Nominees | Past Winners

The third leg in the BPA Triple Crown of year end honors is the Sportsmanship Award. Coupled with Caesar honors for prowess on the gameboard and our GM of the Year Award which honors those who sacrifice their time to make WBC the memorable event that it is, the Sportsmanship winner completes our annual virtual Hall of Fame by reminding us that there is no fun to be had with these games without an affable and enjoyable opponent with which to cross vicarious swords.

Doubtless there are many more good sports at WBC than those we acknowledge here. But we limit the nominees to those endorsed by WBC GMs or other observers for outstanding sportsmanship and further reduce their number by selecting only the most fervent endorsements. This year, for the first time, we've also included nominees from our numerous email tournaments.

While some admittedly get caught up in the quest for "wood," the folks listed below subscribe to a higher standard. These are the sportsmen and women of the WBC…the shining example of sportsmanship that we should all aspire to. These folks are the ones that make it bearable for our GMs and attractive to our members by contributeing most to the friendly atmosphere of the conference. Their shining examples contribute to the remarkable esprit de corps and camaraderie for which the WBC has always been noted by those in the know.

Nominations are not accepted for individuals who conceded a victory to allow a beaten opponent to continue in an event in their place. While a player who allows another to play on in "his" place may well have good intentions, doing so is contrary to the purpose of a tournament. A player who concedes a won game is circumventing the rules of the event by dispensing byes in a non-random, unearned manner and is actually committing an unsportsmanlike act in the eyes of some. Such a kindness bestowed upon one player is actually grossly unfair to the other participants who had to win their right to advance and tarnishes the event as a true test of skill.

So without any further ado, let's present the class of 2014—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 2015 membership form and voting for Continuing Trial games before Jan. 1, 2015. Those who have already joined for the 2015 season are encouraged to submit their votes separately. Reward a good sport with our biggest prize…free lodging at the next WBC.

2014 Nominees

1775: Ron Glass helped an opponent throughout his game and pointed out good strategic options at cost to his own chances while teaching the game.

B17: Michael Coomes was on the last straggling plane to finish this year, in part because he helps teach the game to rookies. He has also built several perennial squadron trophies that contibute to the esprit de corps of the and traditions of the group.

Bitter Woods: Tom Gregorio noticed his opponent had left a potential hole in his defensive line with crippling consequences. He pointed out the possibility and allowed his well-versed opponent to correct the error before playing on. He ultimately would lose the game, the tournament, and team points as a result.

Breakout Normandy: Steve Worrel was in a tight game when he noticed his opponent had left a hole in his defenses. He pointed out the omission and offered his opponent an opportunity to correct his lines which was gratefully accepted. He proceded to lose a close contest. When his opponent offered to concede the match to him in light of his earlier sportsmanship so that he could advance instead, he would have none of it. I come by this infrmation first hand.

Cinque Terre: Katharine McCorry endured the whining of a disruptive player who attributed her victory to his own poor play. Katharine remained good natured throughout, ignoring the poor sportsmanship and not letting it ruin her good mood.

Conflict of Heroes: Eric Tolentino exhibited patience in the face of outrageous dice misfortune and continued to coach a new player—evetually costing himself the game.

Diplomacy: Adam Sigal taught a new player the game, then sat out other gaming opportunities to assist him in playing his first game.

Here I Stand: Nick Benedict had drawn an exceedingly good hand for his semifinal and was off to a good start when it was discovered that the deal was faulty. He took the decision to restart with a fresh hand in good humor—and with his karma thus reinforced win the restarted game anyway.

Maria: Bjorn Von Knorring was attending his first WBC while making the trip all the way from his native Sweden. Rather than rush off to experience more of WBC, he spent much of his time aiding the GM in teaching the game and helping to ensure an enjoyable tournament for all.

Merchant of Venus: Gary Dickson, himself an air traveller with limited luggage space, retrived his copy of the game to enable another group to play.

Monsters Menace America: Mark Giddings wasn't even in the tournament but when the semifinals were short a player, he sacrificed several hours of his time to act as a non-advancing eliminator—even though he won.

Open Gaming: Yes, Open Gaming. See what happens when you share your experiences. Tim Horne noticed some strangers struggling with the rules to a game and decided to introduce himself and ask if they needed some help. He sat down, patiently explained everything, and played for about two hours. The next day he was flagged down by the same father/son duo who asked his help with another game. Tim, who was between events, happily came over, explained the rules and saw them through another new game. Sportsmanship, maybe not - but he made one family's first WBC experience a memorable one.

Pirate's Cove: Jason Fisher constanty helped players improve their game situation at the risk of his own position. Making the event fun for everyone was his #1 priority.

Princes of Florence: Doug Smith was in the right place at the right time when a player with misplaced priorities abandoned a game at the midway point. The GM, desperate to find a replacement player so that the game could be salvaged for the other players, convinced Doug to abandon his plans and sit in to finish the game.

Robo Rally: Matthew Kucic was involved in a game that had to be adjudicated and although in a strong position, he conceded rather than subject everyone to a delay in a protracted adjudication process.

Settlers of Catan jr: Julia Carrigan (age 11) was one of seven opening round winners in this event which was one more than could be accomodated in a two round tournament Final. So, one player was randomly eliminated by lottery and that fate befell Julia who was extraordinarily gracious in accepting the outcome. Indeed, she took it better than the GM who was having pangs of remorse and certainly well for someone of such tender years.

Thurn & Taxis: Keith Dent was the last qualifier for the 16-seat semifinals when a 17th player appeared claiming a higher standing. It seems he had never turned in his scoresheet of his second win and therefore was technically ineligible. Keith, not wishing to qualify in this manner, voluntarily gave up his seat. Romain Jacques, higher on the qualifying list than either, and moved by Mr. Dent's sportsmanship, than voluntarily withdrew to make room for them both.

Trans America: Kevin Lewis volunteered to drop out of the semifinals, thereby eliminating the need for a third round as the tournament progressed immediatey to a 6-player Final, rather than making people play through a 7-player semifinal with an odd number of players.

Twilight Struggle: Randall MacInnis volunteered to keep playing another round so as to teach a relatively inexperienced newcomer.

Tzolkin': Nick Henning, who set a WBC record by wiining five events in 2014, was one of the three other players in a semifinal who allowed the fourth player to redo his last move because he forgot to take a permitted action. This resulted in Nick finishing second and failing to advance. Yes, he could have won six!

World At War: Jeff Mathis took most of the week to mentor three new players at great sacrifice to his won playing time.

Yaspahan: Robert Murray and his table mates in a preliminary game allowed a newcomer who misunderstood the rules to count his unplayed gold for points—costing Robert his qualifying win.

HONORABLE MENTION: Others recommended include: Greg Crowe, Mark Smith, Richard Borg, Yoel Weiss, Mark Yoshikawa, Winton LeMoine, Roberto Sanchez, Walt McEachern, Marvin Birnbaum, Barrett Straub, John Riston, George Miksad, Robert Hammond, Dave Blisard, Tim O'Flynn, Bruno Sinigaglio, Barry Shutt, Akihisa Tabei, Rob Olsson, Jim Kramer, Tom DeMarco.

Honorable mentions are eligible for the vote on a write-in only basis due to the nature of their nominations usually having more to do with simply being courteous or helpful as opposed to conduct more often associated with great sportsmanship.

Chuck Stapp 1992 - NJ	Tiger Von Pagel 1993 - FL	Rob Kilroy 1994 - PA	Ian Lange 1995 - AE	Jim Matt 1996 - MI
Ed Connery 1997 - NJ	Frank Sinigaglio 1999- NJ	Robert Sacks 2000- NY	Bret Hildebran 2001 - OH	Kaarin Engelmann 2002, 2008 - VA
James Jordan 2003 - MD	Steve Okonski 2004 - MD	Bruno Sinigaglio 2005 - AK	Phil Barcafer 2006 - PA	Rebecca Hebner 2007- CO
Mark Yoshikawa 2009 - CA	John Emery 2010 - SC	Larry Lingle 2011 - PA	Peter Eldridge 2012 - uk	Emily Wu 2013 - NY