wizard
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| posted on 7-3-2007 at 02:48 PM |
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WIZARD TOURNAMENT 2007 Niagara Falls, Ontario
2007 TOURNAMENT IN NIAGARA FALLS
Final Six Results
.........NAME...........................2 gm score total..Master Points
1. Vince Iannuzzi (trapizoid)...........510..............90
2. Rick Schulz...............................490..............75
3. Mark McIntosh.(wizard_major)....440..............60
4. Mike Stine.(Denny Crane)..........420..............45
5. Marco Sapiano.(mactonight).......340..............30
6. James Penn .............................320..............15
Synopsis
The 2007 event was billed as UNMISSABLE and from the feedback that I have received it lived up to its billing. I can not be objective about it as I
was not able to relax and socialize so my comments are largely based on reports received from others.
Welcoming Reception
The Friday evening affair was a tremendous success. Much of the credit for this must go to the weather which cooperated to provide a perfect evening
for outside fun and games. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out with the welcoming greetings, serving the food and tending the bar. Finger
snacks included fruit trays, vegetable trays, cheese trays and seafood trays. The open bar included all the popular liquors, a selection of 3 types of
beer, both red and white wine and a powerful Rum Punch. There were 85 in attendance and I believe everyone was very satisfied with the soiree. A
silent auction was held and a number of door prizes were handed out in a draw. It was great to finally put a face to many of the names on the internet
site. Naturally one of the favorite activities was friendly pick-up games of Wizard. Although the bar was in a room which opened onto the terrace most
of the activity took place outside. The third floor balcony was spacious and afforded an unforgettable view of the Niagara River and the 2 falls.
(Rainbow Falls & American Falls). The entire evening was capped off with a magnificent fireworks display which illuminated the night sky above the
Falls. Truly a magic moment in time!
Tournament
Thr registration process and refund of dseposits was a trifle slow and is one area which will require modification. However after registration
individuals were ushered into a separate room for the Bagel Bonanza which included:
Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, hard boiled devilled eggs, melon kebobs, assorted fruit juices, coffee and teas.
The Tournament itself ran smoothly although the timetable had to be changed a number of times as not enough time had been allowed to complete the
games. (Another area to be modified for 2008). After completion of the first 4 games there was a LUNCH BREAK.
During the break Ken McCoy and Jeff Weimier worked feverishly to identify the top 48 players who would continue play when the next round resumed.
After lunch it was announced that 3 new members were being inducted into the HALL OF FAME:
1. George Welsbury..merlin
2. Ken McCoy
3. Stuart Kaplan..(President of U.S. Games Systems)
At 2:30 more goodies were available: cookies, French pastries, soft drinks, bottled water, coffee and tea,
Play continued until the Final Six players were determined.
Dinner Break followed with the Final Six play starting at 9 pm. Following trapizoids victory, presentations and congratulations brought the formal
festivities to a successful conclusion.
I crashed shortly thereafter but others continued the revelry deep into the night.
Need I remind you that all of the above was FREE!
Junior Tournament
This was the first-ever Wizard Junior Tournament. It was restricted to players 16 years of age and under. There was a field of 12 players with the
youngest being 8 years old. The Final Four in order of finish were:
1st..Alexander Freer of Georgetown, Ontario ..$300 cash prize
2nd. Lian Brennan of York, PA..$100 cash prize
3rd..Kyle Enns of Niagara Falls, Ontario
4th..Connor Crickmore of Niagara Falls, Ontario
The Junior Tournament (in my opinion) was the least successful part of the entire event. I had to move the Juniors to a third room to accomodate the
smooth transition of the regular tournament and I was unable to provide regular and consistent supervision although George (merlin) came to my rescue
by adjuticating much of the play in the Junior room. All entrants were given a free Wizard T-shirt and a free Wizard pen.
The champion received a trophy and his name will appear on the permanent Junior Trophy.
Next year the Junior Tournament will be bigger and better. The needs of parents and younger siblings needs to be provided for and breaks in play are
needed for the participants. Nevertheless a good time was had by all.
Addenda
I would be remiss if I did not thank all of those who contributed to make the event an unqualified success. However I will not provide a list of names
lest in my dotage I overlook someone's contribution. So I will simply say, "THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR GENEROUS AND KIND SUPPORT!"
Conclusion
1. I have asked all those who took pictures to send me any snapshots that would be useful in putting together a slide-show presentaion of the 2007
event. Pictures of the Friday evening affair are of particular interest.
2. Also I encourage others who were in attendance to embellish and expand my comments with their personal observations.
3. I must add a personal apology because my wife Joan informed me that during the presentation of the trophies and prizes Stuart Kaplan asked for a
round of applause for the organizer (me). I heard a tremendous cheer go up but I was distracted and assumed it was all part of the victory
celebrations of the Final Six players. Consequently I did not acknowledge the compliment and must have appeared to be a proper prig. Sorry about
that.
4. Eventually we hope to get some visuals up on the site so that you can get a better idea of what it was like. And you'll get to see the champion,
trapizoid, in living color.
5. Although a number of venues have been suggested for the 2008 event Stuart Kaplan is determined to return to the same locale. However the crushing
cost of hosting the event in a high-cost tourist area will necessitate the end of the free-ride. Consequently if we do return to the Sheraton there
will be a nominal fee to partially subsidize the cost.
I will be visiting the Sheraton later this month to discuss a possible return. Although 2007 was the biggest and best tournament to date I am
confident that the 2008 event will be even bigger and better. (Caveat: good weather permitting)
Pictures available at:
http://www.wizardcards.com/WizardTournament2007/
Slide Show of 2007 Wizard Tournament in Niagara Falls
The original long version of the slide show runs about 15 minutes and has well over 200 slides. I have posted a shorter version online.
In order to view the show you must install the "Photodex Presenter" software on your PC.
The URL is http://www.photodex.com/files/presenter/pxsetup.exe
Then visit: http://www.photodex.com/
Click on sharing at the top of page.
You will need to "Browse for member". My username is: wizardjester
The title you want is :"International Wizard Tournament 2007"
When the title page comes up it will stay there until you click "Loop All" at the bottom of the title page.
I apologize for the voice-over but it was the best I could do as I was never able to figure out how to do it properly. I make no apology for the
background music which may not be to your taste. (Puccini). In any case the show will provide you with an eyeball look at many of the online players
and an overall view of the event. I have captioned most individuals with ‘names’ so that you will be able to know who is who.
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MissMary
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| posted on 7-3-2007 at 07:08 PM |
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Can't wait for the next Wizard Tournament. Myself and my sister and brother-in-law had a fabulous time. Thank you ever so much and looking forward
to seeing you all again.
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magicgirl
Mood: curious |
| posted on 7-4-2007 at 02:50 PM |
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wizfest tourney
Thanx so much for a great time-was over too fast-we will be there next year if it is in Canada mg and wert
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The Boss
Mood: |
| posted on 7-4-2007 at 11:00 PM |
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Ken Fisher Should Play
quote:
Originally posted by wizard
I was not able to relax and socialize.
Reading this comment, I feel sad for you Ken.
And also, I'm surprised to know that this weekend was free. I wasn't there, but in the fees you're talking about, why not adding a few dollars, so you
could hire 1 or 2 people to take care of this tournament the day of the tourney?
So you could play, relax, socialize and have fun. YOU DESERVE IT KEN. This is your game. Without you, none of this would be possible.
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The Boss
Mood: |
| posted on 7-4-2007 at 11:06 PM |
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Another suggestion...
quote:
Originally posted by wizard
During the break Ken McCoy and Jeff Weimier worked feverishly to identify the top 48 players who would continue play when the next round resumed.
I was just wondering... Are they using a computer? An Excel file could be useful to save time, if they don't already use one.
By the way, how can we put some text in bold, or in color in this forum? I've never been able to do that here, but I have no problem in the chat room
of the main page...
wizard reply: Don't ask me, I just work here. I assume the color only works for the first post, not for replies and comments.
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