Sportsman of the Year | Trial Events Named | Survey Results | WAM XI | New EuroQuest Ownership | 2012 Patrons | Euro Coordination | BoD Nominations | PBEM

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR PETER ELDRIDGE:  BPA is pleased to announce that one of our repeat overseas visitors, Peter Eldridge of the UK, has been named 2012 Sportsman of the Year by vote of the membership in our Annual Membership Drive. Peter was one of 22 worthy nominees named on our membership ballot and garnered 13% of the votes in narrowly defeating another Peter, CABS own Pete Stein, by a single vote. Both owed their nominations to chivalrous behavior in close contests and the Sportsmanship Award was ultimately decided in an election that was every bit as evenly matched. In becoming our first foreign Sportsmanship winner, Mr Eldridge demonstrated that we colonials have finally forgiven that little matter of burning our capital during the War of 1812. Or, perhaps given the cynical nature of our current politics, he was rewarded for his ancestors' foresight. In any case, Peter will receive a free room at the next WBC in addition to being admitted to our Sportsmanship Hall of Fame. Other nominees who fared well in the membership vote were Barry Shutt who finished third with 9% of the vote, Roger Taylor at 8%, and Evan Hitchings and John Sharp with 7% each.

2013 WBC TRIAL EVENTS NAMED: BPA thanks its early commitment 2013 members for participating in our Annual Membership Drive and the associated voting process that qualified this year's Continuing Trial events. A record number of votes were cast and the amount needed to make the cutoff grew 5% despite the presence of 12 more eligible candidates on the ballot. To no one's surprise, long standing favorite Puerto Rico led the vote to retain Trial status after being dropped from the Century ranks for failure to submit a required report. The only question is who will step up to assume GM duties for this major event. Gaining entrance for the first time were Virgin Queen, Castles of Burgundy, Cities & Knights and Andean Abyss. Returning events of yesteryear granted a second life by the voters were Naval War and Tikal. Seemingly dropping from the ranks for the first time were Leaping Lemmings, Win, Place & Show, Founding Fathers, Caylus, Conquest of Paradise, Kaiser's Pirates, King Philip's War, Age of Steam and Twilight Imperium. More details, including the complete voting breakdown, are provided on our Trial Vote page.

The top 25 events are now eligible for inclusion in WBC 2013 upon receipt of a suitable event form by March 15 from a current BPA member willing to serve as the GM. Events for which no such GM is forthcoming by that date will be replaced by BPA from those events on the Alternate list with a GM Commitment on record. Vendors and sponsors may also select new events or add those from the Alternate list. To be added to the Alternate list, an event must have an event form submitted to BPA by a willing GM who is a current member.

GMs are reminded to renew their memberships AND submit an event form by Jan. 31 to be among the first events assigned when the Orphans List (Preliminary Event List) is updated.  This new method of handling GM reservations is intended to increase involvement among the membership in GM commitments. Even if you are not selected to run an event your offer will highlight you as a possible assistant for that event - and willing assistants are in great demand. Some of your fellow members run and/ or assist many events. They could use some help.

2012 SURVEY RESULTS: The results of the recent membership survey have been posted in the form of a new report from the Director's Chair designed to double as an informative FAQ page with everything you ever wanted to know about WBC. Warning: it's a long read, so settle down with a favorite beverage and comfy chair before you attempt to take it all in.

WAM XI ALMOST HERE:  Next up is the eleventh Winter Activation Meeting for players of Card Driven Wargames to be held at the Timonium Holiday Inn, in Timonium, MD January 24-27, 2013. The four tournaments will be Twilight Struggle, Washington's War, Hannibal and Labyrinth plus the usual open gaming opportunities. Full schedule and pricing information is available at http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/wam13ann.htm.

NEW EUROQUEST OWNERSHIP: The Boardgame Players Association announces that it is no longer involved in the ownership or management of the Euroquest gaming convention. Euroquest has grown from its origins as a BPA mini-con to a full fledged convention in its own right, and will operate as such from now on. Games Club of Maryland, which has heretofore acted as our management team for that conference, has graciously agreed to continue the convention and is now the sole owner of that entity. Laurels earned at the 2012 Euro Quest will count towards the BPA's 2013 Caesar Award but will be the last Euroquest laurels entered into our system. Please direct all future Euroquest correspondence to Michele Mazzola (gcom.president@gmail.com).

2012 PATRONS: BPA's list of Patrons for 2012 is now posted. Please report any inaccuracies to conventiondirector@boardgamers.org no later than Feb. 28 to ensure an accurate listing in the upcoming Yearbook.

EURO COORDINATION: Eric Freeman is again volunteering to coordinate Euro events in an attempt to minimize scheduling conflicts. If you'd  like to be part of this effort, contact freemaneric@comcast.net.

2013 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, 7766 Valley View Court, Hickory, NC 28602 no later than Feb. 28 to be eligible for election in that year. NOTE: Email nominations are NOT acceptable, nor can a member nominate more than one member for the Board. 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, each nominee should submit by March 1 a statement not to exceed 100 words summarizing what they can contribute in service to the Board of Directors of the BPA. The nomination form is on line at http://www.boardgamers.org/bpanom.htm.

PBeM NEWS:

SCHULZ WINS SPEED CIRCUIT: 37 drivers competed over two heats to qualify 12 of their number for the feature race on the new Montreal circuit. Three hard laps forced only one retirement - and that was just before the last corner of the third lap. Jeff Cornett led for most of the race only to be passed on the last straight by usual WBC GM Doug Schulz for the win. John Shaheen took third place laurels followed by Tim Mossman with a pair of Italian drivers, Turyko Suky and Guiseppe Incorpora, taking 5th and 6th place laurels respectively. More details and updated laurels can be found at http://boardgamers.org/yearbook12/sctpge.htm.

PATHS OF GLORY:  The 4th BPA PBeM tournament for Paths of Glory is scheduled for a Feb. 1 start on ACTS. Details are available at https://sites.google.com/site/pathsofglory2013/. To register email the GM at preese444@gmail.com.

WASHINGTON'S WAR: GM Keith Wixson will start a new Washington’s War PBeM tournament on Feb. 1. The format will be Swiss-Elimination with four rounds of Swiss play followed by three elimination rounds for eight quarterfinalists. Games will be played via ACTS. For details, see the tournament webpage. To sign up for the tournament please send an email to keith.wixson@verizon.net. Players must have a current 2013 BPA membership (at least Associate level) as of Jan. 26 in order to participate. Memberships do not need to be current to remain in the tournament to completion, but will be verified prior to the start of play.

PRO GOLF: Its time again for that ultimate test of skill: PBeM Pro Golf! Can you steal Yoshi's green jacket? The fourth annual BPA PBeM rendition begins on April 1, approximately one week before the 2013 Masters tournament begins.  Email GM Bruce Monnin (bdmonnin@nktelco.net) to enter. For details, see the event webpage.

ADVANCED CIVILIZATION: Signups are now open for the 2013 Advanced Civilization PBeM tournament. The event structure will involve two concurrent preliminary games with game winners advancing to a Final round.  The full event should take approximately 14 months.  Full information is located at http://bpa-civ.rol-play.com/. To enter, email the GM at kevinyouells@gmail.com before March 1.

NAPOLEONIC WARS PROGRESS: The Napoleonic Wars PBeM tournament is coming down the homestretch with Rich Shipley in the driver's seat as the only player to win with all three nations and the only British victor. It has not been Britain's finest hour. Thus far, no game has gone to a fifth turn. For the latest result, check out the website at https://sites.google.com/site/wilphe/home/tnw-2-5-2012/stan.

WAR AT SEA PROGRESS: The Ninth BPA War At Sea PBeM Tournament began on Sept. 1, 2012.  The single elimination event drew 41 entrants and is now down to just 10 players remaining. Ed Menzel is the only player to reach the Final Four so far.  Phil Watkins, Vince Meconi, Rob Drozd and Michael Ussery are also still alive in the Elite Eight. For the bracket for this year, see http://www.nktelco.net/bdmonnin/was-brack-2012.htm.

BATTLES OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION PROGRESS: The 2012 Battles of the American Revolution PBeM Tournament got under way with 24 entrants for the first round. The tournament features play of every BAR title in chronological order by year. There will be six preliminary rounds and players may play in any or all of the preliminary rounds regardless of record. Those who score highest in the preliminary rounds will advance to four rounds of single elimination play.  For more information see http://www.ohiovalleygamers.org/boarpbem.html.

VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC SF RESULTS: The highest seed eliminated the lowest remaining seed in the last semifinal. The USN finally dominated an entire round. Daniel Blumentritt, the tenth seed, escaped the dreaded bye to move into the Final vs. Tim Tow, the 12th seed, coming off his own bye. The 14th seed has won the tournament before, but we won't see that record fall this time as Rob Drozd (16th seed) is eliminated. However, whether Tim or Daniel prevails in the Final, we'll crown a new player with a major championship! Check out the details at http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_bpa/vitp_bpa_single_elim_11.htm.

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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. See the BPA Terms page for details.

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/

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