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growing the game - some ideas

Posted By: Ken Larsen
Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 3:58 p.m.

In Response To: growing the game (David Rockwell)

Here are a few of my ideas:

1. More backgammon clubs are needed. There are 19 U.S. states that don't have a backgammon club according to the ABT roster of U.S. clubs. Foremost among them is Pennsylvania. I direct the Durham/Chapel Hill Backgammon Club (North Carolina). I'll be glad to give tips to anyone who wishes to start a club. My club's web site is http://home.roadrunner.com/~kenlarsen/backgammonclub.htm

2. Local clubs should focus on preparing their members for major tournaments ... getting them acclimated to tournament rules and giving them clock experience (by playing penalty-free with the clock until they're comfortable with it).

3. Tournaments should ensure that people are placed in the right division. It must be aggravating for a true novice level player to enter a Novice division event and get blitzed a sandbagger. Ditto for someone playing in the Advanced division. I recommend that the ABT keep track of points won per tournament as a means of identifying who belongs where.

4. I'd love to see a computerized world ranking system that listed the top 1000 or more backgammon players ... all based on tournament points won within the past 5 years ... with more weight placed on recent years (5 for the current year, 4 for last year, etc.). I regard the current once every two years voting for Giants as a pretty lame popularity contest.

Messages In This Thread

• growing the game
  David Rockwell -- Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 3:09 p.m.
  • +1 *NM*
    neilkaz -- Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 3:27 p.m.
  • growing the game - some ideas
    Ken Larsen -- Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 3:58 p.m.
    • growing the game - some ideas
      Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 5:03 p.m.