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BGonline.org Forums
Updates from live events - An opinon
Posted By: Michael Petch
Date: Wednesday, 26 January 2011, at 5:09 a.m.
I understand that there is a lot of work involved in the logistics of running a tournament, and the volunteers have limited time, and that there can be technical reasons why certain things are not possible. So my comment isn't meant to suggest that they are doing anything wrong. I am making an observation based on many instances I have seen over the years among the people I associate with.
One thing that inevitably occurs DURING a live event is that people who are not there wish to know who is winning, or how their friends are doing. I see this a lot among the social/intermediate/advanced players on the more social sites. Often information come in a haphazard form from the event as incomplete text messages, emails, phone calls, info procured from a post on BGO (R.G.B etc) or from a FaceSpace update etc. Often this information is incomplete. For instance most (not all) BGO posts from the events usually exclude the novice/beginner intermediate/advanced flights, and focus on the Open where the big names are.
My comment is meant as a way to promote backgammon in small ways. I think that if information can be made available across all the skill levels in a more real time fashion in a more central place, it could help promote the game. I know a lot of social/intermediate/advanced players who are very curious about knowing how things are going, and wish to follow their friends (They may not even care about the Open decision players).
I'm aware that the location/locale can make this difficult (especially if it from a casino). What I'd like to see (if possible) is a site that could contain semi-real time updates where people could go to to check out any division and any player. I know that Chiva has tried this with some success.
It is an area where BG Federations (ie, WBF, BIBA, USBGF etc) work more closely with Tournament staff of events in order to work together to provide a place or service where staff can post brackets online, giving a central place for any interested party to view the current state of the event. Yes, I am aware the final results ultimately end up at FlintBG but that is after the event.
It may seem silly but among the intermediate/advanced/social players there is a fair amount of interest in knowing how people they know personally are doing. It is this group of players that is far larger in size than the Expert/WC group.
I feel that a larger emphasis on making backgammon more interesting or more accessible (even online) to the Social/Intermediate/Advance players could help promote the game. One can not deny that Backgammon is more than just Experts/World Class players. If you can keep these people more engaged when they are not at an event, they might be more interested in trying an event for themselves in the future.
Just my 1.98 cents.
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