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The Founding of the U.S. Backgammon Federation (USBGF)

Ever since the incredible burst of popularity that backgammon enjoyed in the 1970s, the sport has been on the decline. American players stood on the sidelines for decades, watching their numbers dwindle and their profiles grey, as the public’s imagination was captured by a succession of other pastimes, including poker. Most of us realized, however dimly, that we desperately needed a national federation to organize and promote the game, but the implementation of this obvious idea was painfully slow in coming.

Things began to change only in 2009, when New York backgammon enthusiast Rod Covlin asked Richard Munitz and Lynn Ehrlich to join him in forming an organization with the goal of running charitable fund-raiser events and driving interest in backgammon. In February of 2009 a non-profit corporation was formed, and the trio soon began to entertain the idea of extending the reach of Rod’s brainchild beyond New York, to effect a large-scale, grass-roots promotion of backgammon.

Meanwhile, in June 2009 Ray Fogerlund suggested that the backgammon community ought to develop and maintain a national ratings system. Rod offered his organization as a sponsor, and Ray began the collection of draw sheets. The ratings and stats project, announced to the public on Stick Rice’s forum, BGonline, kicked into gear at a well-attended planning meeting in July 2009 in Novi.

A few months later, Chicago players Phil Simborg and Carter Mattig threw their hats into the ring. Carter had visited Denmark frequently and extolled the virtues of the Danish Federation to Phil and anyone that would listen. Chiva Tafazzoli, a prominent organizer in Europe, encouraged Carter to start a similar organization here in the United States. Finally, in early October 2009, Carter suggested to Phil (who liked the concept of awarding points to players in local tournaments in the same way that the US Bridge Federation does) that they do it together. Recognizing the enormity of the task, Phil initiated a thread on BGonline on October 6, 2009 lamenting the state of American backgammon and urging the web subscribers to “do something about it.” In that thread Rich Munitz suggested that the formation of a national backgammon federation was the answer.

On Oct. 7, 2009, Phil took up that suggestion, announcing on BGonline that he was founding a national player’s organization. He got a resounding response from many well-respected players from all over the country. Rod then volunteered to let his non-profit be used as the vehicle of a national organization. An eleven-member board of directors was established and met for the first time in December of 2009, with Rod as President/Executive Director and Chairman. Phil joined the Board of Governors and invested considerable time to committee work. Rod provided untiring leadership in getting the new organization off the ground, including the filing of necessary documents and the establishment of the Board of Directors, Board of Governors, and the crucial committees to launch initial activities. Rod stayed on until the spring of 2010 when he resigned to devote himself to some personal priorities.

Perry Gartner became President and Executive Director of the Federation in May 2010. Perry has continued to create a set of benefits and activities attractive to backgammon players at all levels. Under Perry’s leadership, a Founding Sponsors program was created in May 2010. The first group of members was enrolled at Patrick Gibson’s Los Angeles Open tournament in June 2010. An updated website and first issue of the USBGF electronic magazine, PrimeTime Backgammon, were launched in September 2010. The current Board is chaired by Harvey Gillis. Other Board members: Perry, President/ Executive Director; Karen Davis, Treasurer; Lynn Ehrlich, Secretary; Patrick Gibson; Jeb Horton; Alfred Mamlet; Richard Munitz; Stick Rice, and Joseph Russell. Carol Joy Cole and Neil Kazaross serve as Advisory Board members.

REFERENCES

http://usbgf.org/about-us/history/, used with permission