Just because I moved 1000 miles away from Wisconsin doesn't mean I'm not part of the Wisconsin gaming community. That's why I flew back to run the second annual Northwoods GT in Reedsburg Wisconsin.
The event consisted of a doubles tournament on Friday, which I actually played in, followed by the two-day Grand Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Joe Pierce ran the doubles tournament, and I ran the GT.
Once again we were able to reserve the Reedsburg Community Center and use the old gymnasium. We had 18 players in attendance this year. I was glad that we had an even number of players, because it meant that I didn't have to play as the “ringer” whilst also trying to run the tournament on Saturday and Sunday!
On Saturday we had pizza from a local place called “Old School Pizza”. It was especially convenient because it is located inside the community center where the tournament was held. The pizza was excellent, and very reasonably priced. They even let us use their party room for free.
Saturday night the whole group went out to Cancun Grill for Mexican food. Patrick from Minnesota surprised us all by picking up the check for the whole party! I'm continuously amazed by the camaraderie and generosity of the Kings of War community.
On Sunday we had party boxes from Subway. I always like to pick a lighter meal for Sunday so that people aren't traveling on heavy stomachs after the tournament.
Congratulations to Sean Troy's Ratkin for winning the Grand Tournament. It's always great to see a fellow Rat winning.
Shout-out to Three Mountain Games for once again sponsoring us and helping us get the community center and the tables from the chamber of commerce.
Special thanks to the Kings of War Wisconsin game club for helping book a hotel, making trophy plaques, hauling terrain, setting up tables, driving me around, etc... I literally could not have done it without them.
To me the weekend wasn't about the event. It was about seeing my friends and my family.
Moving forward I will be handing off the tournament to someone else. It was difficult to organize the logistics from 1000 miles away, and the fact that my travel expenses had to come out of the proceeds from the event meant that there was less money available for prize support and meals for the attendees. In fact the event went way over budget, and I ended up paying for a lot out of my own pocket. That wouldn't have happened if someone more local was running the show.
I still plan to attend the tournament in the future, but as a player instead of a tournament organizer. If I can only choose one Wisconsin event to attend per year, I will pick this one over Adepticon because I know I will get to see all my friends at Northwoods.
When I first announced that I was moving out of state, there were a few people who were very worried that the KoW Wisconsin club would die without my leadership. This event I feel, shows otherwise. The community worked together to make this event happen. My friends in both Wisconsin and Minnesota collaborated and covered down to make sure that all the pieces fell into place. I couldn't have done it without them, but I am proud to say that they certainly could have done it without me.
A few years ago I started a fire. A wonderful community has gathered around that fire, and I'm glad that I don't have to worry about it burning out just because I walked away. I know it is in good hands.
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