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BGonline.org Forums
Boards and Money needed for Students
Posted By: phil Simborg In Response To: Boards and Money needed for Students (Bill Riles)
Date: Wednesday, 12 May 2010, at 8:39 a.m.
I, too, learned to play on the back of a checker board and that was my only set for a long time. That does NOT MEAN, however, that kids today are the same way or that everyone is the same way. Having a nice, reasonable-sized board that is easy to carry, set up, and use, is likely, for some, to be more appealing and might keep them playing more and longer. If you don't agree, that's fine, then don't donate to or support a program of supplying decent boards at a discount to young kids just learning the game.
It's easy to sit back and shoot holes in any idea anyone comes up with the promote the game or to improve the game. Please, come up with an idea you think would be good and I'll be happy to give you some negatives or reasons why it won't work.
You're not always right, and what you think is right for yourself is not always right for everyone else. In the meantime, Perry, Joe Russell, Don Berecz and myself have been spending time finding and testing decent boards at a discount, and we've found some. We are coming up with money out of our pockets to get these boards into the hands of students we think will enjoy the game more and play more because they have them. Several kind, interested people including Neil Kazaross, Jim Allen, Pek French, Kurt Thompson, Greg Merriman, myself and my son have all donated money to help subsidize the cost of these boards.
And the boards is only one small part of the effort: we are putting together teaching plans and actually helping teach the students, giving our own time (and a lot of it) freely.
We don't want your undying thanks and admiration and love for what we're doing...we're doing it because we enjoy doing something we think will help the game grow. But it would be nice not to be undermined and criticized and hear nothing but negatives if you don't happen to like that we're doing something we think is good, like getting nice boards in their hands inexpensively.
So you liked to play on a towel and didn't need a good board? Good for you. You started with bottle caps and now you're one of the best players in the world. Whoop de do! Good for you.
If you don't think it's a good idea for us to be spending our time and money trying to get decent boards into their hands, then come up with a better, constructive idea or do something yourself to help the cause instead of just shooting down new ideas and being negative. Become part of the solution, or at least, stay out of the way of people who are trying to.
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