The Bitter Ender ASL
Tournament is on the horizon and approaching fast. Bitter Ender drew 30
players last year. We are at the Ramada Blue Ridge again this year, which is
across from the NC state fairgrounds. The facilities are nice and there is a
restaurant in house. Bitter Ender offers ASL games for players of all
ages and experience.
The registration for this
year's "Bitter Ender" is $32.00 for players that pre-register, $40.00
at the door or $20.00 per day.
I want to thank The
Gamer's Armory for providing the prizes. Gamer’s Armory has supported Bitter Ender over the years and
their backing is truly appreciated. Please support them too! Gamer’s
Armory now has a “brick and mortar” store in Cary. It is located at 684 Cary Towne Blvd.,
Cary, NC 27511. Their phone number is (919) 238-4817.
The Bitter Ender ASL
Tournament is an open format event, with plaques awarded for first and second
place finishes. Tournament players competing for the championship will be
required to play all five founds to qualify for first and second place plaques
and prizes. Additionally, the Bitter Ender will have one theme
"Mini-Tournament" on Saturday for those players, who are out of the
overall running by then. All skill levels are represented during this
tournament. Veterans and novices alike are encouraged to play THE GAME!
Regional tournaments are the best way of making contacts with other ASL players
in your area.
The Bitter Ender
tournament format will be five or six rounds of open gaming, with winners
advancing and losers knocked out of contention. All scenarios in the main event
are selected by mutual agreement of the players. Open gaming starts at 0900
hours on Friday, April 1st and ends by 1600 hours on Sunday, April 3rd. Last
year's champion was Gary Fortenberry who beat Dave Stephens in the finals.
The themed mini-tournament
starts at 0830 hours on Saturday. It consists of a 3 round tournament based
around a theme. Last year, the themes were "Close Quarters"
(won by Anthony Flanagan) and "Over Open Sights" (won by Mika
Harviala). Each year the themes vary, but they always contain challenging
scenarios for all levels of experience.
My favorite part of the Bitter
Ender is presenting our annual sportsmanship award, which is named after
our previous year's winner. Games are meant to be fun. Yet they still develop
and reveal our character: resiliency, perseverance, graciousness and humility.
The Mika Harviala Sportsmanship Award is presented to the person who
best represents these essential qualities of sportsmanship at our tournament.
And with the high level of sportsmanship we see every year, it is always
a tough call (and you get to vote for the winner).
With the Bitter Ender Tournament
requiring at least 5 rounds to determine a champion, these following guidelines
started in 2010 for those players who chose to compete for the Bitter Ender
Championship. These rules helped
keep the tournament in sync.
Players will be expected to meet the following requirements to continue
in the main tournament. You know how fast you play. Please choose scenarios
that will help you and your opponent meet these timelines if you want to
continue in the main championship hunt.
Have a 2-0 record by 8am
Saturday morning.
Round 3 will need to be
completed by 4pm Saturday.
Round 4 must be completed
before 8am Sunday morning.
Round 5 (hopefully the
championship) will need to be finished by 4pm Sunday afternoon.
If only 3 players are still
undefeated at the start of round 4, then a spoiler will be added into round 4. The
spoiler can have only 1 loss and he may not be currently playing a game. Previous
tournament winners have priority for the spoiler role, starting with the most
recent champion and working backwards.
The spoiler can win the championship, as Gary Fortenberry did this past
year!
Please choose a scenario
that fits with your and your opponent's speed of play to meet these timelines.
Scenarios may be listed on the scenario list that some players could finish in
time while others might not. Please choose accordingly to avoid the tournament
director having to adjudicate a match.
Round 1 will need to be
completed by 4pm.
Round 2 will need to be
completed before 8am Sunday morning.
Round 3 will need to be
finished by 5pm Sunday evening.
1st Place:
Plaque and $30 gift certificate
2nd Place: Plaque and
$20 gift certificate
1st Place:
Plaque and $20 gift certificate
The 2011 Bitter Ender
will be held Ramada Blue Ridge. Their address is as follows:
Ramada Blue Ridge
1520 Blue Ridge Road
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 832-4100
(919) 781-0435 (fax)
http://blueridge.pmcproperties.com
The Ramada Blue Ridge is
located at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Blue Ridge, across from the
state fairgrounds. All rooms blocked for the Bitter Ender are doubles.
The hotel rate is $64.00 per night (plus tax), which includes a continental
breakfast. To ensure that you receive this reduced rate, mention the Bitter
Ender when you make your reservation.
Please note that the Ramada Blue Ridge is an entirely non-smoking
facility.
A wide variety of
restaurants are either within a short drive of the Ramada Blue Ridge. There is
also a restaurant located in the hotel.
For directions to the Ramada
Blue Ridge, players can utilize either:
http://www.mapquest.com or http://blueridge.pmcproperties.com.
For further tournament
information contact:
Chuck Payne
Home Email: chuck-payne@nc.rr.com
Work Email: cpayne@cadence.com
Home Phone: (919) 467-4129.