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West Coast Melee XIV: President’s AAR
All;
Well, another West Coast Melee has entered the record books, and I’m pleased to report that despite several small glitches it was a success in every way.
Thursday: We got underway with “Recon Thursday†at noon as scheduled. Hennie van der Salm and Kevin Kiff were already there when I arrived. Other members soon followed, and we paired players for pickup games for the rest of the day. At 3:00 PM we opened the Club’s Hospitality Suite and pretty much everyone made there way up to enjoy a little socializing and a sandwich and beer (or two). By the end of the evening we had about 25 in attendance, which is slightly higher than the 20 we usually see on Thursday.
Friday: We had about 30 ready to pair up for the “Close Combat†open-play portion of the The Melee at 9:00 AM, and games got started quickly. Two wins over the course of the day guaranteed a player to make the cut for the single-elimination “Hand-to-Hand†phase of The Melee on Saturday. Shortly after making the initial pairings, we got our “Epic Event†fired up: a playing of the mega-scenario “The Last Bid†from the Red Barricades HASL module. Play continued unabated until mid-Sunday afternoon, when it was called by both sides at the end of turn 7. Kevin Kiff played the Germans throughout the weekend against a rotation of three different teams of Russians that at various times included Kevin Ryan, Geoff Coward, Don Petros and Phil Seymour. Over the course of the day more players filtered in, and we fed them into the carnage as best we could. In the evening, a group made the traditional pilgrimage to El Torito Grill for some primo Mexican food. When the smoke cleared at Friday Midnight, we had our eight players with the best records paired up for Saturday.
Saturday: At 9:00 AM we paired the 8 players who made the cut for the Hand-to-Hand Phase of The Melee in short order, and then organized two single elimination mini-tournaments “War in the East†and “Evening Old Scoresâ€. After we had everything underway we held our annual Club meeting, which I’m pleased to report was concluded in near-record time. The Club voted to extend the sentences, ahh… I mean terms of the Officers for another year. As the day progressed and players were knocked out of the minis and The Melee we pooled enough manpower to launch our final mini “On to Berlin†late in the afternoon.
Sunday: The four survivors from Saturday’s Hand-to-Hand Phase paired for the finals. The final round of our one remaining minis “Evening Old Scores†got underway as well. The remaining players mixed and matched for pick-up games, or in some cases, a little playtesting.
And the winners were…
The Melee Champion: Brandon Liesemeyer
Runner up: Eric Morton
3rd Place: Hennie van der Salm
4th Place: Rob Feinstein“War in the East†Champion: Fred Timm
“Evening Old Scores†Champion: Dan Plachta
“On to Berlin†Champion: Dave PerhamOn behalf of the membership, I want to extend our congratulations to all of our winners.
Final attendance was just over 40, right around what it has been for the last few years. Treasurer Matt Cicero is still crunching the numbers, but we’re probably going to come out about the same as we usually do financially. There are two numbers that I consider of paramount importance to the long-term health of SoCalASL and West Coast Melee; the number of players attending WCM for the first time, and the number of room nights booked at the hotel. This year we had 6 players who attended their first Melee; a very healthy 15% of our total attendance, and a good indicator of future growth. And Crowne Plaza Sales Director Dave Lucey stopped by on Thursday afternoon to report we had broke our previous record with 48 room nights. That is a very important number because it factors into what Crowne will charge us as a facility rental for next year. Both numbers are good news indeed, especially considering the ongoing problems with the economy.
West Coast Melee doesn’t get done by itself. It takes a team effort to put together something of this scale, and recognitions are in order.
First and foremost, I want to thank our Club Officers, Matt Cicero, Paul Simonsen, Matt Romey, Eric Visnowski, Rob Feinstein, Scott Thompson and Geoff Coward, collectively for their unswerving support and sensible advance, not just at WCM but throughout the year. We would not have the Club we have without their efforts.
Matt Cicero, for handling the money and registrations, designing and producing all of the promotional material, hand-outs and flyers, helping with the Hospitality Suite, and generally serving as my go-to guy throughout the weekend.
Paul Simonsen, for acting as deputy tournament director, setting up all of the web based promotions, on-line registrations, and inputting and tracking the win-loss record for each member to calculate who would move on to the Saturday Hand-to-Hand Phase.
Dave Nicolas, for handling the plaques again from start to finish (including design), and being ‘on call’ to assume his role as “Commissar of the 7-0’sâ€.
Blair Bellamy, for taking it upon himself to serve as our videographer and documenting our event for posterity.
Stance Nixon, for providing two coolers, packed with ice, on short notice.
Nick Rusch for providing a sleeping bag on short notice.
We received a number of prize donations this year. In no particular order: Xavier Vitry (Le Franc Tireur), Murray McCloskey (Break Contact), Scott Thompson, Brian Youse (Multiman Publishing) and Scott Blanton (Gamers Armory); thanks to all. I’ll also point out that all who donated did so of their own volition. They were not solicited.
All the members who throughout the weekend offered to pitch in and help, provided good advice and suggestions, or contributed in small ways to make things run smoothly: there are too many to list, but you know who you are, and so do I.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who came and played. We had a blast. A lot of games got played, a lot of beer got drank, and we had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.
Our final room sweep uncovered several items left behind. We found a Rarity Factor chart in the area where The Last Bid was being played. A blue plastic binder with charts and player aides was left on registration table. We also recovered a fairly nice stainless steel pen on one of the game tables. Please contact me off-list and I’ll get those items back to you.
On a personal note, WCM is one of the high points of my year because I get to spend four days with so many good friends. It was great to see you all, and I had a ball.
Regards,
Jim
[link=hyperlink url]http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202942&id=1104033695&l=9e775ab938[/link] for my FB pics of the WCM
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