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My wife and I will be taking that tour!!
The Canadian ASL Open (CASLO) XVI takes place next weekend (May 18-20). We have 20+ pre-registrants, and want more.
The ASL Starter Kit Mini has 3 pre-registrants (maximum 4). Free to enter.
The McLeod Mini has several pre-registrants, and will no doubt fill up (once players see the awesome re-issues that we've produced from Jim McLeod's original designs). 8 entrants maximum. $25 to pre-register for this Mini only; free if you're entered in the main tourney ($40) and elect to shift into the McLeod Mini (with 1 or 2 Friday losses; space permitting). Re-issued McLeod scenario packs will be available for sale ($16) on-site only (free to McLeod Mini participants).
Main Tourney starts at noon Friday, May 18 with the traditional ceremonial toast, but we've arranged a VIP tour of 17 Wing that morning (muster at 8:30 am), and some serious pre-tourney hospitality the night before (May 17) at the Viscount Gort hotel (our hosts).
We have players coming from Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, and many points in between. (Trezza and Kelln have yet to commit.)
Prizes, raffles, ASL bingo. What more could you possibly want?
The ASL Starter Kit Mini has 3 pre-registrants (maximum 4). Free to enter.
The McLeod Mini has several pre-registrants, and will no doubt fill up (once players see the awesome re-issues that we've produced from Jim McLeod's original designs). 8 entrants maximum. $25 to pre-register for this Mini only; free if you're entered in the main tourney ($40) and elect to shift into the McLeod Mini (with 1 or 2 Friday losses; space permitting). Re-issued McLeod scenario packs will be available for sale ($16) on-site only (free to McLeod Mini participants).
Main Tourney starts at noon Friday, May 18 with the traditional ceremonial toast, but we've arranged a VIP tour of 17 Wing that morning (muster at 8:30 am), and some serious pre-tourney hospitality the night before (May 17) at the Viscount Gort hotel (our hosts).
We have players coming from Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, and many points in between. (Trezza and Kelln have yet to commit.)
Prizes, raffles, ASL bingo. What more could you possibly want?
CASLO XVI finished on time yesterday in Winnipeg, and I can report the following:
1. Darren Kovacs (Victoria, BC) 5-0
2. Steve Slunt (Calgary, Alberta) 4-1
3. Ron Levreault (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 3-2
Paul Suderman (Winnipeg; Jim McLeod Memorial Mini winner) 4-1 overall
More details to follow, but I can share this anecdote as a teaser: quote from the ASLSK Mini winner on receiving BattleSchool precision dice as his prize: "Cool, I can use these in Settlers of Cataan - people are always complaining about the dice..."
1. Darren Kovacs (Victoria, BC) 5-0
2. Steve Slunt (Calgary, Alberta) 4-1
3. Ron Levreault (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 3-2
Paul Suderman (Winnipeg; Jim McLeod Memorial Mini winner) 4-1 overall
More details to follow, but I can share this anecdote as a teaser: quote from the ASLSK Mini winner on receiving BattleSchool precision dice as his prize: "Cool, I can use these in Settlers of Cataan - people are always complaining about the dice..."
AdrianE
Senior Member
Some photos of the action:
AdrianE
Senior Member
More photos
dlazov
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Canadians sure have weird ceilings, is it cause you all are so far up north that you make build in the curvature of the earth to the ceiling?
Final results from CASLO XVI in Winnipeg:
Shane McKenzie (Winnipeg MB) Starter Kit Mini Runner-up
Steve Knippel (Winnipeg MB) 2-0 TD and "floater"
- Darren Kovacs (Victoria BC) 5-0 1st Place
- Steve Slunt (Calgary AB) 4-1 2nd Place, Snake-eyes Winner
- Paul Suderman (Winnipeg MB) 4-1 McLeod Memorial Mini Winner, CC Winner
- Ron Levreault (Winnipeg MB) 3-2 3rd Place
- Erik Lindblad (Montreal QC) 3-2
- Adrian Earle (Ottawa ON) 3-2 ASL Bingo Winner
- Norm Wieser (Winnipeg MB) 3-2 ROF Tear Winner
- Blair Bellamy (Los Angeles CA) 2-3 McLeod Memorial Mini Runner-up
- Bill Bird (Winnipeg MB) 2-1
- Shane Newman (Barrie ON) 2-3
- Brad Hunter (Calgary AB) 2-3
- Mike Rodgers (Montreal QC) 2-3 Sniper Winner
- Derek Lofthouse (Calgary AB) 2-3
- Jim Suderman (Toronto ON) 1-4 Boxcars "Winner"
- Dave Hall (Winnipeg MB) 1-4
- Josh Gilbert (Winnipeg MB) 1-4
- Mike Suderman (Toronto ON) 1-4 Good Sportsmanship "Winner"
Shane McKenzie (Winnipeg MB) Starter Kit Mini Runner-up
Steve Knippel (Winnipeg MB) 2-0 TD and "floater"
Last edited:
Darren Kovacs
Member
Great job Steffen and Paul! You guys put on a great show and did not disappoint, another A-one event continuing CASLO tradition.
I had a great time once again in the Peg. Old faces and new ones. Looking forward to next year wherever it may be.
Darren
I had a great time once again in the Peg. Old faces and new ones. Looking forward to next year wherever it may be.
Darren
It's the igloo effect.
dlazov
Elder Member
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roflma...lol
Here's the tournament AAR:
The 16th annual Canadian ASL Open (CASLO) took place at the Viscount Gort hotel in Winnipeg Manitoba on May 18-20, 2012.
The festivities began the night before at the hotel bar, Average Joe’s, where Blair Bellamy introduced our newest competitor, Shane McKenzie, to his first-ever game of ASL in a playing of S1 Retaking Vierville. Several of us, including a past president of the Winnipeg ASL Club (WASLC), Bill Bird, enjoyed a few friendly libations and shared ASL and other stories. Team Suderman (4 of them) joined us late, straight from the airport (they drank much too little).
The next morning Military Police Sergeant Dave Hall (also a WASLC and CASLA member) chaperoned a two-hour tour of the 17 Wing air base, where eleven other CASLO participants had the opportunity to visit 435 Squadron and its CC-130 Hercules aircraft, and the 17 Wing museum.
The CASLO kicked off at noon with our traditional ceremonial toast. We again toasted the late Jim McLeod, who co-founded WASLC and CASLA, and who began the CASLO tradition for all of us. (Someone needs to learn a Gaelic toast, on Jim’s behalf.)
The first round of the main CASLO tournament opened with 16 players, from Calgary (3), Montreal (2), Toronto (2), Ottawa (1), Barrie (1), Victoria (1), Los Angeles (1), and of course Winnipeg (5). Surprisingly, of the 8 first round matches, 7 pairings chose J103 Lenin’s Sons (5 German wins; 2 Russian wins).
The second round began at 7 pm on Friday and ended at 12:30 am. Unfortunately, 4 matches had to be adjudicated. The rookie Tournament Director and Assistant Director (yours truly and Paul Suderman, respectively) learned their lesson, and will pay closer attention to scenario size/length in future. In what might be considered an upset, the adjudicators awarded Erik Lindblad’s Russians the win over Adrian Earle’s Germans in AP48 Up Inferno Hill. (Adrian had won CASLO XV in Ottawa the previous September.) OA18 Parry and Strike was the round’s most popular scenario choice.
Saturday morning saw the beginning of the McLeod Memorial Mini tournament and the ASL Starter Kit (ASLSK) Mini, in addition to round 3 of the main tourney. CASLO participants with at least one Friday loss were permitted to enter the McLeod Memorial Mini, and two pre-registrants faced off in the ASLSK Mini.
Seven players entered what might be the last McLeod Memorial Mini (Bill Bird, Paul Suderman, Blair Bellamy, Derek Lofthouse, Ron Levreault, Dave Hall, and Norm Wieser). This Mini featured 9 scenarios designed by the late Jim McLeod, thoroughly play-tested and revised by WASLC and reissued as the “Elite Canadians” scenario pack, which included 3 previously unpublished scenarios. WASLC donated 8 Elite Canadians scenario packs to CASLA for use in the Mini and as prizes. Additional copies were sold on-site for $16 each as a fundraiser for WASLC.
Tom Wilson and Shane McKenzie faced off in CASLO’s first-ever ASLSK Mini. It was only Tom’s 3rd or 4th game, and Shane’s 2nd (after his Thursday night introduction to ASLSK in the bar). Tom won as the defending Americans in S1 Retaking Vierville, and after a brief conference, Shane agreed that Tom should join his family fishing at their cabin on Lake of the Prairies (a 4.5 hour drive). The TD stepped in to give Shane another lesson in S2 War of the Rats. Tom was awarded a set of 4 precision dice, donated by Chris Doary’s BattleSchool KitShop. (Tom was heard to say that they would be great for resolving arguments about the dice in Settlers of Cataan…)
The main tourney’s 3rd round tested the participants’ knowledge of the PTO rules – every scenario involved the Japanese. Not surprisingly, there were no upsets in this round – the grognards won every match.
By this time, some of the participants staying in the hotel had “borrowed” table lamps from their rooms to improve the conference room’s rather meagre lighting. (We had approved an emergency upgrade from a conference room just half the size on Thursday – late registrations had made it worthwhile, and in retrospect, it was absolutely necessary.) When those players had to return their lamps to their rooms before the Sunday checkout, the hotel stepped in to replace the lamps from their reserve inventory.
The 4th round started at 5:30 pm on Saturday. By this time, only Steve Slunt and Darren Kovacs were undefeated, and so they faced off. Darren’s Russians successfully defended against Steve’s Germans in J94 Kempf at Melikhovo. (Your TD wishes he’d watched this short, sharp, scenario played out.)
Meanwhile, Blair Bellamy’s Canadians upset Bill Bird’s Germans in the 2nd round of the McLeod Mini in the newly published scenario MLR09 Overrun (using the new-ish board 1a, which Jim McLeod had never seen), securing a spot for Blair in Sunday’s final against Paul Suderman.
The hotel hosted a wedding reception on Saturday night, and its rambunctious attendees partied all night in their many rooms. Unfortunately, Brad Hunter was encircled by these celebrants, and he had to bow out of Sunday’s play due to complete lack of sleep. (Brad left us a warm, congratulatory, note that reassured us of his attendance at future CASLOs.)
While Paul Suderman duked it out with Blair Bellamy in the McLeod Mini final (Paul held out as the defending Canadians in the new MLR11 Only the Beginning), there was potential drama brewing in the main tourney.
By Sunday morning, Darren was undefeated at 4-0, while Adrian Earle, Steve Slunt and Erik Lindblad were all at 3-1. If Adrian defeated Darren, there would be 3 players at 4-1, necessitating all sorts of tie-breakers and potentially bringing the victories achieved by their opponents into play. But Darren’s Germans blocked Adrian’s British from fulfilling their Victory Conditions, and Darren’s long car drive from Victoria was rewarded with a first place finish.
A table showing all results is attached.
Notes regarding the attachment:
• Brown denotes McLeod Memorial Mini matches; Blue denotes ASLSK Mini matches; Bolded players received plaques.
• These results have all been submitted to ROAR and AREA.
• Original seedings were ill-informed. Yours truly will do better next time. (In particular, Slunt’s no longer a sleeper.)
All donated gamettes, scenario packs, souvenir t-shirts, glassware and custom patches were displayed for inspection on a prize table at the front of the room all weekend. Competitors understood that their turn to select a prize of their choice would depend on the order of finish.
Thanks to the sponsors for their prize donations (in no particular order):
• Le Franc Tireur http://www.lefranctireur.org/
• Lone Canuck Publishing http://www.lonecanuckpublishing.ca/
• Multiman Publishing http://www.multimanpublishing.com/
• Bounding Fire Productions http://www.boundingfire.com/
• BattleSchool KitShop http://asl-battleschool.blogspot.ca/p/kitshop.html
• Winnipeg ASL Club
• Darren Kovacs: The Winnipeg ASL Club has missed Darren since he moved to Victoria BC, and we were very happy to see him not only drive (!) back to participate, but beat some very good players to finish first. A true grognard.
• Steve Slunt: One of the mysterious Calgarians we didn’t know, we obviously seeded him too low. Cheerful and engaging, Steve is welcome back any time. Steve won the Snake-eyes certificate, but I’m sure he would have done just as well without the benefit of luck.
• Paul Suderman: Current VP of WASLC, Paul was invaluable in all aspects of the planning and delivery of this year’s CASLO. While we were both rookies at running a tournament, I know that the next time we work together on something like this, it will be even better. Congrats on winning the McLeod Memorial Mini – you earned it. Your Close Combat certificate was just icing on the cake.
• Ron Levreault: While Ron may have been very surprised to finish 3rd overall in the main tourney, he must now know that he’s the Winnipeg Club’s most improved player. (The fact that he never lost a match to other competitors with a 3-2 record certainly helped.) Thanks again for crafting and donating the diorama for the CASLO winner, and for designing your home’s addition to accommodate a meeting room for WASLC.
• Erik Lindblad: Erik faced no easy opponents, and still finished very well. He used my kit all weekend, and grossly overpaid me with a fine bottle of port (AFTER we adjudicated in his favour Friday night – I’m all about the transparency). Good to see you again, and I hope we face off next year.
• Adrian Earle: The guy I seeded as Number One, and 2011’s CASLO winner. No wonder Adrian ended up in the final. I wish I’d known you when I lived in Ottawa – I’d have been a much better ASL player today. Your patience with innumerable rules questions and the occasional adjudication is valued and respected. See you next year.
• Norm Wieser: Wow! I seeded Norm last – never again. Okay, 1-1 of his 3-2 is due to a bye and a forfeit, but still… He’s a relatively recent convert to ASL from Squad Leader, but it’s apparent that he knows tactics. And the patches were gorgeous. Congrats on the ROF Tear certificate. And sorry you played no one but Sudermans – I swear it was accidental.
• Blair Bellamy: Roomie! I had warned you I snored, so you brought earplugs. Clever man. Thanks for giving Shane M. the Starter Kit lesson in the bar Thursday, when you could have been drinking more. And congrats on making it to the last turn of the McLeod Mini final – he would have been proud of you.
• Bill Bird: Come back! WASLC needs you! The “new guard” of the club needs a local grognard to Yoda us. Thanks for coming out, and we’ll see you again soon.
• Shane Newman: Shane’s first tournament no doubt showed him that he’s a legitimate player. Years of SASL did you no harm. See you at another tournament soon.
• Brad Hunter: When you win an adjudication, don’t act surprised – it makes us second-guess ourselves. Seriously, it was a pleasure to host you (another mysterious Calgarian). Work with your neighbours (and Leja) to host CASLO in future – you’ve got a strong base of players (including yourself).
• Mike Rodgers: I hope I didn’t tease you too much about adjudications, or your role as CASLA Secretary-Treasurer – I’ve been told (by Ron’s son) that I’m a mean person. Thanks for your help, and tell your cheerleader Diane that pom-poms should seal the deal. Congrats on your Sniper certificate.
• Derek Lofthouse: The 3rd “mysterious Calgarian” salvaged his tourney with 2 late wins (but I bet you were getting worried after starting 0-3). Your wit and sportsmanship contributed greatly.
• Jim Suderman: Paul’s older brother is funnier. (I’m an elder brother too, so I know this is usually true.) As “winner” of the Boxcars certificate, I have no doubt that Jim is in dire need of better-weighted dice…
• Dave Hall: Sorry that I stiffed you in the CCPh of the last turn in round 1. Apparently I set the tone for your tournament. But thanks for heading up the 17 Wing tour – it was popular, and your ID was extremely handy during their security exercise.
• Josh Gilbert: Josh had the misfortune of drawing Darren and Adrian in rounds 2 and 3, and I know he knows it was not intentional on my part. Congrats on surviving all that rain on your Harley (and on not finishing last – you’re a better player than this record).
• Mike Suderman: You earned a win before Dad did – congrats. Take solace from the fact that the next CASLO you enter will be free of charge.
Honourable Mentions:
• Tom Wilson: Tom defeated Shane M. in round 1 of the Starter Kit Mini, and after the deliberation of like-minded competitors, went fishing. Tom was declared winner of the ASL Starter Kit Mini tournament. He won ($25 worth of) precision dice, and was happy.
• Shane Mckenzie: ASL’s newest rookie. This is the kind of player CASLO needs to encourage – competitive, clever and willing. (Oh, and for transparency’s sake, the guy to whom I sold my out of print Starter Kit #1 at cost.)
• Mike Bourgeault: Sorry your studies prevented you from attending. We missed you, not least because you are a WASLC and CASLA co-founder. But many thanks for helping us fine-tune the Elite Canadians package of McLeod scenarios and advising us on CASLO planning. See you very soon.
• Eric Suderman: You didn’t play (and perhaps never do – I don’t know), but your graphic design skills were truly appreciated and respected. You helped make this event notable. We got off cheap by paying you with a t-shirt (and portfolio content).
Finally, closing thoughts as the current CASLA Dictator (er, Director):
Judging from the verbal feedback received, this CASLO was enjoyable. While it may have lost money (due mainly to the last-minute conference room upgrade, which doubled that particular cost item, the main cost item), the rookie TD (me) and Assistant TD (Paul) learned how to run a tournament by doing it.
Next time we’ll plan on the right-sized room, and pick more appropriate scenarios for each round. (Hey, I’m not afraid to say we made the occasional error.)
But overall, I believe it was reasonably well-run in execution.
As CASLA Director, I believe CASLO should alternate betweeen east and west Canada. I will make such a motion to amend our Charter at the next opportunity.
Not that I want to avoid CASLO next year – Winnipeg is the default location (according to our Charter) if another location is not approved by a majority of CASLA members, and WASLC is ever-ready to do it again.
But while moving CASLO around may confuse the occasional foreigner, I believe it strengthens ASL participation in our country, thin as it may be. I will support the concept of a portable CASLO as long as I’m a member. Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver/Victoria – step up!
Steffen Knippel
The 16th annual Canadian ASL Open (CASLO) took place at the Viscount Gort hotel in Winnipeg Manitoba on May 18-20, 2012.
The festivities began the night before at the hotel bar, Average Joe’s, where Blair Bellamy introduced our newest competitor, Shane McKenzie, to his first-ever game of ASL in a playing of S1 Retaking Vierville. Several of us, including a past president of the Winnipeg ASL Club (WASLC), Bill Bird, enjoyed a few friendly libations and shared ASL and other stories. Team Suderman (4 of them) joined us late, straight from the airport (they drank much too little).
The next morning Military Police Sergeant Dave Hall (also a WASLC and CASLA member) chaperoned a two-hour tour of the 17 Wing air base, where eleven other CASLO participants had the opportunity to visit 435 Squadron and its CC-130 Hercules aircraft, and the 17 Wing museum.
The CASLO kicked off at noon with our traditional ceremonial toast. We again toasted the late Jim McLeod, who co-founded WASLC and CASLA, and who began the CASLO tradition for all of us. (Someone needs to learn a Gaelic toast, on Jim’s behalf.)
The first round of the main CASLO tournament opened with 16 players, from Calgary (3), Montreal (2), Toronto (2), Ottawa (1), Barrie (1), Victoria (1), Los Angeles (1), and of course Winnipeg (5). Surprisingly, of the 8 first round matches, 7 pairings chose J103 Lenin’s Sons (5 German wins; 2 Russian wins).
The second round began at 7 pm on Friday and ended at 12:30 am. Unfortunately, 4 matches had to be adjudicated. The rookie Tournament Director and Assistant Director (yours truly and Paul Suderman, respectively) learned their lesson, and will pay closer attention to scenario size/length in future. In what might be considered an upset, the adjudicators awarded Erik Lindblad’s Russians the win over Adrian Earle’s Germans in AP48 Up Inferno Hill. (Adrian had won CASLO XV in Ottawa the previous September.) OA18 Parry and Strike was the round’s most popular scenario choice.
Saturday morning saw the beginning of the McLeod Memorial Mini tournament and the ASL Starter Kit (ASLSK) Mini, in addition to round 3 of the main tourney. CASLO participants with at least one Friday loss were permitted to enter the McLeod Memorial Mini, and two pre-registrants faced off in the ASLSK Mini.
Seven players entered what might be the last McLeod Memorial Mini (Bill Bird, Paul Suderman, Blair Bellamy, Derek Lofthouse, Ron Levreault, Dave Hall, and Norm Wieser). This Mini featured 9 scenarios designed by the late Jim McLeod, thoroughly play-tested and revised by WASLC and reissued as the “Elite Canadians” scenario pack, which included 3 previously unpublished scenarios. WASLC donated 8 Elite Canadians scenario packs to CASLA for use in the Mini and as prizes. Additional copies were sold on-site for $16 each as a fundraiser for WASLC.
Tom Wilson and Shane McKenzie faced off in CASLO’s first-ever ASLSK Mini. It was only Tom’s 3rd or 4th game, and Shane’s 2nd (after his Thursday night introduction to ASLSK in the bar). Tom won as the defending Americans in S1 Retaking Vierville, and after a brief conference, Shane agreed that Tom should join his family fishing at their cabin on Lake of the Prairies (a 4.5 hour drive). The TD stepped in to give Shane another lesson in S2 War of the Rats. Tom was awarded a set of 4 precision dice, donated by Chris Doary’s BattleSchool KitShop. (Tom was heard to say that they would be great for resolving arguments about the dice in Settlers of Cataan…)
The main tourney’s 3rd round tested the participants’ knowledge of the PTO rules – every scenario involved the Japanese. Not surprisingly, there were no upsets in this round – the grognards won every match.
By this time, some of the participants staying in the hotel had “borrowed” table lamps from their rooms to improve the conference room’s rather meagre lighting. (We had approved an emergency upgrade from a conference room just half the size on Thursday – late registrations had made it worthwhile, and in retrospect, it was absolutely necessary.) When those players had to return their lamps to their rooms before the Sunday checkout, the hotel stepped in to replace the lamps from their reserve inventory.
The 4th round started at 5:30 pm on Saturday. By this time, only Steve Slunt and Darren Kovacs were undefeated, and so they faced off. Darren’s Russians successfully defended against Steve’s Germans in J94 Kempf at Melikhovo. (Your TD wishes he’d watched this short, sharp, scenario played out.)
Meanwhile, Blair Bellamy’s Canadians upset Bill Bird’s Germans in the 2nd round of the McLeod Mini in the newly published scenario MLR09 Overrun (using the new-ish board 1a, which Jim McLeod had never seen), securing a spot for Blair in Sunday’s final against Paul Suderman.
The hotel hosted a wedding reception on Saturday night, and its rambunctious attendees partied all night in their many rooms. Unfortunately, Brad Hunter was encircled by these celebrants, and he had to bow out of Sunday’s play due to complete lack of sleep. (Brad left us a warm, congratulatory, note that reassured us of his attendance at future CASLOs.)
While Paul Suderman duked it out with Blair Bellamy in the McLeod Mini final (Paul held out as the defending Canadians in the new MLR11 Only the Beginning), there was potential drama brewing in the main tourney.
By Sunday morning, Darren was undefeated at 4-0, while Adrian Earle, Steve Slunt and Erik Lindblad were all at 3-1. If Adrian defeated Darren, there would be 3 players at 4-1, necessitating all sorts of tie-breakers and potentially bringing the victories achieved by their opponents into play. But Darren’s Germans blocked Adrian’s British from fulfilling their Victory Conditions, and Darren’s long car drive from Victoria was rewarded with a first place finish.
A table showing all results is attached.
Notes regarding the attachment:
• Brown denotes McLeod Memorial Mini matches; Blue denotes ASLSK Mini matches; Bolded players received plaques.
• These results have all been submitted to ROAR and AREA.
• Original seedings were ill-informed. Yours truly will do better next time. (In particular, Slunt’s no longer a sleeper.)
All donated gamettes, scenario packs, souvenir t-shirts, glassware and custom patches were displayed for inspection on a prize table at the front of the room all weekend. Competitors understood that their turn to select a prize of their choice would depend on the order of finish.
Thanks to the sponsors for their prize donations (in no particular order):
• Le Franc Tireur http://www.lefranctireur.org/
• Lone Canuck Publishing http://www.lonecanuckpublishing.ca/
• Multiman Publishing http://www.multimanpublishing.com/
• Bounding Fire Productions http://www.boundingfire.com/
• BattleSchool KitShop http://asl-battleschool.blogspot.ca/p/kitshop.html
• Winnipeg ASL Club
- Pendragon (Winnipeg game store)
Game Knight (Winnipeg game store)
• Darren Kovacs: The Winnipeg ASL Club has missed Darren since he moved to Victoria BC, and we were very happy to see him not only drive (!) back to participate, but beat some very good players to finish first. A true grognard.
• Steve Slunt: One of the mysterious Calgarians we didn’t know, we obviously seeded him too low. Cheerful and engaging, Steve is welcome back any time. Steve won the Snake-eyes certificate, but I’m sure he would have done just as well without the benefit of luck.
• Paul Suderman: Current VP of WASLC, Paul was invaluable in all aspects of the planning and delivery of this year’s CASLO. While we were both rookies at running a tournament, I know that the next time we work together on something like this, it will be even better. Congrats on winning the McLeod Memorial Mini – you earned it. Your Close Combat certificate was just icing on the cake.
• Ron Levreault: While Ron may have been very surprised to finish 3rd overall in the main tourney, he must now know that he’s the Winnipeg Club’s most improved player. (The fact that he never lost a match to other competitors with a 3-2 record certainly helped.) Thanks again for crafting and donating the diorama for the CASLO winner, and for designing your home’s addition to accommodate a meeting room for WASLC.
• Erik Lindblad: Erik faced no easy opponents, and still finished very well. He used my kit all weekend, and grossly overpaid me with a fine bottle of port (AFTER we adjudicated in his favour Friday night – I’m all about the transparency). Good to see you again, and I hope we face off next year.
• Adrian Earle: The guy I seeded as Number One, and 2011’s CASLO winner. No wonder Adrian ended up in the final. I wish I’d known you when I lived in Ottawa – I’d have been a much better ASL player today. Your patience with innumerable rules questions and the occasional adjudication is valued and respected. See you next year.
• Norm Wieser: Wow! I seeded Norm last – never again. Okay, 1-1 of his 3-2 is due to a bye and a forfeit, but still… He’s a relatively recent convert to ASL from Squad Leader, but it’s apparent that he knows tactics. And the patches were gorgeous. Congrats on the ROF Tear certificate. And sorry you played no one but Sudermans – I swear it was accidental.
• Blair Bellamy: Roomie! I had warned you I snored, so you brought earplugs. Clever man. Thanks for giving Shane M. the Starter Kit lesson in the bar Thursday, when you could have been drinking more. And congrats on making it to the last turn of the McLeod Mini final – he would have been proud of you.
• Bill Bird: Come back! WASLC needs you! The “new guard” of the club needs a local grognard to Yoda us. Thanks for coming out, and we’ll see you again soon.
• Shane Newman: Shane’s first tournament no doubt showed him that he’s a legitimate player. Years of SASL did you no harm. See you at another tournament soon.
• Brad Hunter: When you win an adjudication, don’t act surprised – it makes us second-guess ourselves. Seriously, it was a pleasure to host you (another mysterious Calgarian). Work with your neighbours (and Leja) to host CASLO in future – you’ve got a strong base of players (including yourself).
• Mike Rodgers: I hope I didn’t tease you too much about adjudications, or your role as CASLA Secretary-Treasurer – I’ve been told (by Ron’s son) that I’m a mean person. Thanks for your help, and tell your cheerleader Diane that pom-poms should seal the deal. Congrats on your Sniper certificate.
• Derek Lofthouse: The 3rd “mysterious Calgarian” salvaged his tourney with 2 late wins (but I bet you were getting worried after starting 0-3). Your wit and sportsmanship contributed greatly.
• Jim Suderman: Paul’s older brother is funnier. (I’m an elder brother too, so I know this is usually true.) As “winner” of the Boxcars certificate, I have no doubt that Jim is in dire need of better-weighted dice…
• Dave Hall: Sorry that I stiffed you in the CCPh of the last turn in round 1. Apparently I set the tone for your tournament. But thanks for heading up the 17 Wing tour – it was popular, and your ID was extremely handy during their security exercise.
• Josh Gilbert: Josh had the misfortune of drawing Darren and Adrian in rounds 2 and 3, and I know he knows it was not intentional on my part. Congrats on surviving all that rain on your Harley (and on not finishing last – you’re a better player than this record).
• Mike Suderman: You earned a win before Dad did – congrats. Take solace from the fact that the next CASLO you enter will be free of charge.
Honourable Mentions:
• Tom Wilson: Tom defeated Shane M. in round 1 of the Starter Kit Mini, and after the deliberation of like-minded competitors, went fishing. Tom was declared winner of the ASL Starter Kit Mini tournament. He won ($25 worth of) precision dice, and was happy.
• Shane Mckenzie: ASL’s newest rookie. This is the kind of player CASLO needs to encourage – competitive, clever and willing. (Oh, and for transparency’s sake, the guy to whom I sold my out of print Starter Kit #1 at cost.)
• Mike Bourgeault: Sorry your studies prevented you from attending. We missed you, not least because you are a WASLC and CASLA co-founder. But many thanks for helping us fine-tune the Elite Canadians package of McLeod scenarios and advising us on CASLO planning. See you very soon.
• Eric Suderman: You didn’t play (and perhaps never do – I don’t know), but your graphic design skills were truly appreciated and respected. You helped make this event notable. We got off cheap by paying you with a t-shirt (and portfolio content).
Finally, closing thoughts as the current CASLA Dictator (er, Director):
Judging from the verbal feedback received, this CASLO was enjoyable. While it may have lost money (due mainly to the last-minute conference room upgrade, which doubled that particular cost item, the main cost item), the rookie TD (me) and Assistant TD (Paul) learned how to run a tournament by doing it.
Next time we’ll plan on the right-sized room, and pick more appropriate scenarios for each round. (Hey, I’m not afraid to say we made the occasional error.)
But overall, I believe it was reasonably well-run in execution.
As CASLA Director, I believe CASLO should alternate betweeen east and west Canada. I will make such a motion to amend our Charter at the next opportunity.
Not that I want to avoid CASLO next year – Winnipeg is the default location (according to our Charter) if another location is not approved by a majority of CASLA members, and WASLC is ever-ready to do it again.
But while moving CASLO around may confuse the occasional foreigner, I believe it strengthens ASL participation in our country, thin as it may be. I will support the concept of a portable CASLO as long as I’m a member. Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver/Victoria – step up!
Steffen Knippel
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BattleSchool
Forum Guru
Good, witty, self-effacing summary Steve.
Any feedback wrt holding tourney in May versus September?
Any feedback wrt holding tourney in May versus September?
Not really. Only a couple of non-local players stayed overnight on the Sunday, so I don't think the long weekend was much of a factor for people. Perhaps next year, if it's in May again, shifting the CASLO to the following weekend (Memorial Day in the USA) would enable more Americans to attend.
SSlunt
Senior Member
The weekend was a great experience. Being my First tournament I was not sure what to expect.
As for my ranking Officially I had only played 8 ASL games before Friday, so I would not worry about the ranking. - No one asked about my SL playings :hush:
Thanks again - I hope to attend next year
As for my ranking Officially I had only played 8 ASL games before Friday, so I would not worry about the ranking. - No one asked about my SL playings :hush:
Thanks again - I hope to attend next year
Well, Mr Slunt, you did extremely well for the rookie you proclaim yourself to be. And you're welcome back to any CASLO you can make it out to.
By all accounts, fun and challenging to play. You have arrived, sir. Count on quality play every time you leave Calgary.
Consider hosting - you guys have a base. (Of course, as a new CASLA member, you may propose hosting. Work with your friends.)
See you soon,
El Presidente.
Unfortunately, the location of the CASLO is voted on each year - no guarantee it's in Winnipeg next May. But stay tuned.
BattleSchool
Forum Guru
Keep your fingers crossed and maybe the Open will be in Calgary next May.
Keep your fingers crossed and maybe the Open will be in Calgary next May.
I am hoping for Montreal
BattleSchool
Forum Guru
Not Fredericton? <sigh>