| |
BGonline.org Forums
NY Metro Open 2016 Recap/Review - Long
Posted By: Albert Steg In Response To: NY Metro Open 2016 Recap/Review - Long (Stick)
Date: Thursday, 14 January 2016, at 4:31 p.m.
Regarding the 'elite room' topic, as a non-elite player I'd say that while I didn't feel excluded or marginalized by the exclusivity around that room, I did miss the presence of the Giants in the main playing room. I think it's pretty generally agreed that the presence of the leading lights of backgammon encourages attendance all the way down the line, and there was a certain 'emptiness' in the quite crowded main room because looking around I wasn't seeing any Giants.
One for the great successes of this year's NYMO was the very large turnout of beginner-level players, something that we should all be excited about, and which Lynn should take great pride in, even as she digests the various suggestions of how the tournament might have been better managed in particular ways. Somehow she is drawing new bodies into live backgammon. I enjoyed speaking with many of these players as well as many intermediates I met in the 2-pt mini-matches, offering encouragement and small lessons, and I really wished I could have pointed out to them some of the 'stars' in the room -- because a lot of these youngish/newer players were clearly dazzled by the excitement of the game and a certain glamour surrounding the masters of the game.
The one time I played in the 'elite' room -- my streamed 2nd-round match with Victor -- I found it hot as balls in there and thought it ironic that the Giants were playing in this cramped, windowless room while the main room enjoyed a spacious room with enormous windows. No envy here.
Perhaps for the preliminary days the registration desk could be in the hallway, until the main room is available.
The placement of the screen for the streamed matches was *perfect* (if only the board could have taken up the whole screen!). Having it in the open passageway made it easy to drop by for a few plays, casually coming and going without disturbing the committed watchers. A great way to fill a gap in time, and it really added a nice learning-opportunity dimension to the tournament.
A big benefit of having the USA/World finals streamed from a separate room is that the spectators were free to talk openly about what they were seeing. While it would be fun to see the two teams at the table, only a few could have gotten close enough to truly see the play and there would have been a constant chatter of "What's the roll?" going on.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.