Hello all,

I just wanted to take a few minutes and kind of test the waters. I know that this time of year is kind of the dead season for meetings, but I have been pondering on the following question for a long time...

Do members still want to have meetings?

The reason I ask is this... other than Mrhide's January meeting and Medvet's May meeting, no one seems interested. I get dozens of PMs about the meetings, but when someone does one, very few actually show up...

Here is why I am thinking this... I hosted a lot of meetings in the past and had pretty big turnouts. My last meeting in 2005 I had well over 20 people. I then decided to give members a chance to host meetings, and kind of backed off. Also in October 2005, we had a big turnout at SpaceCadet's place, where he had classic pins lined up in his garage.

Since that meeting, other than Phil, Jim and Mary-Ellen's meetings, very little come over. We did have a good turnout at Scribec's but Hydro Quebec kinda let us down.  

I want to hear what YOU GUYS AND GALS have to say about the meetings... please feel free to post ANYTHING!!! Please speak your mind!! Let us know what you would like to see at a meeting... how would you like for us to help if you want to host one... whatever comes to mind, POST IT! You want to see a MAACA pinball league, like the TOPL? (we tried this briefly, but to no avail) You want to have a yearly swapmeet? would you rather just 1 meeting or 2 a year? Rent a hall to host a meeting?

Any ideas you have, POST EM HERE!!! I don't care what it is... jeez, you can even bash me and tell me I am a lousy admin and that is why you don't come to meetings... I can take it.

Is it because of your tastes in pinball? You only like DMDs so no classic pin meeting interests you? Is it the other way around? Is it because there are few vids at meetings? (my vids were always a big hit at my meetings...) Let me know...

I want the meetings to come to life on a monthly basis again, and I need your help to get it going, if possible.


Open forum... it is all yours...

Sparky

For a leauge to catch on I think you have to have at least two or more hard core consistent and driven competitive players that keep the whole thing afloat.  That or serve free pizza and beer and have 30 - 40 immaculate operating DMDs to play (or a place to play like Mike Hanley's or a Playdium)

It's not because you are a lousy admin that I don't come to meetings.  

  new child, new shop and loads of driving have kept me away.  but i am still in and want meetings.  just that most meetings have been on saturdays.  hard to do with a new shop.  but now i have others trained to do most things.  so erin has been talking about travelling again to play.  a couple of my friends here are darn good players and i have been bugging them about how good the meetings are.  they can't wait.

  don't really care if there is old or new machines.  just as long as they play.

    i am hoping to try and have a meeting at the shop.  maybe after the summer.  but it would be nice to try for one during the summer.  with what is here and what is coming it would be a good mix.  just need some vids out.  vids for sale.  when i had the shop in trenton it was really out of everybodys way.  hoping being in peterborough i can get at least 10+ members.  there is more living around me now then ever.  still miss tony's set up in trenton though.

Since I joined this group, I attended every meeting. Fantastic way to meet new interesting people and to discover some machines that I didn't know. Definetely more meetings. Even with only 3 or 4 machines. It's not the quantity that counts...

As for me, you know that I had to downsize my collection to two pins only in my home's dark basement. I doubt that a meeting in those conditions would attract a lot of people. If the business ever pick up again and I can use the local to grow a new collection, I'll sure host.

I think distance is the main issue.

Since we talk daily with folks from toronto and ottawa, having meetings in montreal (or vice versa) without them is considered "low attendance". Not everyone can drive 3 hours for half a day of pinball.  Also, not everyone can spare a full day on pinball !

I'm for the 2 hours weekday evening, tournament / league type of thing.  every other week would be cool.

We can still have regular "bigger meetings" (I'm still on for January!) but I'm with Sparky, more often would be nice.

Been busy with my life, didnt attend a lot in the last 3 years, i'm not doing much other things either...

Working a full day job, working freelance on top of that (because i can and it pays much better..), 2 kids (my daughter is now 20 months so its getting easier). Wife is also working full time so not much get done on weekdays, thats what weekends are for (at least for us), work outside, clean the house, wash clothes, play with the kids...

Pinball is a hobby for me, i really like it but i've got a lot of other things going on in my life that gets a higher priority. I've been buying a lot in order to grow my collection, my hobby time has been concentrated into that (and i try to do it after 8pm on weekdays, when the kids are in bed and the wife cant say anything).

Will still attend as many meeting as i can, and will try to host one eventually (once i get to fix all the little things i still have to do on my games), 2 hours tournaments every other week like MrHide said could be nice (8pm sounds good once the kids are in bed ) Cycle thru all the participants and play at everyone's place once thru the season (or as many times as it takes if we are only 3

I'd be happy to hand over all the score sheets and rankings sheets and stuff like that from TOPL to help you guys get up and running.  

The TOPL format I find works well becuase all you really need on a weekly (or mabye in your case bi-weekly) basics is 3 people are 4 machines and you can hold a league night.  

As for me, I've attended every Toronto based MAACA meeting, driving to Montreal is a bit far, I had planned to attend one at some point just haven't had oppertunity to yet.  

Why not have an Ottawa league, and a MTL league, and then have a 'world series' once a year?

Sparky low turnout doesn't necessarily mean a failed meeting, or show a lack of interest. Everyone has busy lives.

Personally I would try to go out for any gathering in the Ottawa area, but probably not more than once a month.

I would be willing to participate in low-key competition, nothing too serious.

And once I have some playable pins I'll offer to host small get-togethers...

I'd be willing to host too, but don't know how many people I could handle. I only have 3 machines, one of them being an EM.