t take any chances as he won all three of
his games. The Finalists were Chris Byrd, George Young, Thomas Browne,
Greg Stripes, and our AoR ambassador from Australia, Nicole Kaiyan
who all earned laurels which have been posted on the updated AOR page.
Harald
played well as Paris and really took it to
his competition, winning by a substantial
margin, Runner-up Chris Byrd as Barcelona
could only manage about 75% of Harald’s score.
Rounding out the laurelists, Greg Stripes
(Hamburg) and Thomas Browne (London) finished
tied for third (but by virtue of having
a higher advance total, Thomas Browne earned
3rd place laurels). George Young (Venice)
finished 5th, while Nicole rounded out the
final game as Genoa. You can read a complete
summary of the Final (including Neutral Commentary
from GM John Coussis).
PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN: John Popiden made a complete sweep of BPA honors by
adding the e-mail crown to his WBC victory as the Californian swept
all comers in five rounds of this Single Elimination tournament
begun in 2005. He took the crown against regular WBC foe Robert
Frisby as his successful 1-2 Overrun during the Mechanized Phase
of Turn 4 led to a major penetration of the Virginian’s Soviet
line. Other laurelists were Jim Tracy II,
Forrest Metz, Mauro Faina and Larry Meyers who finished third through
sixth respectively. See the updated PGG page.
Armchair
warrior is proud to host the second BPA-sponsored PGG PBEM
Tournament. This single-elimination tournament will be used to crown
a "Wood-worthy" PGG champion. The second PGG PBeM tournament
is currently underway with 22 players including two from Italy,
one from Poland, and a GM officiating from Japan in a truly international
event. Full
details are available at Armchair
Warrior. Contact jeff.lange@mac.com.
MONTY’S
GAMBLE: A second Single Elimination tournament is scheduled
to start on Jan. 15 hosted by Tod Whitehust.
Check out the details at http://filebox.vt.edu/users/todw/mgm/pbem07/mgmgpbem.html.
Contact Tod Whitehurst at todw@vt.edu to
signup (please include ’mgm’ in the subject of the email)
to join the fun.
NAPOLEONIC WARS UPDATE: After
four Preliminary rounds of four-player games, the top 12 players
have secured their places in the Semi-Final
as the elimination rounds commence. Now entering
the lists for the fifth time are Steven Pleva,
Steven Payne, Geoff Allbutt, Bruce Young,
Darren Kilfara, Scott Panagrosso, Jimmy Eaton,
John Emery, Phil Barcafer, Steven Caler,
Carl Damcke, and Stefan Mecay. Check out
the progress at http://www.kilfara.dsl.pipex.com/TNW.htm.
Anyone interested in running an email
tournament is invited to inquire. BPA
members who would like to see an email
tournament for their favorite game are encouraged
to step forward as the GM of such an
event. BPA does not run tournaments. Rather,
we are an organization of gamers lending
support to one another so such events can
happen. No one cares as much about your hobby as
you do. Get involved. See the requirements
to host a BPA email tournament at http://www.abovethefields.com/top_pbem/pbemgm.htm.
All BPA PBeM tournaments require
current BPA membership when the event
starts. All multi-day paid attendees to WBC
are current BPA members for
the balance of that calendar year. Associate
Calendar year memberships
enabling play in all PBeM events starting
in that year cost only $10.
You need not keep your membership current
in order to finish a PBeM
event. Players may join the BPA throughout
the year. Members are
reminded they can upgrade their current memberships
at any time by
remitting the additional funds. See http://www.boardgamers.org/bpaterms.htm for
details.
Don Greenwood
WBC Convention Director
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