WBC
closes to new events on March 1.
Century | Trial
Events | Sponsored
Trials | Alternate
Trials
CENTURY: 100
events compose the Century Group of featured events which are supported
by multiple prize levels ranging from two to six plaques and a
Centurion shirt, based on a formula using recent statistics of attendance
and player hours. Those 100 slots were pre-determined by performance the
previous year and require only the commitment of a BPA member to GM the
event by the Feb. 28, deadline. Failure of a GM to submit a suitable Event
Form for the event by the deadline will drop it from the Century
Group to be replaced by the highest ranking alternate in the annual
membership vote.
PROBATION STATUS: In the past, we were
reluctant to penalize players of an event for a GM’s failure to honor the
commitment made when submitting an Event Form. However, this has made it
difficult to provide sufficient incentive to maintain the higher standards
we expect from a WBC GM. Consequently, since WBC exists solely as an organization
of volunteers banding together for the betterment of our hobby, we feel that
it is time for the entire membership to bear the burden of that responsibility.
The most important factor in whether an event gets run is the availability
of a volunteer GM with sufficient passion for the event to ensure that it
is run correctly. All too many of us are more than willing to let someone
else bear the burden of being a GM—with the result that we rely too heavily
on the same volunteers year after year—many of whom do double duty in
multiple events because others won’t step forward to run one. Starting now,
the players of an event will bear a little more of that responsibility to
provide a satisfactory GM or the event will not be run. Should a GM fail
to meet our minimum standards, that person will be banned from running an
event for one year and the event itself will go on Probation.
An event on
Probation loses one status level; i.e., from Century to Trial, or from
Trial to Ineligible. Events on Probation may continue to be run as a Continuing
Trial provided they survive the membership vote (see the next paragraph).
The effects of Probation last one year. Therefore, an event run as a Continuing
Trial may re-earn its way into the Century in the same manner as all other
Trial events.
CONTINUING
TRIAL SELECTION: WBC caps events
at 125—excluding Juniors events; 100 Century events and 25 Continuing
Trials. Additional events above this ceiling may be added by Vendors and
Sponsors or as Legacy Century events by the Board of Directors. Given the
likely addition of new events added by membership vote, a dozen events
run one year may be ineligible to return the next year. Consequently,
the process by which Continuing Trial events are selected is as follows:
25 Trial slots
composed of either new games or readmitted Trials drawing the most votes in
the Annual Event Survey during the December Membership Drive are added
at the end of Membership voting on Jan. 1. Regardless of vote, the
winning events also require a GM commitment by the Feb. 28 deadline, or
they will be replaced by an alternate with a GM commitment.
Continuing Trials are
limited to 25 events for which an acceptable Event form has been submitted
by a participating GM by Feb. 28. Events not ranking
in the Top 25 are ineligible unless selected by a Vendor,
Sponsor, or the BPA. Should any of those top 25 events fail to have a satisfactory
GM commitment by Feb. 28, BPA will fill the remaining slots based
on the availability of GMs and suitability as determined by BPA in matters
of balance between genres and subject matter.
The Annual Membership
Event Survey is important. In summary, when deciding
what events you should support on your membership survey, first check the Orphan
List.
Do NOT vote for any of the 104 Century events. Those events are
already in—a vote for them is wasted and
does nothing to alter its chances of inclusion. DO vote for any event
that you wish to see included that is not already listed in
the 104 Century events. We endorse those events listed as Alternates for
which a GM commitment has already been made.
All events require
a BPA member acting as GM to
submit a satisfactory Event Form no later than Feb. 28, or the
event will not be run. Prospective GMs should review the GM
Guidelines to ensure they are familiar with the most recent version.
Events will be reserved for the previous GM who satisfactorily completed
all obligations until Jan. 1. After that date, any event not already
taken may be run by the first BPA member submitting a satisfactory event
form by Feb. 28. The Orphans list will be updated
approximately weekly between Jan. 1 when reservations expire and March 1 when
event submissions are no longer accepted. All requested event times are
approximate and subject to change when the final schedule is made.