| |
BGonline.org Forums
100% Agreement with Phil
Posted By: Taper_Mike In Response To: Wow !! Falafel vs. MCG Exhibition Match (Phil Simborg)
Date: Tuesday, 12 February 2013, at 6:16 a.m.
It scares me to admit it, but I agree wholeheartedly with every point Phil makes. As a relative newcomer to the tournament scene, mine is the perspective of a mid-level player. Playing against XG (in Tutor mode), my PR is about 8.
At my local San Francisco Bay Area club, Backgammon by the Bay, I began playing as an intermediate in the summer of 2010. In the spring of last year, after success among the intermediates, I was forced to move up to Open Division. (This was in part due to the loud braying of my friend Ken Bame, who writes modestly here, but speaks a bit louder when the tournament is on). Now I face the likes of Kit Woolsey, Jeremy Bagai and Ted Chee when we stage our small bi-weekly tournaments. Right below them is another handful of very skilled players, including Ken. Needless to say, I am a big underdog against them all.
I would not mind playing these giants if the entry fee were not so high. It’s $80 to play in the open here. Frankly, that is more than I care to pay for a drubbing I can get for free just by turning on XG. Director Ted Chee is nice enough to let me enter at $40, which I appreciate, and he adjusts any prizes I win accordingly. But I still have the feeling that I am just there to contribute the discretionary entertainment funds of the stronger players.
This mirrors my experiences in the three ABT events where I have entered the Intermediate Division. The 1st Annual Golden Gate Open was my first. It carried a $200 entrance fee for intermediates. Not unnaturally, I lost in my first match of the Main Flight. Later, I won one match in the Fighters Bracket, and two others in the Last Chance. I paid $200 to play six matches. One out of eight, of course, lost three matches in a row, but even with my three victories, the price seemed a little steep.
In San Francisco, there is not much to be done. Presently, we have Beginner, Intermediate and Open divisions. The Open typically draws between 14 and 18 players, so we do not really have enough regulars to field a fourth division. Were there to be another division, Phil makes a good point. The fees and prizes should be kept low, so that players like me would be more interested, and players like Kit and Jeremy could be banished to the Championship level, with bigger rewards awaiting them.
Mike
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.