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Thread: Canadian Open 2011

  1. #21
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    Kanata, Ottawa, Ontario
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fred McKim
    I was approached by Mt Allison University in 1999 about the possibility of having the 2001 Canadian Open in Sackville, in the summer time, with the students gone home, not much more than a ghost town.

    We ended up advertizing a $13000 prize fund (based on 160 players) and 3 Grandmasters that we (or at least those of my age group) thought would be attractions: Kevin Spraggett, Larry Christiansen, and the late Tony Miles.

    We ended up with 169 participants, and if we subtract the local 15 from Moncton (less than 30 minutes away) we have 154 players, most of whom (minus the invited masters, and gas guzzling commuters) had to shell out for accomodations, travel, food, for the tournament package we put together. The residence rooms were reasonably priced (I can't remember if there were food packages or not), and I suspect the local food joints were all resonably priced.

    So my question is, approximately how many people did we pull in from outside the Toronto area this year; or by using the same formulas, for other years. Is bigger, better ?

    Obviously everyone likes bigger and better, but we can't continue on with good organizers having to lose money.
    Fred, this post brings back some awesome memories! I was there that year with my youngest son, and with a niece as his baby-sitter in the evenings.

    We had a fabulous time making day-trips, and then zipping back to Sackville for the evening round. My son and niece still remember that vacation week fondly! The best was eating lobster on the beach in the glorious sunshine!

    Back to your point about local players vs. travelling players, I was just on the phone with a key chess guy in Canada, and I was expressing the sentiment that the last few events seem to be restricted more and more to just the actual evening rounds. Less and less people seem to get engaged the rest of the week, like during the daytimes. I remember sitting around the pool in Richmond, yes drinking beer, with players from duffers to famous GMs, or going jogging with players in Edmonton, golfing in North Bay (I know, not a CO, but I loved that event!) ... anyway, when I mentioned in a previous post about being more Canadian-centric, I guess I didn't just mean welcoming Canadian elite players more, but I am also thinking of adding more Canadian character, which I know sounds corny, but Sackville had that character(!), which is why it is still so memorable so many years later for me and my family.

  2. #22
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    Sep 2008
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    Charlottetown, PE
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    What's funny is that I remember a lot of the PLAYERS organizing the side events, such as the trip across the PEI bridge, the golf outings, or the midnight blitz tournaments, etc. I didn't get to do any of these , I do remember all of the paperwork !!

    It was one of those "build it and they will come" events.

  3. #23
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    Aug 2008
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    Victoria BC
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    Just getting back to the comment on sections for a moment, we decided a couple of years ago to modify the Grand Pacific Open slightly and added an Under 1400 section to what is otherwise an Open tournament. This had the desired effect of siphoning off the true beginners and allowed them to get the experience of being in a large tournament yet still have reasonable opponents and a chance at prizes. This might be a consideration for the Canadian Open.

  4. #24

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    I strongly believe that we should NOT pay the expenses of foreign titled players to participate in the Canadian Open...I am not sure how the emphasis in recent years has turned to aiming at having particpation of numerous foreign titled players even though many of these are relatively unknown. Let us organize the Canadian Open with emphasis on the top Canadian players with foreign players being welcome if they pay their own expenses. Hopefully this will make it easier to find sponsors for future Canadian Opens while at the same time paying tribute to the top Canadian players. Phil Haley

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Haley
    I strongly believe that we should NOT pay the expenses of foreign titled players to participate in the Canadian Open...I am not sure how the emphasis in recent years has turned to aiming at having particpation of numerous foreign titled players even though many of these are relatively unknown. Let us organize the Canadian Open with emphasis on the top Canadian players with foreign players being welcome if they pay their own expenses. Hopefully this will make it easier to find sponsors for future Canadian Opens while at the same time paying tribute to the top Canadian players. Phil Haley
    As most readers might suspect, I lean towards Phil's viewpoint. In addition, I believe that this would not just be better for Canadian elite players, but for regular Canadian players as well. For example, I would be much more excited about the chance of playing a Canadian elite player, than a player who is relatively unknown to us. As an Organizer/TD, I am very interested in what players have to say about this. Would you be more likely to sign up for a Canadian Open that attracted a larger than usual suite of elite Canadians?

  6. #26
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    Sep 2008
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    Default Prize Fund vs appearance fees

    As Bob Armstrong mentioned, the GMs this year at the CO were given free entry and accommodation, and a crack at some guaranteed prize money in lieu of appearance fees. The prize guarantee of $32,000 could well be a CO record. This was the choice of the Organizing Committee and I applaud their courage. I know players love to wait until the last minute to enter, but this year was a real nail biter!

    Like players, organizers probably have their own opinions about an ideal Canadian Open. Ultimately it comes down to what they are willing to put their names on, and put their backs into!

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