There is one more change for the monthly tournaments in 2014 that I forgot to mention below – first time tournament participants can enter for only $10! If you have been on the fence about playing in a tournament, hopefully this will push you towards joining us!
Just a reminder – the first Monthly Tournament of the year is on January 12th! See the sidebar for location and time details!
With the end of the Social/Open play event held today, we finish the club’s scheduled events for the year. Overall, I think this has been a good, stable year for the club. Attendance at events in general have been up over 2012, and we seem to have an influx of new participants over the past couple of months which should carry over nicely into the new year.
I plan on having the same schedule of 1 monthly tournament, 1 Social/Open play event, and 2 chouettes per month, as this is what my current availability allows. If anyone would like to assist as far as event hosting so that we are able to expand the calendar, that would certainly be appreciated. Please feel free to reach out and let me know.
There will be some changes to the format of the monthly tournaments next year, as well as how Masters Points are assigned. Chris Yep has been instrumental in helping me formulate these changes and we feel they are an improvement over the current system. It is still a modified double-elimination tournament, with one more tweak. Here is a quick summary of the tournament changes coming in January:
So, in short: more money, less time, sightly different points system. 🙂
All of these changes are now reflected on the website. If there are any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out and let me know!
I want to thank you all for what I consider to be a successful 2013, and I look forward to another year of good times, fun games, and hopefully a lot of growth in 2014!
The final tournament of the year is complete, and the Masters Points for the year have been finalized! With an outstanding 6 tournament wins for the year, and a total of 446 points, Bob Hickey has taken the title of Columbus Backgammon Club 2013 Player of the Year, and with it a customized doubling cube as a trophy.
In a points race that finished much differently that last year, Bob took the lead early and never looked back. Mike Rezai kept pace for most of the year, but Bob pulled away over the final 3 months of the year. Mike Rezai takes second place overall with a total of 375 points. Last year’s winner, Chris Yep, rounds out the podium at a final total of 248 points.
Congratualtions to Bob on a well earned victory!
The threat of inclement weather in the Central Ohio weather kept our attendance down to a respectable 7 players for the last monthly tournament of the year, but it was not enough to keep Mike Rezai out of the winner’s circle. John Bath and David Rearick battled in the Consolation Final, with David coming out on top for second place.
In attendance were 2 new folks – Tad Mitchell, who played this month, and Dan Hanley who spectated this time around.
Congratulations to Mike on his third tournament win of the year, and welcome to Tad and Dan!
Thank you to everyone for attending! The next Monthly Tournament will be held on January 12th.
Masters Points standings for the year can be found here.
Ready for Prime Time, the team representing the Columbus Backgammon Club in the USBGF National Club Team Tournament, lost in their semi-final match to team Franklee Unflappable from the DC area. The tiebreakers seem to indicate that our team leaves with a 4th place result!
An excellent effort from team members Chris Yep, David Rearick, and Jason Marshall, and a great result for the club!
Ready for Prime Time, the team representing the Columbus Backgammon Club has earned a spot in the national semifinals with a quarterfinal round 2-1 win. This means that our team can finish no lower than fourth, but first place is still in their sights.
I will try to send out notices as to when the matches will be played on GridGammon as timing permits.
Good luck to team members Chris Yep, David Rearick, and Jason Marshall!
The five players that showed up this month played a round-robin tournament for this month’s points. After all 5 rounds had been played, points leader Bob Hickey stood victorious over the field with his 6th tournament win of the year. Left tied for second place were Chris Yep, David Steinberg, and Jason Marshall.
Congratulations to Bob on his win this month. Hopefully we will see everyone at the final tournament of the year, scheduled to be held on December 8th!
The current Masters Points standings can be found here.
Mike Rezai has generously donated 4 more books to the club library. The new titles available to be borrowed are:
Thank you very much, Mike!
The top 7 players in the Master Points standings were all present for this month’s Monthly Tournament. After all rounds were completed, Bob Hickey came out on top as this month’s winner. Chris Yep took second place with a win over Jason Marshall in the Consolation Final. With only 2 tournaments left in the year, Bob has a near lock on Player of the Year honors, but anything can happen.
Congratulations to Bob on his win this month! The next monthly tournament will be held on November 10th.
The current Masters Points standings can be found here.
In an effort to get more visibility for the club, and as a result gain some membership, I have created a Meetup group on Meetup.com. Early results are encouraging, as we have already seen some new faces at the Social/Open play events and the Chouettes from this effort. (Welcome, Susan and Michael!)
If you are already registered on Meetup.com, I would encourage you to join the new group. It’s free to register if you don’t have an account, and you might find some other groups that you would be interested in.