January BPA News
From: Donald greenwood (doncon99toad.net)
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:14:49 -0800 (PST)
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.See the details at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc06/sportman.htm

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 at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/trialvote.htm

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 at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/orphans.htm. Any event listed as Open needs a GM commitment by Feb. 28th or it will not be held. Prospective GMs are urged to reread the newly revised GM Guidelines at http://www.boardgamers.org/gmguide.htm paying particular attention to the tie-breaking rules for MESE events which have been modified since the prior distribution. See the upcoming Century and eligible Trial events on the Orphans Page at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/orphans.htm

WAM: The next BPA gaming conference with laurels up for grabs is Winter Activation Meeting January 25th-28th 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. Get all the details at http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/wam07ann.htm

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. See http://www.boardgamers.org/bpaterms.htm for details.

2006 UPDATES: The 2006 chapter summation of our Virtual History page is now on line at http://www.boardgamers.org/archive/history06.htm to commemorate WBC 2006. Supporting archives for Laurels and event wins are likewise provided at http://www.boardgamers.org/l_sumsall.htm and http://www.boardgamers.org/medals.htm

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 February 28th 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 1st 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

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 [at] 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 CHAMPION: 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 at http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook/AORpge.htm

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) at http://www.geocities.com/aorbpa2005/2005home.htm


PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN CHAMPION: John Popiden made a complete sweep of BPA honors by adding the Email 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. New Laurel totals are now posted at http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook/pggpge.htm

PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN: 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 http://armchair-warrior.tripod.com/id2.html Contact jeff.lange [at] mac.com

MONTY'S GAMBLE: A second Single Elimination tournament is scheduled to start on January 15th hosted by Tod Whitehust. Check out the details at http://filebox.vt.edu/users/todw/mgm/pbem07/mgmgpbem.html Contact Tod Whitehurst at todw [at] 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-Finals 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.
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