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Jennifer Thomas, John Morris, Stephane
Dorais, Dave Metzger and Steve Scott |
The Juniors room can't hold those
Doughan boys any more. They're everywhere! |
Three in a row!
Ra enjoyed a 5% increase in attendance for its second
highest total in its 12-year WBC run. The four heats drew 12,15,17
and 16 games respectively.
I heard some grumbling last year about taking too long to
get the heats started. By the time I had everyone checked in,
made announcements, assigned tables, it was 15-20 minutes before
anyone actually started playing. My goal for this year was to
get everyone started as soon as possible. I called it the "quick
start plan". Basically, instead of signing everyone up as
they arrived, I gave them an index card instead. Each table had
instructions on how to fill out the card. All they needed on
the card was their name, badge number, and place they finished
for each heat they entered. I would sign them up on the official
registration sheet later. That saved a lot of time. I had a little
trouble the first heat because I kept losing track of how many
games I would need. To make a long story short, I fixed the problem
for the last three heats, and got the first 50 arrivals playing
in less than five minutes.
The top qualifier was Jennifer Gorman who was the only 3-time
winner. It marked the second straight year that a female stood
atop the leader board as the only winner of three games. Last
year it was Lexi Shea who "only" managed two wins this
year. Six other qualifiers won twice. To further emphasize what
a "game of luck" Ra is, three of those six were
4-time champion Alex Bove, 2006 champion Chris Terell and last
years 3rd place laurelist Alex Lange.
In 2010 the 82nd best qualifier made the semi's due to no-shows?
This year, Mark Parauda thanks you as he qualified for the semis
from the #98 position.
In the first semi-final Jennifer Gordon continued her hot
streak with her 4th straight win. It was a monumental victory
as she ended defending champ Alex Bove's quest for an unprecedented
4th consecutive Ra title. Jennifer beat Stu Hendrickson
by 2, Jeff Meyer by 3 and Alex by 5.
Another former champ went down in the second semi-final as
Dominic Blais beat Chris Terrell by 7. Lexi Shea, who has won
five heats in the past two years and 2010's third place laurelist
Alex Lange also lost in this game.
In semi-final #3 Rich Meyer beat fellow San Diego gamer Carol
Haney by 11.
In semi-final game #4 Harry Flawd took a break from the sports
parlor long enough to enjoy a comfortable 10-point win.
Ken Horan completed the finalists by edging Ed Fear by a single
point. Ed's narrow defeat earned 6th place laurels.
The Final was a nail-biter befitting a championship game as
Rich edged Dominic by one point to win his first Ra Championship
and sixth overall. Thanks to Bobbi Warzcak who put the results
on a computer for easy sorting and printing to determine the
top 25 qualifiers advancing to the semi-finals.
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Deb Yaure, Mark Love and Aaron Fuegi |
Defending champ Alex Bove and GM Steve
Scott with the finalists. |
2011
Euro Quest Laurelists |
Daniel Eppolito, CA
1st
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Henry Dove, MD
2nd
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Jeremy Oppenheim, VA
3rd
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Doug Galullo, MD
4th
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Mary Ellen Powers, VA
5th
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