President’s Corner

Feb. 2024

I would appreciate it if everyone will give me just a few minutes of reading time here.

I hope you are all planning on attending the Oregon Trail Regional which starts the week of the 19^th this month at the Hilton in downtown Vancouver WA. (Just to be clear … the regional that was canceled was the one in Vancouver, BC, not ours. A very unfortunate turn of events for our Canadian friends to the North.)

Historically speaking, the district has sponsored four regionals a year. (Technically, it has been five. Hawaii is officially in our district, but they take responsibility for their regional.)

Well, what was then, isn’t now. Declining revenues and significant increases in costs were already beginning to be impactful prior to the COVID tsunami. In 2022 and 2023, the district held just two regionals: Oregon Trail Regional and Seaside.

Here is my take on where we are at.

Let’s start with the good news. Seaside. This is the regional that works for us and there are several reasons for that. It’s on the coast so it becomes a destination point tournament for folks. Relatively speaking, we get a decent rate at the Seaside Convention Center. Because it is held at the Convention Center, we are not dealing with any sort of “room block” that happens when we are at a facility such as the Hilton in downtown Vancouver. (See Paul Linxwiler’s column in the current Bridge Bulletin for a further discussion of this issue and the impact it is having nationally.) There are lots of affordable lodging options within easy walking distance and plenty of decent restaurants.

The Oregon Trail Regional is a bit of a mixed bag. Historically it has been a great tournament for us. However, venues such as the Hilton are not getting just a little pricier, they are getting lots pricier. Room rates are getting beyond what many of us are willing to pay and with the room block situation that is part of the contract, well, it’s getting more challenging. In addition, given the time of the year we hold this tournament, there is always the possibility of bad weather. Think back no further than Wednesday evening of last year. There is talk of moving this tournament from a winter regional to a spring regional when the weather would be better. But that is not without its own issues. Playing venues are typically even more expensive at that time of the year. Plus, any time you change the time a tournament is held, you risk losing players who have other schedules already in place.

Which brings us to what have historically been our smaller regionals. Bend/Redmond, Boise, Eugene and Medford. This year we are holding a regional in Redmond (Bend) at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Convention Center the 13^th through the 19^th of May. This is perhaps a perfect example of the adaptation we are going to have to make as a district if we want to continue to hold the smaller regionals. In some ways, it may not be as nice as The River House on the river in Bend, but it is affordable and there is no dreaded room block. There are several lodging options nearby.

What is true, it is going to be more and more up to the locals in these outlying areas to step up if folks want these events to happen. Finding alternative (less expensive) playing sites is certainly one piece of it. Maybe modifying the length of the event and making it Monday through Friday.

I am happy to hear from folks out there with any thoughts you might have on this topic. Also, our annual Board meeting will be held at OTR after the second session on Thursday. Everyone is welcome to attend. The plan as of now is to hold the meeting in the main playing area but check the daily bulletin for latest info.

Don

541.228.4140