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54 Entries, 7
Tournaments, 39 Players, £1400 Prize Fund,
Shino wins the Jackpot.
I was north of Sydney on Sunday morning so I jumped on a train into
Darling Harbour where I checked out the Sydney Boat Show. The largest boat
was about 60 metres long. I considered buying it but ran out of time to do
so because I was due at Georges Bar just along the Quay for a Backgammon
Tournament. We started with a chouette then, when there were 7 players
present, we had a tournament in which I lost in super quick time so we had
another chouette in which I regained some of my losses (but not all) and
at 5.00 o'clock I was given a lift by a player to the airport. I rummaged
in my pocket to find a ticket for London - there was I knew a Bg event in
Camden on Tuesday evening and so I headed home to see some good friends.
It's good to be home. I arrived at The Lockside Lounge at about 5.00
o'clock and was thrilled to see a head to head happening outside the bar
in the sunshine. Jo was the next to arrive, always in good time is Jo,
next was Adam who was once again going to run the evening hence leaving me
free to chat with everybody - thanx to Adam for not only this but also for
keeping the Bg in Camden gravy train so well on the rails in my absence.
It's good to be home. As players arrived I was shaking hands and kissing
cheeks ten to the dozen. It's good to be home.
7.00 pm and the Jackpot Auction was kicked off by Adam. 12 players
registered so the entry fee was bided up until only 8 players remained.
The entry fee became £110 and I helped Adam out by collecting £50 and new
£20 notes galore. The draw was done and we moved onto Tournament 2.
Another 4 players decided they wanted to play for £25 so T2 became an 8
player, £25 entry 7 pointer Tournament. There were then 12 players
interested in a £10 entry tournament so we kicked off another 1 and a half
tournaments and as other players arrived over the next few minutes the
half tournament became full and another 4 players had arrived so we had 36
active players by 7.30 pm. Rock on Bg in Camden. It's good to be home.
Phil Churton was on course to win his second Jackpot in a row until he met
Shino in the final. That said you'll be able to understand that Phil
didn't quite manage it (well two holidays in the sun in one season is a
bit greedy!... says a man who's just been on walkabout for 6 months!!!) so
it's congratulations to Shino on his first Bg in Camden Jackpot win.
For more photos click here
There were a total of 7 tournament this month - who were the other
winners? Check out the
Tournament Charts
and see who did what.
One other match in particular was played in what used to be "The Pit" but
is now, due to a refurbishment of the Lockside Lounge, "The
Platform." Despite the change in lay out the area still gives a feel of
being more casual than other tables. Other players were watching the match
and I gather were making what I'm sure they felt were some harmless
remarks over the players play. However one of the two players didn't like
it but didn't feel inclined to say so. Instead of asking or telling the
spectators to be quite or even taking to the T.D. he elected to quit the
match. This marred his evening. The entire ethos of Bg in Camden has
always been "strong play according to the rules." Kibiziting is
against the rules. Silence etc. by spectators must be maintained otherwise
a player can be given an advantage or disadvantage by a spectator. Head to
head backgammon is a battle between two players. So even if a player does
not seem to mind a little banter please spectators bear in mind the rules
and the etiquette and abide by them. Also on the same note if you feel
aggrieved in any was shape or form please come and tell the T.D.
Thanx.
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Summary:
This was the 24th Bg in Camden so given that the event is now 2 years old
it's time to take a look at the overall performance of the Club. Let's
start with the stats.
The averages are thus:
39 players turn up per month,
8 Tournaments per month,
62 entries per month and
an average of £1031 is played for per month.
I don't know of another Club in the UK that has the same high number of
players per month. This certainly rivals both Biba and Gammonitis though
I've always maintained and still maintain that looking at the stats in
this light does not make for a level playing field because they both run
weekend events and not evening events as Bg in Camden is. It's far easier
for players to turn up to an evening event that is within easy travelling
distance from their home and does not involve them staying overnight in a
hotel which automatically increases the cost of attending. So we should
really do the comparison with other evening run Clubs. Manchester and
Liverpool are probably the next best attended Clubs but Bg in Camden is
London based and London has a far higher population than those cities so
once again this can also be considered an unlevel playing field. In
anything on this basis Bg in Camden is lacking in attendance. Or am I just
being over-ambitious? I think not. Backgammon is getting more coverage
these days and it's a natural occurrence of that that more players will
come out of the woodwork.
An average of £1031 played for per month is also highly impressive. But
does it tell the full story? I think not. It does say that the big money
players are coming along and laying down their cash and that's good for
the high profile of the game so that's to be encouraged.
But my worry, and
it must be said that I tend to worry about things rather than ham things
up (poor marketing I admit but I prefer good old plain honesty than
headline grabbing rubbish), is that such high figures being played for is
deterring low money and novice players from coming along. Those players
are the life blood of the game. There have now been 234 people attend Bg
in Camden. Yet we have an average of only 39 players per month. That's a
very high "wastage" figure. Too high. So this needs to be addressed. Bring
back into the fold the low money players and the non money players. So
next month let's try a Round Robin Non-Doubling Cube £5 Optional Pool
Tournament. This will give those players a chance to play all others of
their standard yet dabble with a little cash play if they so wish.
Forthcoming Events:
MSO England will be in Potters Bar later this month.
Backpacker @ Biba at the end of the month and start of September.
Backgammon in Camden Tue 4th September.
By 4th September I should also have the website for
Backgammon
Live in London 9th, 10th, 11th November 2007
up and
running.
That means registration will be open by then
and hopefully Chrissi can be with us again at Bg in Camden in September
to take your registrations for Bg Live in London.
And pre-registration is HIGHLY ADVISED.
Last year I had the displeasure of telling a number of players that the
event was fully booked and there was not a seat available for them in the
main events.
Please please do not put me in the position of doing that to you this
year.
Simply sign up as soon as you can or at least by the start of October.
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