we the people [Updated October 2004]  

 2004 WBC Report  

 2005 Status: pending 2005 GM commitment

John Poniske, PA

2004 Champion

2nd: Paul Gaberson, PA

3rd: Paul Barrett, UK

4th: Marvin Birnbaum, NY

5th: Bill Peeck, NY

6th: Keith Wixson, NJ


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Event History
1994    Andy Lewis      60
1995    Roger Taylor      56
1996    George Seary      54
1997    Thomas Drueding      40
1998    James Pei      40
1999    Marvin Birnbaum     32
2000    Brian Mountford     45
2001    Brian Mountford     32
2002    Marvin Birnbaum     54
2003    George Young     41
2004    John Poniske     43

PBeM Event History
2003    -      46

WAM Event History
2004    Michael Ussery      16

 Laurels
Rank Name

From

Last
Total
 1. Brian Mountford

NY

03
130
 2. Marvin Birnbaum

NY

04
115
 3. John Poniske

PA

04
  88
 4. George Young

VT

03
  74
 5. Paul Gaberson

PA

04
  50
 6. Anthony Burke

NJ

00
  24
 7. George Seary

NY

99
  24
 8. Jim Gutt

AZ

01
  24
 9. Michael Ussery

MD

04
  20
10. Jim Fardette

AE

01
  18
11. David Dockter

MN

02
  16
12. David Tianen

WI

00
  16
13. Joe Collinson III

MD

99
  16
14.  Keith Wixson

NJ

04
  15
15. Pat Mirk

FL

03
  15
16. Roderick Lee

CA

02
  12
17. Paul Barrett

UK

04
  12
18. Stuart Tucker 

MD

04
    9
19. Bruce Wigdor

NJ

02
    8
20. Andy Lewis

DE

00
    8
21. Bill Peeck

NY

04
    6
22. James Pei

TX

04
    6
23. Joe Stenken

KY

03
    5
24. Tom Drueding

PA

02
    4
25. Randall Borra

NY

00
    4
26. Jim Falling

IL

99
    4
27. Bryan Thompson

MD

04
    4
28. Matthew Bacho

MD

04
    2

Past Winners

Andy Lewis - DE
1994

Roger Taylor - VA
1995

George Seary - NY
1996

Thomas Drueding - PA
1997

James Pei - TX
1998

Marvin Birnbaum - NJ
1999, 2002

Brian Mountford - NY
2000-2001

George Young - V T
2003
 


The Distant View

Stuck in Texas while this year's tournament passed me by, I eagerly soaked up any and all feedback. So in the finest traditions of both war news reporting and generations of historians, I'm ready to pontificate on what occurred despite my lack of any direct knowledge.

Bruce Wigdor graciously took over for me as GM on very short notice. By all accounts, his first experience as a GM was a bit more successful than typical. But it had it's moments as well; most of them the result of policies that I set but that he (to his regret no doubt) had to live with.

The survivors of the four Swiss rounds, those that entered the single elimination quarterfinals, were a nice, eclectic mix of the usual top performers, long time participants and new faces: Marvin Birnbaum, Paul Barrett, George Seary, Bill Peeck, Keith Wixson, Jim Gutt, Paul Gaberson and John Poniske. In a battle of the "good-guys", last year's WTP Sportsman nominee, Paul was edged out by John Poniske who is a perennial sportsman nominee in his own right. His victory also gave John bragging rights within his "Polish Lancers" team for bringing home some serious bacon. And it's about time! This was John's second wood and the first since the inaugural Avaloncon 13 years ago!

The back story for this year's tournament has two elements. The first is the surprising (and very welcome!) entry of eight new players for the coached event. Many strong competitors offered to help bring these rookies along, including last year's winner, George Young. For this, his other services, and his long record of gentlemanly play, George was this year's WTP nomination as Sportsman of the Year. As is our tradition, the GM awarded George a special prize; this year an Illustrated History of the American Revolution.

However, the GM and player field found it difficult to maintain the aggressive schedule necessary to finish the tournament in a single day. This article celebrates a still very successful tournament, but it also serves as an opportunity for me (as GM presumptive) to state that I'm committed to two things: First that WTP will continue to attract a strong constituency in terms of both top talent and adequate numbers. Secondly, this tournament will run in a single day. Congratulations and thanks to all who participated in 2004. And for 2005. all ideas and suggestions as to how to accomplish these twin goals are welcome.


PBeM Tournament:

The final round of the 2003 PBeM Tournament started on November 9th and concludes by March 1st. The six-round Swiss format began in April 2003 with 46 participants. The "championship" game is between James ("The Master") Pei, with a perfect score of five points, and Paul Gaberson (2004 WBC runner-up) , with 4.5 points. Others still vying for Laurels are Tom Drueding, Mike Pacheco, Jim Gutt, Anthony Daw (each with four points) and Paul Barrett (3.5 points).

 GM      Don Chappell [3rd Year]   NA 
   don.chappell@lmco.com   NA

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