A note from the director
As time goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that I need help. No one person can show up to events and also help the club grow. My co-director Melissa made a good life decision to move to NYC and take a job there. I’m so happy for her, but she left a big void behind.
So I’m asking: if you love backgammon, do you have any free time you could dedicate to the club?
Help us find new places to play
The whole point of Steel City Backgammon is to get people together in person to play backgammon.
The ask is simple … think about your favorite places to hang out near where you live, and evaluate them for backgammon using these four questions:
- Is there plenty of free table space? Think weekday evenings, not weekends.
- Do they have a variety of good food and drink to be had at reasonable prices?
- Is there plenty of free parking? Proximity to public transit is a big plus.
- Can we can use the space for free? Or with a commitment to purchase food and drink?
If the answer is yes to all 4, or even 3 out of 4, please let me know using Contact Us > “I want to help” > “I have a venue you should check out”. In the text area tell me what you like about the place.
Become a local club leader
Moving on to a deeper level … Pittsburgh, as you know, is a hub-and-spoke city. We haven’t been able to find the one-and-only venue that works for everyone, probably because that venue doesn’t exist.
So let’s follow the lead of clubs like Twin Cities in Minneapolis and NYC Backgammon in NYC. Steel City can become a loose federation of smaller local groups run by local leaders.
Granted these are bigger cities with more potential players than here, but the concept is sound. We want to have lots of playing opportunities all over Pittsburgh so people can go to events close to them, instead of driving 30-40 minutes. If you are a champion for a local venue, consider becoming a local leader, where you will have free rein to choose what kind of playing experience would go on there, interface with managers, create flyers, cards, and other marketing materials, and show up in person for most events. You’ll have access to funds (details TBD) for purchasing marketing materials.
You’ll need to be willing and able to handle funds if you schedule tournaments with entry fees. I will help you with everything at first.
Unfortunately I can’t afford to pay you anything (yet) but there will be some backgammon-related perks if it works out.
Here are some ideas people have suggested:
- Lawrenceville - Walkable and bikeable, nice eateries. Great for a group if you live there, terrible if you don’t because there’s nowhere to park.
- East Liberty - same. New players we want to join us probably live here! But access for non-locals is hard.
- Cranberry - lots of great venues have been suggested, but the commute is bad for people like me who live in the South Hills.
- South Hills - same. There are good sports bars, but the commute is bad for people who live north.
- And so on. Where do you live and what would be a great venue?
Again, use the contact form and let’s talk!
