Newswink

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN TIDDLYWINKS ASSOCIATION

Vol 3, No 2 / April, 1970 [sic, should be 1971]

EDITORS: ROSIE WAIN and ANDY TOMASZEWSKI

Price—25¢

FERD BUYS TRUCK

Toronto: On the grim and sleety night of February 12 an exhausted Somerville team staggered into the University of Toronto. Two days later they left for home, having secured the NATwA Team Championship for the second consecutive year. On the Saturday morning, as the matches were just getting under way, Somerville’s Ferdinand T. Bull said they were so confident of a win that they had left the CHYM Trophy at their home near Boston, Massachusetts. His expectations were realised when the Somervillains defeated every one of their opponents as a result of consistent and determined play and skilful distribution of strength in their pairings.

In the first round of the tournament HYTHNLBTWOC of Philadelphia defeated the University of Waterloo in a sudden death playoff which qualified them to play for the championship against MIT and Somerville of Boston, Cornell of Ithaca, New York, and the University of Toronto. A “B” League was organised by Severin Drix in his own inimitable fashion. This league included Sid Freund’s young and enthusiastic group from an elementary school in West Harlem who were flown in in style from New York City for the occasion.

Due to the efficient planning and organisation of Bryon Alexandroff, the tournament ran more smoothly than any previous Continentals. Members of the news media were in evidence throughout the weekend and the event received an unprecedented amount of publicity before, during, and after the tournament. The attention given to the annual meeting was another indication of the increasing popularity of the game of Tiddlywinks on this continent. It is thought that the expansion of NATwA will continue at its remarkable rate.

Every year, the Mythical Yvonne F. Lukey Memorial Award is given to the player who succeeds in making the most improbable shot of the Continentals tournament. This year it is awarded to Sunshine of HYTHNLBTWOC who, during a game with Lindsey Horenblas and Wendy Levinson of Toronto, potted seven winks in a row.

Top pair of the weekend were Bob Henninge and Jon Miller who won 10 games of 12 for a total of 60⅚ points. Best unsubstituted pair were Tim Schiller and Franz Christ who accumulated 53½ points, followed closely by Bryon Alexandroff and Mel Solomon of Toronto with 53⅙, and Ferd Bull and Jeff Wieselthier with 52. Sunshine and Naomi Gusowski, whose brilliant play had made them favourites in the early rounds, had faded to fifth place by the end of the tournament.

On the Saturday evening the annual NATwA Congress was held at Crash Hall, at which Bryon Alexandroff was elected Secretary-General for the following year and was presented with the NATwA Man of the Year Award. Platooning, kibbutzing, and several points of rule were discussed and agreed upon. But the question remains: Will Ferd call his truck Andy?

EDITORIAL

Earlier in the year we received a reference from Severin Drix to a Life Magazine article from Dec. 14, 1962 (Vol. 53, No. 24.) As Severin mentioned, it referred to a previous NATwA that “vanished with barely a trace”. I can only assume that a few enthusiasts got together in a couple of locations in North America but never bothered to introduce newcomers to the game. Presumably it was more appealing and stimulating to play with the more experience Winkers and so any interested beginners were never instilled with the enthusiasm they needed. After a very short time the organisation disintegrated and later was re-established by Michael Gottesmann [sic, should be Gottesman]. In a similar fashion, this new NATwA thrived for a short time and it was starting to peter out when Mitchell Wand was elected Secretary-General. I know little about the formation of the MIT team, so I apologise if I am not giving credit where due; but as far as I know, Ferd Bull founded that teams, and under the leadership of Mitch Wand it boomed. He not only established a very large local club, but had the foresight to write to about fifty colleges in the Eastern U.S., inviting them to partake in a very well nationally publicised Continentals. Meanwhile, Severin Drix was busy building his empire at Cornell and the resulting Continentals that year was a good mixture of first and second generation Winkers. Newcomers were immediately incorporated into the Association, and the temptation for the older Winkers to stick together was overcome. The next step in propagating the game was the formation of the first independent team by Sunshine in Philadelphia, and also the founding of the Somerville team by Ferd Bull and the emergence of the Ottawa team. Thenext major step was Regionalisation.

Regionalisation has had its growing pains this year. Neither Andy nor I can pretend that it was an overwhelming success, but it has been a reasonable start. It has enabled Winkers to come together more than once during the year, and the minor disagreements between East and West have at least shown that NATwA is not totally apathetic. The Western Regional tournaments unforunately did not come off as well as had been expected since not every team could be present at both meetings. But NATwA is not yet strong enough for us to disqualify any team which does not show up on time. The Continentals itself was a success with a great feeling of unity throughout the weekend. For the first time, I felt that third and fourth generation Winkers were as well established in NATwA as the old timers like myself. Bryon Alexandroff must be congratulated on the organisation of it all. He gained fantastic publicity across Canada and NATwA will do well under his leadership next year. I think that a shift of political influence in NATwA is a good thing. I should like to suggest that no single person may assume the position of Secretary-General for more than a period of say two years.

My reasons for retirement are varied. Actually, the main thing I’m retiring from is total involvement in Winks. But I must confess that I might just be tempted to join some sort of Old Timers’ Team if one existed.

Finally, I should like to say a word about Andy. He deserved more credit than I think anybody realises. The influence he has had on “Newswink” is obvious. His imagination and wide scope of ideas has made this a far better publication. But more important is the thoroughness with which he has handled our joint Sec-Genship. I have been amazed at the ease with which he has organised NATwA this year, and I have been increasingly impressed with his ability to mentally file away {\underline all} the essential and non-essential information pertinent to the running of the Association. At the moment he probably knows more about what is going on than anyone else in NATwA. I hope that Andy will at least continue to edit “Newswink” next year.

Rosie Wain

E R R A T A

RECORDS: Sunshine says 996, not 997; also, four 33’s, not two.

CONGRESS MINUTES: 9 can be 4+2+3, or even 5+2+2, not necessarily 3×3.

LETTERS to the EDITOR

Many thanks for the excellent edition of Newswink (Vol. III, No. 1.) My only adverse comment is that I do not think that the presence of comics helps to promote a mature image!

Phil Villar
Hartford, Conn.

Living in Michigan has several disadvantages, one of which is that access to regulation equipment, rules, and personalities is nonexistent. However, the fame of the NATwA has reached even to here in Ann Arbor where the Winks force has been mainly underground. After reviewing the structural changes in rules in Newswink #1, a discussion arose and out of it several suggestions of our own.

First, we agree the name should be changed to Winks as that is how it has been referred to here for many years. Second, to initiate the uneducated barbarians into the intricacies of Winks a two level program should be instituted. The second, higher level should be the system as it is now, with whatever modernisation is deemed necessary. However the first, more simple level can cover a smaller realm of rules.

Suggestion is as follows: play, two or four players, teams or not, using four or five of the same size winks only. Each time a wink covers another player’s wink, the covering player gets an extra turn to uncover and the first player to get all his winks into the tub wins. No points, just single contests. As each player is allowed one turn to tie, the resulting ties could be played over as a whole new game or merely sudden death

The transition from the lower level to the higher real level can be made easily after an appreciation of the skill involved is attained. I can document the transition with actual case records as this is what we did from Haverford High to the U. of Michigan.

Michael Brachman
Ann Arbor, Mich.

Having been recently informed of the selection of the two of you as the temporary Secretary-General(s) of NATwA, may I be the first to offer my hearty congratulations. In choising [sic, should be choosing] you they have made a good choice (although not the best.)

I would like to take this opportunity to give some relavent [sic, should be relevant] and reasoned suggestions for the improvement of future matches. I base my suggestions on my experiences at the recent NATwA Eastern Regionals where, after successfully potting out against Ferd, I had the honour of being named to the All Star Team along with such notable and laudable personalities as Renke, Crick, Rumm, Schiller, and Earl. Thus I feel well-qualified to make the below-mentioned suggestions.

1 and First: French Fries should be {\underline BANNED} from the playing area. The greasiness of the hands which results gives a definite advantage to un-hungry vs. hungry. Either everyone should eat French Fries or none should.

2 and Second: The length of a game should be changed to a more ecstatically pleasing 26¨ minutes. This would allow the perfectionists and idealists, such as myself, ample opportunity to reach their total mind-blowin experiences.

3 and Third and Final: Rookies at matches should be required to wear identification badges so as to facilitate their identification by the Old (burb) Guard. I personally found this (the non-wearing of badges) a handicap, since I was not identified as a legend until I and my partner were victoriously victorious over both Samson and Ferd

I believe the above suggestions merit serious and studious study. I trust that you will agree.

Bill “Red Scarf” Gammerdinger
Philadelphia, Pa.

This, I believe, is a matter of utmost importance. More and more students are graduating and becoming individuals. I don’t think it’s good for NATwA for these people to float around and land with different teams every year. As a matter of fact, I don’t think it’s good for all of them to gather together to form one team, either. I can see a MIT grad team, Cornell grad team, etc., but clearly we must be more regulated.

Bill Renke,
Cambridge, Mass.

My friends and I have been so thrilled by the recent articles in the press dealing with that great game, Tiddlywinks. It is marvellous [sic, should be marvelous] to hear of the wonderful work that you and your mates are doing to introduce the game in this country.

A small but very dedicated group of us here in Moose Jaw have been aware of the great potential of Winks as an aid to relaxation in these troubled times, and of its great help in the development of a logical mind. Alas, this feeling is not shared by all. We have been forced to meet and play in secret due to threats against the physical well being of some of our more sensitive members by neighbors who do not understand.

I felt that I just had to write to you after seenig your marvellous [sic, should be marvelous] interview of TV the other night, just between Biafra and the prostitution problem.

It is our fond hope that through the efforts of wonderful people people [sic, duplicate word] like yourself that we will soon be able to emerge and indulge in our game openly and for the enjoyment of all.

In the meantime we draw strength and courage from the knolwedge that you are carrying forward the true message of our game.

May God bless you and aid you in all that you are doing.

J. Wesley Timms
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

If we can get a decent turnout (for the Pairs Tournament in May) say eight good pairs or more, this tournament will undoubtedly command the prestige it deserves (I’m not talking especially about publicity, but about our own feelings)–the pairs competition would seem to me to be at least the equal of the team competition, as far as getting at the real core of what Tw is about. It’s a pairs game (compare to tennis, with the Davis cup and the world individual title.) And yet, even with that weight, the Pairs Tournament will remain lighter in mood, because of the psychological fact that you only have to worry about yourselves, not about a whole team of players, who’s hot at any time, what pairings work, and so on. It’s simple sport, and echt tournament on a field of honour.

Bob Henninge
Somerville, Mass.

P.S.: Sonny Terry (of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee)’s favourite expression is, “Got you covered, man, got you covered.” Does this rate him special mention in the NATwA Closet of Fame?

Sender (call me Alphonse) Herschorn
Montreal, Quebec

Ed. note—This postscript was the origin of the term “NATwA Closet of Fame”.

The MIT team somehow spent $403.99 for transportation to the Continentals.

BOAST and RETORT

Reflections of an Armchair Winker:

POWER STRUCTURE (OR LACK OF IT) IN NATwA

How many executive positions currently exist in NATwA? One! (Secretary-General) Is the Secretary-General responsible for important decisions? No! Then how are they made?

There are, I think, a few names among Winkers in North America that are known by almost all members—Mitchell Wand, Ferd T. Bull, Severin Drix, Rosie Wain, and a handful of others who have acquired more recent fame. I believe that for the most part decisions are made by two or more of this handful and then the information is passed on to the others. Sometimes the Secretary-General is among the last to hear of these changes. Often teams without a big name are not informed until the enforced decision has put them out of contention.

I propose that over the next year plans for a governing body for NATwA be drawn up. The accepted plan should contain provisions for representation of every club that will be participating in the Regional and/or Continental play.

My own plan would consist of a four man executive: president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer; and a council composed of one member from each team. Details for this or a similar governing body could be wor ked [sic, should be worked] out over the coming year and instituted at the next Continentals.

An efficient method of communication would be the prime goal of such a set up and would result in not only better organisation of matches but also more interest by members of NATwA and potential sponsors. I can see nothing but good from efforts in this direction and feel that the strongest argument against it can only be—”Let’s try it, and if it doesn’t work we can go back to the old system.”

Carl Boast

Reply to the “Gnome at Home”:

A year or more ago, some of Carl Boast’s suppositions may have been valid. The operation of any organisation is of course dependent on efficient communication, and until the institution of Regionalisation, communication may have indeed been lacking in NATwA. But during the past season, communication between the Secretaries-General and the teams has been rather good. This, I believe, is due to the fact that Winkers under the Reginal system are necessarily involved with the organisation for a longer period of time during the season than they were when the Continentals was the one, self-contained determinant of Winking supremacy.

Carl tells us that the Secretary-General is not responsible for important decisions. Of course not. In every possible instance during the past year, the important decisions have been made by the members, whether by a vote at the Regional meetings, or have been based upon the apparent wishes of the majority as reflected ni the letters written and phone calls and visits made wherein attitudes were voiced. Although Carl Boast’s conception of the NATwA “Power Structure” is faulty throughout, I think it will suffice to ask him to substantiate his statements with facts before we indulge in any further discussion of the matter.

Our “armchair Winker’s” proposal for a “governing body” is not a new one. I cannot disagree with his plan for an “executive”, as I have advocated something similar (refer to Newswink editorial of September, 1970.) His “council composed of one member from each team” exists now and consists of team captains, with whom the Regional Co-ordinator communicates whenever an important issue arises. Surely Carl does not propose that these people meet in a council more often than at the Regionals and Continentals. The impracticability is obvious. However, if he is advocating that the efficiency of communication between these people be maximized, I cannot help but agree.

Andy Tomaszewski

winkends

Severin Drix’s Blue Mountain Juniors (mostly grade 7) recently played
host to Sid Freund’s sixth-graders from West Harlem. The latter came away
with a 40 1/6 – 22 5/6 victory.

Meets to be held this month:

April 4
Branches of the Tree Tournament in Teaneck, N.J.

April 11
Blue Mountain Seminar Winkend in Lake Mohegan, N.Y.

April 19
Haverford High School Annual Tournament in Havertown, Pa.

April 25
Boston Invitational Tournament in Boston, Mass. (MIT)

ROCINANATE on the ROAD

Upon our appointment as Secretaries-General we were determined to make this the best Winking year in the history of NATwA. But the mildly paranoid notion slowly grew within us that there might in fact not be a NATwA to run. So we took it upon ourselves to visit the Winking capitals within travelling distance in order to allay our fears.

MAXI TOUR

On the weekend of the Canadian Thanksgiving we took to the highway in Ferd de Ford (a noble and faithful steed of stell, named after that renowned Somerville Winker, Bob Henninge) and aimed him at Cornell. We didn’t miss and to our delight discovered Imp Rouse asleep behind an SDS poster. When she awoke she told us glorious tales of a Winking land of plenty where teams had fifty players who held clinics every week, a land where Regionals would be held, a land where squidgers were holy and “submarine” was just a word. We waved a fond goodbye and muttered to ourselves.

Harpur College Binghampton was a different story however. With the aid of several concerned Harpur natives who cheerfully rendered totally usefless information, we managed in the space of three short hours to locate a Harpur Winker who said they used to, although not always, but didn’t at all any more. We were so distressed at this news our hair fell out. But we baldly pushed on.

When we arrived at Lake Mohegan, Severin Drix greeted us with open arms full of snapshots of himself. When we had looked at the pictures and adequately praised the versatility of his hair, he let us in. Shortly thereafter, Ferd Bull and Bob Henninge emerged out of the bushed dragging their dulcimer behind them. At this very moment, somewhere in New Jersey, Sunshine was in the midst of a gruelling eight and a half hour hitch-hiking journey from Philadelphia to Philadelphia. And somewhere in Connecticut, Phil Villar was hiding.

As we five sat and chatted, Rosie and I drank half a bottle of 151-proof hair restorer, which almost instantly restored our hair. Unfortunately it all grew inward. The next item on the agenda was a game of “Five-way Squop Out”, which is hairy enough in itself. (The game is described elsewhere in this issue.)

The next day, at the foot of Bear Mountain, we held the Bear Mountain Summit Conference, at which a long series of totally irrelevant Winking issues were discussed. The climax of the Conference was a game of imaginary volleywink. Immediately thereafter Bob had to leave for Boston, but Ferd stayed behind in order to spend every last possible minute with Severin. A few minutes later we drove him home to Boston as it was only three hundred miles out of our way.

The next morning, at his rural Waltham apartment, we visited Mitchell Wand who greeted us with open arms full of snapshots of his apartment. After we had seen them all, he let us in. It wasn;t at all what we expected. Though we were quite comfortable, Mitch seemed to be bothered by a draft. For half an hour we enviously watched his beard grow, then left for home dragging our muffler behind us.

MINOTAUR

The following weekend, we visited Toronto and Waterloo, which were both there.

In Toronto a discussion was held on the organic chemical aspects of the game of Winks. At this meeting, Bryon Alexandroff took on the responsibility of promoting organic chemistry in North America.

In Waterloo’s (Sergeant) Pepperland, a seminar was held on the possibility of the violent secession of Quebec from NATwA.

At that very moment, Quebec officially seceded from NATwA while, many miles away, Jeff Wieselthier was showing some friends pictures of his camera.

(from the London, England Observer – 8 Nov., 1970)

It’s a dastardly blow for tiddlywinks that British justice should have decided neither to nod nor wink at tiddling in a pub for personal gain. “It falls within the Betting and Gaming Act,” said York police, po-faced. The sporting landlord who had offered a crate of beer for the best player in the house has had to replace the contest with one for puffing at peas through a straw.

There’s logic for you: not allowed to tiddle, but peas are quite in order.

5-way squop out

(conceptualized by Bob Henninge in a fit of incoherence)

Originated only a few month ago, this game has enjoyed increased popularity, especially among the “old guard” of the Eastern Region.

The usual equipment is used, with the addition of a fifth colour (either the old light blue winks are used, or yellow winks distinguished by a
magic marker design.)

The five players begin at points equidistant from each other, and from the pot. The usual rules apply, with the exception of two:

1) there is no time limit
2) a potted wink is considered permanently squopped. The object of the game is to squop out your opponents. The vital tactic is to squop your opponents’ winks and pot them in desquopping.

The most interesting part of the game is that only one pair of the five players may win. Pairs are sometimes not decided until the last shot of the game, because (see diag.)