Introduction When I decided to return to FTF Diplomacy play in North America after many, many years DIPCON was an obvious choice for my first event. And so I got online made my reservations with UA (That was easy. Signing up for their FFM program was anything but.), contacted Sheratons Reservations online and immediately was plunged into a power struggle between their central reservations office and the local hotel. Fortunately, with help from Jeff Ladd that was resolved in my favor; and I then signed up for the event online at the PTKS website. That was easy enough, I thought, and proceeded to the next step: putting together a team for the team event I assumed was going to happen in Silver Spring. I soon had two volunteers, then three, four, five; and then I realized I had no idea what the size of the teams for the team event would be. So I looked at the event web site and found no mention of a team event. Strange, I thought, so I asked Chris Martin (one of my committed team members, and one of the organizers of the event) what he knew? Not much, he said, but he assured me that there had always been a team event, usually on Saturday. Then I asked Edi Birsan (another perspective team member, and Edi always knows what’s going on in the hobby), and he said he didn’t know of one. I was starting to worry, so I emailed Jeff Ladd, who I had been told could solve any DipCon problem, and asked him what was up. He replied, and I quote him verbatim, “We really didn't alter our normal Tempest for the DipCon bid.” Well, I had no idea what a normal Tempest was like, but I did have a pretty good idea of what a DipCon should be. I informed Bill LaFosse, who was as enthusiastic about the team event as I was, Chris and Edi that apparently there was to be no team event. I then pondered what to do next. What follows is what I decided to do. I was surprised to learn that were would be no team event at this year’s DipCon, but shame on me for not asking. On the other hand, when you sign up to buy a new car you assume you’re getting four tires with it. I was even more surprised at how nonchalant those responsible for such things were about that decision. And I was still even more surprised at how defensive those who have used the team event for their own advantage were about having done so. That wasn’t from the cat’s mouth, but it seemed to be the consensus of multiple reports that “Team events fell out of favor because the best players would form teams amongst themselves in order to avoid having to play each other.” Heh, all’s fair in war and Dip, right? In Context (i.e. Peeriblah deep background) It’s ironic that in the USA, where team sports like football, baseball, basketball, etc. rule and dominate sports, individual sports are relatively neglected. Even a macho man individualistic sport like golf still finds the Masters and Ryder Cup fascinating if not completely understandable. How important is the super star on the team? Can you name one other member of any of Michael Phelps Olympics swimming teams? Probably not. And yet in Europe it is the solo athlete that wins respect and highest praise. The individual who climbs a 1,000 foot tall building, or who crosses the Grand Canyon on a wire without a safety belt, or the sailor who crosses the ocean in a kayak alone is praised. Consider something as simple as sailing around the world alone. Have you ever heard of Captain Joshua Slocum? Probably not unless you’re a yachting fanatic or happen to be from Nova Scotia. Sometime around 1900, or slightly before, Slocum became the first person to sail single-handedly around the world aboard the sloop Spray. Read his account of the voyage in Alone Around the World (1900). It’s one of the truly great sports epics. Move ahead, quickly now to 1966 (and this one I do remember) when to be Sir Francis Chichester set his sights on the next logical goal — a racing-style circumnavigation of the world. His goal was to be the fastest ever for a single-handed around-the-world-trip. In 1966, aboard the Gipsy Moth IV he did that that. It took him 226 days sailing time, twice as fast as the previous record. At the age of 65, Chichester had once again revolutionized single-handed sailing. A quarter of a million people greeted his arrival back in England and more than a few hundred jumped into the water with joy! The individual star shines brightly, but the collective efforts of teams shine even brighter. I remember watching Dennis Connor’s (a much disliked fellow in San Diego) team bring the America’s Cup back to San Diego from Australia. Even in a jaded sports town like San Diego that was a “big deal.” More recently, who among those who saw it will ever forget team Oracle’s come-from-behind victory over the New Zealand team Emirates in this year’s America’s Cup? Even in a jaded sailing town like San Francisco, hundreds of thousands of spectators and fans alike turned out to see that final race. Yes, team events do get attention. Finally, let’s ask what is the purpose of the team event? Simply put, it is to teach us to plan and work together to achieve a positive goal. Those who think otherwise have a simple alternative — they don’t have to play in it. The Problem(s) Next, let us consider, in general terms, some of the problems related to team events at the DipCon level in North America (Europe and Australia don’t seem to have a problem with the concept or executing it. There were 17 teams in the team event in Paris at this year’s WDC. Why don’t Americans like team events? It’s simple. It’s because they don’t like to work together. The “every man for himself” (and God help you if you’re a female player) mantra has become a way of life in the USA. You can see it on the mega-level as you read this if you look at what’s going on in Washington. I’m sure Bohner and Cantor and the rest are not team players. Certainly the lack of a team event has kept foreign attendance at our DipCons, including our World DipCons down, and perhaps some Americans like that. Deceit is the performance enhancing drug of choice of Diplomacy. As long as there are Diplomacy events there will be those who have to try to “play the game or beat the system.” And then, when they do beat it, they go around and brag about it. Have they no shame? Looking at the World Diplomacy Database figures for the last team for the USA I am reminded of some financial advice my grandmother gave me a half-century ago when she bought me my first stocks. One of her cardinal rules was, “Don’t ever buy stock in a company that you can’t tell what they do from their name.” Following her advice paid off. Today, looking at DipCon event names would you, if you were a parent, send your kid to an event called: The Bar Room Brawl, Massacre, Weasel Moot, BadAss Whipping, or Carnage on the Mountain? I think not. What do these names tell you about the who, what, where or of an event? Not much. Look at the attendance figures: 7,26,35,16,23,17,15,15,13,28,22,15,7… In a word, pathetic. When a Diplomacy event in San Marino can attract more people than any similar event in the USA; we’re in trouble. Where, I ask you, is the new blood? Scared away by the old? Perhaps. Is it more convenient and rewarding for old timers to do the same old things with the same, even older group of people than deal with the challenges and potential defeats of facing a new and younger generation of Dippers? The Europeans have done away with the open-ended game, and I disagree with that. We’ve done away with the team event, and I disagree with that. I may be only one hobby Old Fart but that’s my opinion. Why are we afraid to try something so old it may seem new to today’s and tomorrow’s hobby? Those who use or believe others use teams to prevent having to face the best players at a team event would do well to remember that there are those who play on teams for more noble reasons. We should not let our cynicism prevent others from enjoying this kind of Diplomacy. Why deprive others of doing something they enjoy or might enjoy just because some find it inconvenient? A 7X7 board tournament with 49 players, a team event, a top board and a variety of Diplomacy related events have always been my standard for a “real” DipCon. Is that not reasonable? What happened? The Solution(s) Diplomacy has always consisted of the individual, team and national (or state or community) elements. A healthy balance of all three is necessary to the wellbeing of the hobby. The lack of a team element in the American FTF hobby may help explain its current poor condition. DipCons have traditionally been built around a singles event with seven or more boards that would lead to a top board event, and a team event. Those were the three pillars of DipCon. Just become some people don’t like it is no reason why we shouldn’t be doing it. A whole new generation of players hasn’t had an opportunity to experience team play. Who knows, they might actually enjoy it if they tried it. Yes, teams do build espirit de corps, even if only for a few hours. The team event provides another path to the awards and prizes. Is that so bad? The lawyers among us have apparently found time for their event. Why not let the team players do the same? A team event helps bring back drama and excitement to the game, the event and the hobby; and excitement is something we seem to need at the moment. The online hobby has a new ‘zine called A Fleet In Paris. It looks promising. Its early issues are filled with goodies from written by newbies, and I have not seen ONE name therein listed in the rosters of this past year’s DipCons. Will the old hobby establishment welcome A Fleet In Paris or shy away from the competition of and for new blood? I welcome it and I’m putting my words, peeriblah if you will, where my wishes are. We need to do the same thing with newbies to the FTF hobby and, hopefully, new or revitalized older events. In cA local or regional Diplomacy event seeking to hold a national or continental Dip event owes it to that event and the hobby as a whole to strive to attain the goals of that event and bring its own event up to the standards of the higher event — not to merely say, “Come hither and take us as we are.” In summary, we need to revitalize out FTF Diplomacy events. We need new blood to do that. And one way of attracting new blood is to bring give new options. Bringing back the team event is one such option. We’ve neglected or even abandoned our traditions, and we’re paying for it now. Conclusion I crawled my way back to this DipCon after six hospital visits in three years. I did not do so to attend a wake for DipCon or its team event. It is time to end a generation’s benign neglect of this hobby’s pillar event and return it to its rightful place in the DipCon pantheon of events. First we bring back the team event. Then we restore DipCon to its rightful place primus inter pares instead of unus inter multos. I leave you with this question, “Is it that Americans don’t like the concept of a team event or is it that they are afraid of it?” The call to action has been sounded! Will you answer the call? Or will you retreat to the bar in Silver Spring, order another beer, and say: “Let Edi do it;” and then wonder why nobody shows up at DipCon next year? I look forward to a free and open discussion of this subject in Silver Spring. Hopefully if we can keep people out of the bar long enough to have one. Those who were in Birmingham, England for WDC IV will know what I mean. Larry Peery (peery@ix.netcom.com) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.