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BGonline.org Forums
Why don't we all agree on this vision?
Posted By: Phil Simborg
Date: Sunday, 17 March 2013, at 4:53 a.m.
My Vision of the Future
It is 10 years from now, and I am taking my granddaughter to a backgammon tournament where she will compete against dozens of other teenagers. All the kids who enter get to attend several seminars to help improve their game and they all walk away with prizes….even the losers….all provided by sponsors. In addition to backgammon, there are some really fun, educational scheduled activities and sightseeing (a trip to the local museum and zoo).
I, and the rest of my family, am competing in a series of events of different kinds with different variations of backgammon. We got to choose between the main, standard competition, Nackgammon, Doubles, and some fun side events such as backgammon-to-lose, random-gammon, and cancel-gammon once we are out of the main event.
Our entry fees were relatively small. A one-time fee of $50 to enter the event and $25 for each side event. There is no money to be won unless one of us entered the Pro division, which is televised and had a lot of money added from sponsors. Oh, by the way, there are close to 1000 participants at this event. Also, the venue is lovely and there are banquets and tours and all kinds of group activities scheduled to make the weekend a true, family destination enjoyable for all. Tournament scheduling leaves plenty of time for schedule leisure events and sightseeing as all matches are clocked and start and end exactly as scheduled.
Everyone is a card-carrying member of the World Backgammon Federation, and they run the event , and they pay a professional staff well to make sure everything runs smoothly. Money is provided by the entry fees, reimbursement from room sales at the hotel, and sponsors, and membership fees. Sponsors provide extra money for the Pro Division (and the entry fees and side pools for the pro division are higher, but all but the pros are playing strictly for the chance to win some trophies and prizes, but mostly for the glory of winning points. Participants are also are fighting for points to get an all-expenses-paid trip to the Backgammon Olympics which rotates around the globe every year. The top 6 people in each of the 4 divisions of play get a free ride to the Backgammon Olympics. This year it is in Paris, and next year in Sydney, and then Rio. (By the way, the same people who do such a great job of running tournaments now would be the most-likely candidates to run these major events, and they will make even more money, without risk, than they do now.)
Lower fees mean more people; more participation; more total dollars; more sponsors; and better, more exciting tournaments for all. World-wide cooperation and planning means a bigger, better, more unified and better-funded international effort to grow the game.
This, I hope, is the vision that all who love tournament backgammon share with me and many others. It may not happen, or it may take a little longer than 10 years, but why not try? If we have people in the game who do not share this vision, and they happen to be in control of tournaments or groups, why not forge ahead anyway? Why let them stop us from trying? They can keep doing their own thing the way they always have if they don't want to be a part of the future. We don't have to "fight" them, or them us. What the hell are we waiting for?
Do you share this vision? This beautiful picture of the future? If you do, raise your voice and be heard and be part of the solution. Don’t let people who hold us back from even a chance at this future because they are stuck in the old paradigm or they are more concerned about maintaining control than they are for the growth and health of the game. Don’t let people with lack of vision control our destiny. Join your local country's federation (and/or the USBGF) and do what you can to encourage policies and programs that support this vision. Do your best to help convince those who stand in the way to become part of the solution as well.
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