North American Tiddlywinks Association

NATwA founded • 27 February 1966


  • Publication title • The Missing Wink
  • Whole number • 4 (unmarked)
  • Publisher • North American Tiddlywinks Association
  • Publication date • November 1976
  • Page side count • 24
  • Preparation • Manual typewriter with headlines formed from various sized letters, cut and pasted onto sheets
  • Production • photocopied in black and white on 8½” by 11″ white paper.
  • NATwA Archives artifacts • original photocopy
  • Date updated: 17 August 2022
To do:
  • (2022-08-17) Add table of contents
  • (2022-08-17) Add abbreviations
  • (2022-08-17) Sort people mentioned
  • Carl Chenkin (also appearing as his nickname, Spike)
  • Charles Frankston
  • Dave Lockwood (also appearing as his humorous nickname, Lokweed, also Mr. Weed)
  • Ferd Wulkan (real name: Peter Wulkan; also appearing as Ferdinand)
  • Joe Sachs
  • Larry Kahn (also appearing as his humorous nickname, Horsemeat)
  • Lyle Hodgson
  • Mary Kirman
  • Matt Solà (also appearing as Matthew)
  • Michael Schwartz (appearing as his nickname, Moishe, and also Michael)
  • Severin Drix (also appearing as his initials, S. A. D.)
  • Sunshine (also appearing as *; real name: David Sheinson)
  • Bill Renke (also appearing as his humorous nickname, Winke)
  • Beth (?)
  • Cornelia (?)
  • Saul Agranoff (also appearing as his nickname, TDI, which stands for The Dumb Indian)
  • Bob Henninge (also appearing as his nickname, Bull, or Mr. Bull)
  • Stanley Reichman
  • Dave Horan (MIT student in MacGregor House)
  • Jay Wollenberg (incorrectly appearing as “Wollenburg”)
  • Bryon Alexandroff
  • Tim Schiller
  • Jeff E. Weiselthier (appearing as his nickname, Jew, after his initials)
  • Charles Kuralt, CBS television news commentator
  • Mitch Wand
  • Ian Wooldridge, British sports journalist
  • Prince Philip
  • Ross Callon
  • Scott Hirsh
  • Jim Marlin
  • Phil Villar
  • Ralph Welton
  • Charlie (?)
  • Jon Miller
  • Sue Brunelli
  • Steve (Krasner?)
  • Michael Krasner
  • Gred Gross
  • Wobbly: name of a dog that lived at OAK-BYTE and visited some tiddlywinks tournaments
  • Rich Davis (appearing as his nickname, Mex, or Mexico Bob)
  • Don Fox
  • Nan Brady
  • Betsy Smith
  • Larry Rosenberg
  • Bob Savitzky (appearing incorrectly as Savitsky)
  • Hughes C. Rudd, President of Marchant Games and Ilkeston Toys, original manufacturers of official tiddlywinks equipment
  • MP Rouse (real name: Mary Pat Rouse)
  • Lenny (?)
  • Jake Solomon
  • Bill Gammerdinger (also appearing as his winks nickname, Red Scarf)
  • Craig Schweinhart
  • Dave Pinckney
  • Dave York
  • Joe (?) from Toronto team
  • Mickey (?) from Toronto team
  • Martin Ross
  • Dave Barbano
  • Richard Hussong (appearing as his nickname, L)
  • Rich Steidle
  • Joe O’Gara
  • Brad Schaefer
  • Dwight Shih
  • Kevin Wade
  • Steve Komm, a winker from Cornell
  • Keith Seaman, British winker
  • Geoff Cornell, British winker
  • Myro Mykolyshyn
  • Earl (?), Toronto winker
  • Marg Henninge (also appearing as Margaret; married names: Marg Calhoun, Marg Small)
  • Dean Solomon
  • Belinda Spalding
  • Daniel (?), of the Crown & Centipede team
  • Miles (?), of the Crown & Centipede team
  • Phyllis Barbano
  • Rick Tucker (also appearing as his one-time nickname, Jason)
  • Martha Simon
  • Andy Leed
  • Tina Warren
  • 409: 409 Huron Street in Toronto where several Toronto winkers lived.
  • Berke: Berkeley
  • BIT: Boston Invitational Tournament
  • BOON: Boonies, a team
  • CCs: Chickens Courageous, the name of a team
  • CIP: Canadian Individual Pairs
  • ETwA: English Tiddlywinks Association
  • HE: Head editor
  • HOTT: Halloween Open Teams Tournament
  • HYTHACA: a team formed by combining parts of the HYTHNLBTWOC and Ithaca teams.
  • HYTHNLBTWOC: Hark Yon Tree Hath No Leaves But They Will Out Club, a tiddlywinks team formed by Sunshine, shortened as HYTH or Hyth
  • IFTwA: International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations
  • Ltd.: Limited
  • MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • MITASS: MIT Association of Squidgers and Squoppers
  • NATwA: North American Tiddlywinks Association
  • NJ: New Jersey
  • NYC: New York City
  • OAK-BYTE: telephone number at 64 Dane Street, Somerville, Massachusetts, where Ferd Wulkan, Bob Henninge, and other winkers lived
  • PBTT: Power behind the throne
  • PPG: Points per game
  • Pts.: Points
  • RIV: Rivendell, a team
  • Sec-Gen: Secretary-General
  • SOM: Somerville, a team
  • TD: Tournament Director
  • TKO’s: The Knowledgeable Ones, a tiddlywinks team
  • TOR: Toronto, a team
  • TOT: Totals

NATwA Summit Conference.

Pages 1 and 15

On Saturday July 17, 1976, a group of dedicated winkers met at OAKBYTE in an attempt to solve everything. In attendance were Carl, Charles, Dave L, Ferd, Joe, Larry, Lyle, mary, Matt, Moishe, Severin, *, and last, but not least, Bill R. Discussed at the meeting (was wide spread) were the mailing list, equipment problems, regionalization, Continentals format, IFTwA Sec-Gen ship, establishment of a new winx publication, finances, World titles, rules revisions, and the state of the English. Following will be a summary of what occurred and any subsequent updates.

1. Mailing lists

Compilation of a NATwA mailing list was instituted and has since been superceeded [sic, correct=”superseded”] by Charles computerization. Copies will soon be distributed.

2. Equipment crisis

It was decided upon to go into production of a pot mold, the cost of which will run about $700 for the mold and about 9¢ per pot thereafter. The work on the mold has begun in NYC and is being overseen by Charles. Financing of this is being done by several means. Through the selling of Winx Equipment Crisis Bonds we have, as of 10/30/76, raised $566, added to which wo have $204 from the winx equipment fund and $150 in pledges still outstanding, and pledges for more if needed from several fat cats who already had contributed. The plan calls for the reduction of the large loans ($50 and up investments) by the accumulation of monies in smaller quantities but much more extensively thru the year. In other words, investments of whatever is feasible to be invested is being actively sought from all winkers. Also, dues had prieviously [sic, correct=”previously”] been raised to what in more sanguine times were the unheard of heights of $4/regular and $1/novice, with novice being defined as someone who had not played in the A division of the Continentals the prievious [sic, correct=”previous”] year.

Then too, NATwA is going into the packaging and selling of sets in the world at large. Any increased revenues from this will go into the paying back of the pot investment. It is expected (hoped) that we will have the money paid back within 3 years. The British appear interested in our equipment crisis solution endeavours.

3. Regionalization

It was decided after acromonious [sic, correct=”acrimonious”] debate to have 4 regions, to be divided up into 3 eastern regions and the West (Far East). The 3 eastern regions are consisted [sic, correct=”consist”] of Toronto (Ohio and two Toronto teams), Ithaca (Cornell, Ithaca High School, the CC’s, and the newly formed Renaissance Bookstore sponsored team) (This is for all you people who thought we ought to have a C division—3 teams starting with C), and Boston (defending champions Zoo, Somerville, and MIT).

4. Continentals

The A division of the Continentals will have 5 teams playing a 12 game match: the 3 eastern regional champions qualify, one far eastern team is seeded into the A division (as incentive to motivate cross continental travel), and one second place team from the 3 eastern regions, chosen amongst the second place teams in any way they deem preferable.

In the event that the West does not send a team, a second second [sic, duplicate word] place team will be chosen as above.

The B division is to be autonomous, respectable (and possibly more fun) than the A division.

The Continentals will still be held in Ithaca.

5. IFTwA Sec-Gen

Dave L nominated himself to be the Secretary General of IFTwA. We agreed not to object and suggested that he figure out what the office would do in addition to protection of the pot mold. The British agreed with us.

6. Publications

A new winx publication is rumored to be in the offing. Personally the editors of this one will believe it when they see it. And remember, that score is Lions over the Christians, three to nothing.

7. Personal expeditures

The process for reimbursement of expenses concerning telephone calls, mailing costs, drafting costs, printing, etc. for winx functions is as follows:

A. Subtract out personal business and non sense from bill.

B. Subtract $2 per month deductable [sic, correct=”deductible”]

C. Submit to Bill Renke with, if possible, detailed account for reimbursement.

8. World Championships

Singles – Severin is the current titleholder. He can be challenged for the title in a 7 game match by an association champion (NATwA, ETWA, etc.). If a champion cannot find Severin, his or her association may designate one challenger per year. The World title is not at stake in an association championship.

World Championships Pairs – If the ETWA and NATwA champs ever get together, the Worlds Pairs Title will thereafter be similarly defined as the Singles, with all sorts of complications we don’t know how to mention here, but which were decided upon.

Team – Association champions in any year are elgible [sic, correct=”eligible”] for the title. This is not to be a challenge cup.

9. Rules revisions

Proposed British revisions and amplifications were discussed, modified, talked into the ground, etc. etc. Complete copies are available on request and a list of the relevant changes will be found on page 11.

10. The English

It was decided to send Severin and then also Bill to visit English winkdom.

11. Winking

Some winx was played.


Page 2

This publication is devoted to the exploration of the winking world. We expect that this exploration will lead us in many directions—human interest, technical, historical, hysterical, irrelevant, and what not.

We feel that one of the most important uses of this publication is to serve as a means of communicating both the widely disparate political (social) views of winkers and the providing of a soap box for the no doubt bizarre view of the editorial board.

Hence, when articles appear which cause indignation, chagrin, amusement, or whatever, please feel free to submit a responsible reply. Readers are also encouraged to suggest topics for articles or to submit articles that they feel would be of interest. And, as can be noted by the lack of art work in this publication, the editorial beard is greatly in need of contributions that will eliminate this deficiency for the future.

Wishing all a happy and productive winking year.

Please send material to

Sunshine
4 Dudley #2
Cambridge, Mass. 02140


Coming Soon

Page 2

11/6-7 ▪ Toronto Regional

11/20-21 ▪ Ithaca Regional

11/24-25 ▪ World Singles – NYC

12/4-5 ▪ Boston Regional

January ▪ *Please do suggest something*

January ▪ counting profits from our great winks sets sale

2/19-20 ▪ Continentals

Spring ▪ To be announced

5th moon, 4th day, Showa 52 ▪ Go-Winx Par,Par East Invitational at Mina Moto-Ku Tokyo Japan

Summer ▪ 1st Annual Winx Barbecue – NJ bring your own winks and winx dressing

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$$$$

Page 2

The following is an approximate NATwA financial report.

                   74-75    75-76   est. 76-77
Dues $100 $110 $200
Equipment revenues 100 100 150 +
Postage costs 2 1 10
Phone calls 10 60 50
Publications 40 100 75

The NATwA equipment fund of $204 was put into the pot mold fund, leaving only about $20 in the treasury as the 76-77 season opened. On hand were over 100 sets and 45 mats. The price for a set remains at $2.50 but the price for a mat has been reduced to $7.


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Page 3

It is hoped this article will provoke thoughts; response can be mailed for the next issue. I have made many broad general statements to try to describe trends, and overview. When taken in a particular case, some of what I write may not apply. Try to appreciate the whole scope of the question I raise and my point of view.

Why are most winkers men? As a female winker I would like to see more women playing and active in NATwA politics. I believe this is true of most winkers. What can we do to encourage women in winkdom?

As long as winks has been played in North America most winkers have been men. There are reasons why this was true in the early days; Harvard and MIT are predominately male institutions and so their teams were filled with men.

Of the 10 or more teams in NATwA today, only MIT has this excuse.

In this society men are taught at an early age to see women as sex objects rather than as peers. There is a style of male “humor” which reflects such teachings. It is offensive to women, degrading, and demoralizing. This style is not always conscious, yet seems to thrive where males predominate. I have attended a variety of NATwA events and have been the only woman present or been part of a small female fraction. I feel men compromising their style in my presence, which makes me feel out of place, and then invariably someone slips. The occasional apology hardly redeems the sexist atmosphere. I believe many women are discouraged from winking because of the “maleness” that pervades it. Others shy away from NATwA officialdom because they do not feel respected. If NATwA is to be an organization that merits the full participation of women, its members as individuals must be encouraged to see women as peers and respected fellow winkers.

Many women are put off by extreme competitiveness. You might note that the more competitive teams often have no women players. There has yet to be a team with no male players. Women winkers have started talking about just such a team.

The women’s movement is encouraging women to discover better ways for humans to interact and be. Men seldom offer role models worth copying. Women have learned that by working together and supporting each other we can shirk male intimidations. In the past five years no woman has led a well respected pair and no woman has played a major role in NATwA. I do not say that this is totally the fault of male winkdom, nor of the women. It is a group problem. I do not see a simple solution.

I hope for a spirit of cooperation, struggle and camaraderie.

mary kirman


Page 3

I feel that all too often NATwA events take place in a sexist atmosphere, that this is reflected in the form of competitiveness, the humor, and the attitudes of some of the people present.

It’s not always just what is said or done, it’s the (un)thinking pattern that comes across as a basic lack of respect, not directed at any specific woman, but to women in general. Being male, I am not directly attacked by this attitude, but I am very bothered by it. Sexism bothers people, men and women.

The % of NATwA games played by women has gone from 14.3 for 1971-73 to 12.2 for 1974-76. More significantly, the % of winkers playing most often (top 25 in games played each season) who are women has gone from 16.0 to only 6.7. It seems that NATwA women are playing less. And at the same time, several female winkers have told me that they feel hesitant to introduce women friends into an atmosphere such as ours.

Sunshine


THIS IS YOUR LIFE!

Page 4

We have found that many winkers don’t really know very much about their fellow winkers. In our attempt to rectify this sad situation, we are bringing you, our beloved public, this, the first of a series of in depth personal profiles. We would like you to meet Country, Moishe, Betsy, and TDI.

You ‣ Beth
were born in the ‣ small coal mining town
of ‣ Cambridge Ohio
in ‣ 1947
An important event in your childhood was when you ‣ decided to join the chess club, not the brownies
This ‣ showed you that you could make decisions.
Also significant was ‣ x x x
Your secret ambition was to ‣ be a tightrope walker.
You were ‣ in Ohio
and thru the ministrations of ‣ Bob + mary
you head Freedom’s Call and turned to winking. This provided you with ‣ accuracy.
Your greatest winx moment was when you ‣ played in your first winx match in Toronto.
Currently besides winking you ‣ live at Humbletoad Treefarm near mythical Fernwood Ohio.

You ‣ Michael
were born in the ‣ small sensible city
of ‣ Minneapolis Minnesota
in ‣ 1950
An important event in your childhood was when you ‣ fell out of an appletree and landed on your head.
This ‣ shortly led to your baldness.
Also significant was ‣ realizing at age 4 that you would not have it as good again for a long long time.
Your secret ambition was to ‣ disprove the ancient’s false theory of the existence of the sun.
You were ‣ a freshman at MIT
and thru the ministrations of ‣ *
you heard Freedom’s Call and turned to winking. This provided you with ‣ a ridiculous way to spend your time.
Your greatest winx moment was when you ‣ beat Alexandroff after the Moishe shooting incident.
Currently besides winking you ‣ own a car and contemplate spending your last years at the scene of your birth, which is now an old age home.

You ‣ Cornelia
were born in the ‣
of ‣ Syracuse New York
in ‣ 1951
An important event in your childhood was when you ‣ were kicked out of the brownies.
This ‣ made you want to be different from others.
Also significant was ‣ not being able to take shop instead of home ec and this made you cynical.
Your secret ambition was to ‣ travel around the world as an explorer in a rowboat.
You were ‣ selling coop candy
and thru the ministrations of ‣ Ferd
you heard Freedom’s Call and turned to winking. This provided you with ‣ direction and confidence thru improved fine motor skills.
Your greatest winx moment was when you ‣ beat Tim Schiller.
Currently besides winking you ‣ are a nurse and are easier to catch at a a winx match than on the phone.

You ‣ Saul
were born in the ‣ fine reservation
of ‣ Shawnee Mission Kansas
in ‣ 1951
An important event in your childhood was when you ‣ swallowed a quarter.
This ‣ caused a strange attraction to round discs.
Also significant was ‣ being terrorized by your father, of whom Severin reminds you.
Your secret ambition was to ‣ be buried in Roosevelt dimes.
You were ‣ an innocent freshman
and thru the ministrations of ‣ Stanley Reichman Dave Horan and Jay [sic original=”Wollenburg” correct=”Wollenberg”]
you heard Freedom”s Call and turned to winking. This provided you with ‣ round discs
Your greatest winx moment was when you ‣ made miracle 4th and 5th round shots to tie (win) for 1973 CIP title.
Currently besides winking you ‣ are semi-retired and live a decadent life and rest on your laurels. You hope for a round tombstone.


Lokweed’s Rules of Thumb & Forefinger

Page 5

Rule 1. The only hard and fast rule in tiddlywinks is that there are no other hard and fast rules.

Rule 2. When in doubt, bring in a wink.

Rule 3. If your opponents give you an easy shot, take it.

Rule 4a. If you are behind, try to make one big pile because as a pile gets bigger it tends to get more fragile.

Rule 4b. If you are ahead, try to avoid making big piles which are not well protected.

Rule 5. If you are only slightly behind, pick at the edges.

Rule 6. There is NO Rule 6.

[⨳ transcriber’s note on 3 August 2019: Rule 6 here refers to the same Rule 6 in the Monty Python comedy group’s Bruces sketch. ⨳]

Rule 7a. Make the battle occur where you want it.

Rule 7b. Make your opponents come to you.

Rule 8. If one color of your pair is getting tied up and the other is still able to pot out, consider doing so.

Rule 9. Potting out against a superior pair may be the best thing to do.

Rule 10. You would rather not have to do something; try to keep your options open.

Rule 11. Near the end of the game try to see who will get first for you, and keep that color from getting involved.

Rule 12. It is usually better in the long run to play conservative strategies than aggressive ones.


SOMERVILLE

a team in spite of itself

Pages 5 and 7

In the winter of 1969, Ferd T. Bull, pope and progenitor of the MIT tiddlywinks dynasty, had already graduated, academically speaking, from that august institution when he led his six-cylinder cyclone (Bob ‘n Bull, * & Jew, Mitch and Tim Schiller, also known as ‘another kid’) to an easy triumph on the home felt before a festive crowd and the national TV cameras of Charles Kuralt….

The following June, however, brought the graduation of the 4 other originals, and a crop of confident younger players who had never heard the name of MIT uttered in defeat agitated to assume the championship mantle. Ferd and Bob were still living in the Boston area, and the latter especially was stunned to find a movement swelling for their ouster from the team they had nursed since infancy.

Ferd, however, perceived that the long range growth of winking would be best assured if the fertile college clubs were not plugged up with veterans, and that, as other colleges had failed by-and-large to develop on-going winking programs, it would be up to the old believers to spread the gospel among the heathen. Thus, the fledglings pushed the eagles out of the nest, and NATwA gained two more teams, * founding Hythnlbtwoc in Philadelphia and Ferd & Bob working out of Oakbyte in Somerville.

To fill out the rest of a team, Ferd and Bob resorted to some traditional hanky-panky, enlisting the aid of their old Bexley roommate Jeff E. Wieselthier and a professional ringer, the former London University star Phil Villar, who played for 4 different North American teams during his career, never more than a year on any. Rounding out the squad were two novices, Ralph Welton who worked with Bob at Metropolitan State Hospital and Ralph’s roommate Charlie. Ralph, a student of strategic games, brought an innovative outlook to the game and was one of the first to explore the extreme positional (no-squop) strategy.

The name Somervillains, twisted by some that first year into Somervillars, attests to the grim determination of its founders to stop being the nice guys of winks, to refuse to take the fall from prominence, and to gain back for themselves the trophy they had won for MIT. And so they did.

The following year, however, a year in which all the envy of past successes made Somerville the team to beat, was to be the year to remember for them. With Phil moving on and Ralph and Charlie never being seen again after the previous year’s car wreck (auto-squop), there was need for more new blood. With space for a team of home-grown winkers to flower, Jon Miller and Sue Brunelli from that same mental hospital joined the team, and Oakbyte roommates Steve and Gred were pressed into service. The Villains lay low at the Regionals, 2nd behind MIT. Then at the Continentals in Toronto they shifted through many pairings, sang Wobbly songs during their bye, and hung tough. Though they didn’t beat anyone very badly, they did edge everyone head to head while the other teams ran hot and cold, knocking themselves out, leaving the Somervillains a surprise winner in a classic, well-balanced free-for-all.

The Somervillains today, despite losing stalwarts Bob, mary, and Mex to Ohio, are still a team in this tooth and nail mold. Don Fox, another Met State alumnus, and Nan Brady have been with the team five and four years respectively and are experienced competitors through fire and smoke. Betsy Smith and Michael Krasner have been there in the clutch. Larry Rosenberg scoffs at pressure. And there will be a few new surprises too….


Page 5

“At the risk of propagating royal support for tiddlywinks, a game of the utmost tedium played by anti-athletes too tired or apathetic to get up off the floor, I have to concede that his I arguement [sic, correct=”argument”] makes sense.”

– Ian Wooldridge, in interview with winx patron Prince Philip.


SPIKE'S CORNER

Pages 5 and 16

It is soberly I take pen in hand today to initiate the first Chenkin’s Corner—a meandering, rambling personal self-indulgence remarkable solely for its lack of wit or pertinence.

I shall begin with some of what I have thus far noticed during my brief flirtation with power too vast for any one person to have in safety. As a result of my being admitted into the higher circle of winkdom I have spent more time being involved with winkers and in winking affairs. Also, I have a place to discuss what I have seen. What I want to discuss here involves what appears to me to be the usual manner of many in winx to deal with personal differences, namely to [sic original=”ridicle” correct=”ridicule”], rather than to accept, to scorn rather than to try to help. I have seen it, and others have told me of their unhappiness with it, in matters involving preferences concerning drugs, concerning types of jokes, concerning loudness, concerning any of a multitude of personal behaviors.

First, NATwA is an organization based not upon attitudes held in common, nor upon the furtherance of values held in concert, nor even upon clearly defined consensually validated goals. It is an organization comprised of many people who have different notions anent both what they wish to derive from winkdom, and in what direction they wish to see winx travel.

“Anent” is an archaic term meaning “about”. (Noted on 3 August 2019.)

Some of these differences have become institutionalized, videlicet the various orientations along the spectrum of playing to win as opposed to playing for fun (perhaps that is an unfair exposition of that dichotomy since winning can be fun) that obtain among the teams.

“Videlicet” means the same thing as “viz.” or “namely”. (Noted 3 August 2019.)

Many more differences have not become institutionalized but remain in hiding, waiting to pounce ferally upon an unsuspecting policy issue as it comes to NATwA attention. That which falls into this category are such political questions as how much to charge for equipment, how to deal with changes in teams, questions redolent with implications concerning personal versus group freedoms, etc..

Then there is the tertium quid (thanks, Jake) – matters which do not admit of solving by fiat, by policy decisions, because they are by nature non legislatable. Here I speak of such as would fall into a category of style. This involves questions concerning drug usage, sexist behavior, etc.

It is most particularly to matters falling into this last category that I wish to address myself, for the previous two types of issues, both the institutionalized and those making policy decisions, have at least some fairly successful mechanisms for the airing of the differences they provoke, and a means for resolving each circumstance as it arises.

This last congeries of differences has no such mechanism and the frictions that it creates are perhaps the more dangerous for it.

There is little for me to say which would have any pretense of being a solution of the problem. Frictions are inherent in any organization, and especially in one such as ours. However, I do want to go on record (as it were) as calling for that which our [sic original=”distinquished” correct=”distinguished”] proposed IFTwA Sec-Gen has called for, more tolerance.

Melbourne said, “Neither man nor woman can be worth anything until they have discovered that they are fools. This is the first step toward becoming either estimable or agreeable; and until it is taken there is no hope.” I do not feel that the wisdom of the statement is diluted by its lack of correct grammar. Surely we are all (and I address this quite explicitly to myself as well as others) sufficiently silly that it ought to be hard to take ourselves too seriously. Surely it is a simple matter to struggle to understand the problems others have in dealing with such things as sexist language or behavior, or any of the other personal behaviors that cause distress. It is hard to avoid self-concerned modes of behavior—but “When a gardener wishes to keep a garden he does not leave a patch for weeds.”


*'s Guide for Novices (1969 edition)

Pages 6 and 8

1 General strategy

  • get as many winks out in as many places in vicinity of pot (within 12 inches)—
  • claiming areas on the mat by being there firstest with the mostest.

2 Attack defenseless winks

  • try for winks that will not try to retaliate no matter how close you come. (1) If opposing player is to lose turn, and more importantly (2) If opponent is very likely to shoot a different wink on the next turn, perhaps for a double squop elsewhere on the mat.

3 Help partner

  • When trying to free winks, give preference to freeing a partner’s wink—in case anything happens, your team gets two shots in that region. Also, try to isolate action of two against one—both attack given area. (2 is a method of offsetting opponents’ use of 3)

4 Unwanted winks

  • In early part of game, take winks given to you, don’t gamble. In general, avoid risk unless you really need to squop or attack a wink. If game is going well for the good guys, gambling becomes advisable—when you know opponent won’t squop you if you miss.

5 Defense

  • Place free winks where they are most likely to be needed—within reach of piles you own or in unclaimed areas where an opponent could land (by accident).
  • Again, partner should be one to defend compatriot controled piles.

i Gromping

  • Squop winks as completely as possible—it makes shots harder for the forces of evil and increases likelihood of you getting (setting up) double squops.

ii Bombing

  • Desquop by knocking winks off as opposed to squopping them first (beware if pile is defended so that poor bomb attempt will become suicide mission.)

iii Piddling

  • Playing with piles you own to free your own winks on bottom of pile. General technique is squopping as completely as possible and then shooting on tangent so as to create rotation off your wink.

iv Swivel shot

  • Used to destroy piles, especially if you are not in complete control (you are on part of pile and other wink(s) are free.) Try to flip pile over on itself by shooting mainly bottom wink.

v Launching pad

  • For low level close range bombing. Use squopped wink as stationary point by shooting hard on edge of your wink.

Dave : Close Again

Pages 6 and 7

Despite the lack of such top winkers as Ross, Tim and Scott of the West, Bob of Ohio, and Bill Renke and the Zoo, the 1976 match included a top quality field, as proven by the fact that 1975 winner Severin placed sixth. Dave Lokweed, hungry for the title, after his near miss in the Pairs (See story, page 21), and *, with a dreadful past performance in singles competition, quickly took the lead, followed by Ferd, Larry, Jim, and a struggling Drix. The two leaders remained undefeated the first day, as they cleverly avoided playing each other. On Sunday, Lokweed knocked off * 5-2, continued his winning ways, and with two rounds to go held a 6½ point lead, with * seven points ahead of Ferd. Severin, after registering a 1½ to become the first player ever to record all 15 scores in a single season, began to regain some of his honor as he humbled both * (4-3) and Lokweed (6-1). This set up a classic final round with * needing 5½ to beat Dave L. After some early positional battling, * decided to blitz, ignoring the fact that several of his blitzing color’s winks had unpottable positions—one a wrong side squop about a foot from the pot. Five winks went in, one was squopped, a Goode shot smashed the offending wink off the table, #6 went in, a scramble for the all important second and third positions ensued. * now needed only a 3rd place for the 6-1 and victory. His potting did not fail him (he only blitzed four times in the match) and once again Dave L was a close 2nd. Thus * joined Bob, Bill, and Sev in the NATwA Singles Champion club.


far east news

Page 8

Things have been happening on the West Coast, right there in California. With Scott in Berkeley, Bob [sic original=”Savitsky” correct=”Savitsky” in Los Altos, Ross at Stanford, the Bay Area Winking Lovers Society is planning an active season. Last April, a match was even held, highlighted by the dramatic singing from the Winx Songbook by the California Men’s Octet. Berkeley lost to Tim Schiller’s Old Fresno Winking and Drinking Society by a score of 23-19. A surprising amount of publicity has appeared in Berkeley and San Francisco papers. Perhaps a Regional will develop and a team might journey East for the Continentals. Perhaps.

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Thank You Mr. Rudd

Pages 8 and 9

This article was written by Severin Drix. (Noted on 3 August 2019.)

In the autumn of 1973, a true gentleman passed away. Though few people in NATwA are familiar with the name of Mr. H. C. Rudd, we all owe him much thanks. He provided winkers with equipment, despite the fact that he was actually losing money in the process. He was the head of the well-known company, Marchant Games Ltd., which put together our winks sets, and also supplied the mats. When Cambridge University’s winks team, the first in existence anywhere, looked for a set most suitable for the new strategy game they had developed, they chose Marchant Games’, and starting then Mr. Rudd took it as a responsibility he would always live up to, to continue supplying equipment to winkers.

This aspect of his games business became very unprofitable, eventually, because the supplies of winks kept deteriorating, to the point where winks had to be sorted by hand, with many warped ones rejected. This was a very costly procedure, and pressure was put on him by others in the company to drop the winks aspect of the business. But he refused, as a matter of honor, to let down “the lads at Cambridge”. At last, he left Marchant Games, or perhaps was forced out, and set up a separate company, Ilkeston Toys, whose sole reason for existence was to continue the supply of winks equipment. He was at this time in his 70’s and had enough money to retire and live in peace and quiet. Yet, he continued to put in time and money in a money-losing operation that was, in effect, a charity on our behalf. When he died, the company immediately dumped the whole operation (he had given all his existing supply to ETwA) and we winkers, first in England, and now here, had to become directly involved in equipment supplying.

We are new setting off on an exciting venture with our own production, but it’s only been in the last few years that we’ve been together enough to try such a thing. In effect, Mr. Rudd’s kindness bought us valuable time to build up an organization that could continue in his absence.

I myself (Severin) was lucky enough to meet him before he died. I had had many dealings with him before, by letter, getting sets and mats for Cornell and for NATwA. I hadn’t known then that he was losing money on this, but I was already impressed by his thoroughness and concern. When people lost a few winks and I asked him to send me some spares, he sent them without charge and many more than I asked for. So when I was in England in 1973 I arranged o meet him in Cambridge. I’m very glad I did so, because I got a chance to thank him, and because he was a charming and delightful man. I was very sorry to hear, a few months later, of his passing, and it is a shame that Newswink did not carry a story on it then. But at that time Newswink was in extended non-existence. Now at last we can all know, and be grateful to, the generous Mr. Rudd, without whom winking might not exist today.



NATwA Sells Out

Page 9

NATwA is making a belated attempt to hit the stores by Xmas time with a set obviously superior to those heretofore obtainable in the states. We are ourrently in the process of packaging and production of the sets.

  • Pot—via pot mold in NYC (Charles)
  • Mats—will not be included
  • Winks—packaged in Ithaca after buying large quantities from England.
  • Box—handled by Joe Sachs
  • Rulebook —produced by *
  • Marketing —Boston – Joe,
    • Ithaca—MP,
    • NYC—Lenny

The price of a set will continue to be, at least for now, $2.50 to NATwA members, and we hope to keep the price in the stores as close to this as is possible. The profits received (over $1.50 per set, hopefully) will be used to pay back the Pot fund investors.


POWER STRUCTURE

Page 10

IFTwA Secretary-General

Officiate at interassociation and World tournaments, foster communication between associations, advise associations on internal growth, aid in the formation of new associations, help to settle disputes between associations, and to guard the pot mold. not yet official posts candidate – David Lockwood

NATwA Secretary-General

Preside at Continental Congress and any other NATwA business meetings, act as tie breaker and team captain without portfolio in matters needing team captains’ dispositions, organize any meetings or committees deemed necessary, put fun back into winx. Spike

PBTT

Delegate responsibility to Sec.-Gen., provide communications links and hassling kicks to appropriate parties, pick Sec.-Gen. in closed door secret meeting prior to Continental Congress. (not at liberty to divulge*)

Treasurer

Receive dues and membership lists from regional coordinators, reconcile bank statements, reimburse NATwA members for expenses upon approval of Sec.-Gen., and paying of NATwA bills. Bill Renke

Regional Coordinators

Oversee and schedule tournaments held in their region, communications link between team captains and other officialdom, collecting dues and addresses, distributing NATwA publications, and picking tournament directors. May delegate any specific tasks when needed. Ithaca—Severin, Boston—Joe S., Toronto—?, West Coast—Scott, Japan—Jake

Team captains

Link between officialdom and team (squad) members for all information. Policy decisions necessary at times other than the Congress are to be made by a vote of team captains and the Sec.-Gen.. Captains are to vote not as individuals but as representative of the best interests of their respective teams and of NATwA as a whole.

Publications

Editors get hassled by HE. Add or subtract literary touches as deemed necessary. Spike

HE : give people ideas to write on and to hassle them till articles appear. Make need of adding literary touches necessary, *

Statistician

Complile stats for amusement value for all winkers. Anyone wanting his or her personal records should feel free to ask for any such information , *

[sic original=”Miscelaneous” correct=”Miscellaneous”] duties

Contact with the media, possible [sic original=”promotors” correct=”promoters”], business matters in the equipment area, song [sic original=”writting” correct=”writing”], etc., are volunteer jobs and are encouraged. Speak to people like your friendly neighborhood regional coordinator.


Rules Revisions

Page 11

Tournament Director—at each tournament a tournament director should be selected. The TD’s responsibilities cover rules, interpretations thereof, and penalties and consequences of illegal shots, not the judging and shot judging per se. The TD is called in when a shot has been made whose legality is in dispute. After being told (by both sides) what happened, TD decides on whether shot will be allowed to stand, [sic original=”maybe” correct=”may be”] re-done, be partially accepted, or should be declared illegal. The TD should be called in when a shot about to be attempted may destroy a pile which is deemed unreconstructable and to assess what penalties should be given if the shot is done illegally.

Squidgers—may now be made of any material or length, as long as not deemed dangerous to equipment, players, [sic original=”etcetera” correct=”et cetera”].

Thirty second rule—game clock is to be stopped any time a pair uses 30 seconds on a shot. This allows for strategy discussions (tactical ones) without seriously shortening the amount of playing time during the 25 minute time limit.

Squidge-off—the original resting spot of a squidged-off wink as its final position (even if hit by later squidged-off winks.)

Circular Squops—two wink circular squop is to remain standing, both winks considered squopped.

Winks off mat—a wink landing on or beyond any boundary is considered off the mat. Such winks are not to be placed within 4″ of any other wink.

Practice shots—may not be done on another mat during a game.

Jab shot—a shot may not be started more than ½” from the wink to be played.

Playing surface—the shot judge’s body, the shooter’s squidger and hand are all considered part of the playing surface.

Loss of turn—a player loses next turn, not shot, for shooting one of his or her winks off the mat.

FAILURE TO FREE—if a pair fails to free a squopped out opponent’s wink by the proper turn, and such a failure was caused by greed, not a fluke of nature, the squopped pair may pick any wink to be freed, so long as it has the fewest number of winks on top of it.


YEARS IN REVIEW

Pages 12 and 13

Feb. 1975… …Continentals, Ithaca

Zoo survives a late scare from a charged up Somerville team to take the title. Bill R. and Dave Y. finally play a day without a loss (after 5 straight 1 loss days in 2½ years) for an 11-1 record. Bob H. zooms past 200 wins and 100 losses, and takes 2nd pair honors. MIT is 3rd in A, but 1st in B division. TKO’s are 4th in A, first only in the song league. Bill ‘Red Scarf’ Gammerdinger is elected Sec-Gen. Missing Wink and Newswink both appear.

March 1975.. . .BIT, Boston

Mr. Weed and Mr. Bull choose up sides and the Weeds are smashed.

April 1975.. ..CIP, Toronto

Sev and Dave top Bill and Craig and all of Toronto in an unofficial match.

May, 1975… …Pairs, Boston

A run-away as no-one can stop Sev and Dave. Ferd and Don slide into second safely. Second day canceled in favor of random-fun play.

May, 1975… …Singles, Boston

Charles wins his 2nd straight B crown. Also, Sev keeps winning, stopped only once by Dave L. after 17 or 22 straight wins. Ferd edges and unexpected Jim Marlin (unannounced drive-in from Michigan) to finish his year with 2nds in Continentals, Pairs and Singles.

The Season…

…Sev’s season average of 4.89 in 2nd only to Bill Winke’s amazing 5.38 of 1972-73 (in the modern era). Dave L. leads in wins for the 2nd straight year. And the equipment crisis is talked about.

Oct. 1975. . .. …HOTT, Boston

4 cornered 2/3 round robbin [sic, correct=”robin”] affair. Ooz and Ithaca tie at 58½, barely ahead of MIT at 54. Zoo finished far away with the 3 top pairs, including a jumping Red Scarf and Renke combo, and only 81 points.

Nov. 1975…. …Western Regionals, Ithaca

Once again Rivendell looks like a winner, but TKOs come through on 2nd day. Toronto a close 3rd. Cornell, the home team, is unable to field a team and is replaced by Joe’s Central Division All Stars. Sev and Dave P. have their worst westerns, winning only 7 of 9 games.

Dec. 1975….Eastern Regionals, Boston

The battle is for 2nd place (supposedly relevant for Continentals) and a Bobless Somerville edges out a tough and fired up MIT team by 1 1/6 points. Zoo, despite a dreadful performance from the Bills, has first by too large a margin to mention. Craig and Dave Y. look impressive, losing only once to 2 westerners. * leads a HYTHACA team to last place as his 3 0-7’s overcome Sev’s good play.

Jan. 1976….California and points East

The boondocked winkers of the past and present threaten to show up at the Continentals.

Feb. 1976….Continentals, Ithaca

A revised 7 team 2/3 round format produces an exciting Continentals. TKOs challenge Zoo the first day, MIT the 2nd day, but Zoo survives the threats by a 3 point margin over the crowd-pleasing upstarts from MIT. The Bills are top pair with Bill G. registering his 2nd 5 point average Continental performance. Boondocked superstars finish 4th behind TKOs with Somerville 5th ahead of Rivendell and Toronto. Dave L. becomes 1st player in history to play above his lifetime PPG only to see his average decreased at the end of the match. Toronto B, led by Joe and Mickey, edge out Cornell in a wild 5 team B division. Song books are unleashed as is Carl ‘Spike’ Chenkin as the new Sec Gen.

March 1976…BIT, Boston

After many recounts, and long after everyone was gone, the score read Yunanistani Hududu 3.53, Vicarub 3.50 and Jadefin 3.48. Steve is undefeated for highest individual average. Fun match with rotating partners and nonpressure games.

April 1976…CIP, Toronto

The farm sends a crew, no-one else does, but pleasant winking and etc. continues, as does life at 490.

May 1976…….Pairs, Boston

Two new superpairs arrive: Sev and Larry and Dave and TDI; and when the smoke clears after an exciting and controversial last game between these two, Sev and Larry have a 2/3 pt. victory. An impressive and unheralded Charles and Martin come in 3rd. And, after all these years, Dave Barbano makes it to Boston and MP and Lyle form the first all women pair in the tournament’s history.

May, 1976…….[sic original=”” correct=”Singles”]

2 time defending champ loses sleep and many games and finishes 6th. Jim returns last year’s favor and edges out Ferd for 3rd place. Sev scores a 4 2/3 or 2 1/3 in his 4th straight match. Ferd finishes with 5th place in each of the Big 3. And elsewhere in the news * sheds his never-win-the-big-ones image to edge out Mr. Lokweed in a last game thriller to grab the title by 1½ points. Both finished with 1-2 records and were the prime contenders all the way.

The Season…..

Dave L., missing the first nart of the season due to residence in London, narrowly missed 2 titles and posted a fine 4.76 average, well ahead of the Zoo contingent which finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th for the season. Martin, while setting an all-time season loss record, also led NATwA with a 5.90 PPW average. Mary, long known as a ‘good loser’, had the best PPL. And as promised by the Sec Gen, fun was on the way.




TRIPLES TITLE TO TORRID ZOO THREESOME

Page 14

The second perverted winx tourney in as many years was held in Boston on Halloween Eve. As a sequel to the 1976 Boondock Championships, MIT sponsored the 1976 Triples. A larger than expected turnout was realized but did not force an unduly large number of the 37½ minute games, nor did it tax the limited number of mushroom sets.

The MIT triple of Rick, Charles, and Rich started off strong with 12 pts. against Zoo and 21 against Chickens Courageous. Zoo, composed of Bill R, TDI, and Dave York, with their 13 pts. versus MIT and 17½ against the Griffins (Dave L, Joe S, and Joe O), were MIT’s only assailants. In the final round, ’75 Boondock Champs Bill and Dave teamed up with TDI to slip by CC 14-11 and capture the ’76 Triples crown. The Griffins took second place with a 22-3 demolishing of MIT. Playing Chickens were *, Moishe, and L. The latecomer, Foundation, showed good performances by Brad, Dwight, and newcomer Kevin in taking 21 points in their two games.

An interesting and enjoyable time was had by all. Let’s have more like it, and above all, as our Sec-Gen says, “Let’s put the fun back in winx!” See you at the Beans, Chips, and Spam Tournament!

Order of play: blue, green, white, purple, red, yellow

Point scoring order: 11, 7, 4, 2, 1

      Zoo  Grif  MIT   CC  Foun *   Tot
Zoo     x    17½  13   14   17       44½
Grif    7½    x   22   12            41½
MIT    12     3    x   21   12       36
CC     11    13    4    x            28
Foun *  8         13
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Westchester Weekend

Page 15

Winkers converged near scene of old winkers convergences at Dave [sic original=”Lockwoods” correct=”Lockwood’s”] Crugers home for a weekend of winking, work, heat, outside fun, and possibly setting a precedent for future gatherings.


Fun in February

Page 17

Some disconnected thoughts about the events leading up to and beyond the Continentals —

– the seemingly endless deliberations concerning the Boonies demonstrated the necessity for a better NATwA communications network.

– as shown in previous contests, some mechanism is needed to penalize tardiness.

– though MIT disapproved of the 2/3 round robin format (it doesn’t allow a person time to get psyched against a particular team; it further randomizes the tournament), it did provide them with their first meeting in years against Toronto.

– mary unveils unique campaign strategy, baffles opponent, as she lauds Carl in her own speech for Sec-Gen.

– the Zoo doesn’t need six players to win. Talk of the dismemberment of Zoo laid to rest at Congress as only meaningful decision made was that no team can be disallowed because of its strength.

– car keys should not be lent to Scott.


1976 CONTINENTALS - Top Pairs (?)

Page 17

Name         Record   Pts.  PPG
Bill-Bill     10-2    61   5.08
Sev-Dave       9-2-1  57⅓  4.73
Larry-Rick    10-2    55   4.58
Brad-Martin    7-5    52½  4.38
Lokweed        8-3    48   4.36
Moishe         6-3    37⅔  4.19
Dave-Craig     8-3-1  49½  4.13
 * -Carl       7-2    36½  4.06
Name Record Pts.  PPG
Tim   7-4   44½  4.05
Ross  7-4.  44   4.00
Ferd  6-6   47   3.92
Jake  5-4   35   3.89
TDI   7-5   45½  3.79
Scott 6-5   41   3.73
MP    4-4   29⅙  3.65
Jim   4-5   31   3.44

Head-to-head team scores – 2/3 round

      ZOO MIT TKO RIV BOON TOR SOM  TOT
                           *
ZOO    X  26  23⅙ 24⅔ 24⅙  14  26½ 138½ +  8
MIT   16   X  20½ 31½ 27½  13  22  130½ + 13
TKO   18⅚ 21½  X  24⅔ 21½  16  19½ 122
RIV   17⅓ 10½ 17⅓  X  21  11   21½  98⅔ +  7
BOON  17⅚ 14½ 20½ 21   X  14   24  111⅚
TOR *  7   8   5  10   7   X   11   48
SOM   15½ 20  22½ 20½ 18  10   X   106½ + 14

1976: a good harvest

Page 18

On Sat., Oct. 10, 32 winkers participated in the first Harvest Open Teams Tournament to kick off the 1976-77 season, the earliest NATwA has ever opened with a sanctioned tournament. The winkers, including several totally new players—an encouraging sign—were divided up into 3 teams: the Zooo, Renaissance, and Somerville, each cluster starting with members of these actual NATwA teams.

Renaissance, that recently created powerful team, installed by many as the 1977 favorites for the Continental title, assumed the early lead, with the other 2 teams not far behind. A mid-match rally found Somerville leading going into the final round at which point their collapse put them in last. Determination of the winner then depended on the status of Steve, a freshman at Cornell. Steve played 3 games for Zooo, then through some confusion it was unclear as to whether he was on Somerville or Zooo for his last 2 games, both 6-1 defeats. Renaissance finished with a 3.58 average. Zooo had either a 3.49 or 3.61 depending on how Steve’s games were counted. No-one seemed to care very much.

Otherwise, highlights of the match included a 3½-3½ tie with all 4 participants tying for 1st place with 4 points; Bill R. setting a NATwA record with 3 successive 4-3 victories; a first-ever confrontation between Sev and his former partner, Dave Pinckney; some winx songbook singing; and a lot of fun which continued after the match, be it at dinner, the bowling alley, the nighttime croquet field (L-Don-Ferd 6, Nan-Moishe-* 1 in 2 ball team play), or at an Oakbyte paint scraping rally.


gnus from Abroad

Page 18

Severin, after his impressive 6th place finish in the North American Singles, journeyed to Poland by way of England, where he polished off [sic original=”ETWA” correct=”ETwA”] champion Keith Seaman 3-4, 6-1, 4-3, 2-5, 6-1, 6-1 for a successful defense of his world title. He also talked to as many British winkers as possible to coordinate association efforts on such topics as equipment, rules, world titles, and the like. It seems that winx is not exactly thriving across the ocean. The number of teams is reducing, and the general organisation and communications system amongst the winkers is not as developed as here in NATwA. Severin attempted to give helpful suggestions and a transfusion of enthusiasm. Their main Congress meets in November so we hope to hear news from England soon. Severin offered the following summer report.

1) General support for Dave Lockwood as IFTwA Secretary-General.

2) Suggestion from Winking World editor Geoff Cornell that NATwA use a 20 minute time limit one year and that [sic original=”ETWA” correct=”ETwA”] adopt the 25 minute limit so that the associations could approach establishing a uniform time limit with some real experience at both.

3) Acceptance of our definitions of World titles.

4) Interest in our pot supply program even though Jon Mapley is willing to make 1 pot per day by hand at a cost of 5¢/pot. [sic original=”ETWA” correct=”ETwA”] is also interested in possibly joining our mad mass market scheme.



mit: birth & afterbirth

Page 19

The Spring of 1966 and the times were ripe. Much earlier and winks would have been too weird for a stately institution like MIT to handle. Much later and energy was to go into the student and antiwar movements. At that point in history, however, some vague nonconformist, dissatisfied-with-academia rumblings were already seeking direction.

History always seems to find an agent at such junctures, and there was Ferd just moving into Bexley Hall, ready to change more in his life than just his residence. A precedent-setting catalyst at this point was Severin’s first recorded NATwA nag. Annoying, persistent, and ultimately well-intentioned in a way we’ve grown to love, he finally got his old friend Ferd to make his move.

Among the first to respond to the odd little notices that appeared around campus were Bob and Jeff, two of Ferd’s new roommates. They recognised the phone number on the ad as their own, but they did not know who was this [sic original=”ferd” correct=”Ferd”]. Until then he’d gone by the alias of Peter. Embarrassment soon gave way to fanaticism, and there was the nucleus of the MIT winks club.

The next first came soon thereafter when a team was refused the use of a name on absurd grounds. Compared with the Allegheny Airlines Book Club of a later era, this was certainly an accurate and innocuous-sounding name: the MIT Association of Squidgers and Squoppers, MITASS for short.

The early MIT club’s strong points were youth (almost all members were either freshmen or sophomores that first year) and enthusiasm, ensuring more than a short-lived existence. With evangelic fervor characteristic of the vanguard of movements expecting to sweep the country, those early winkers started a veritable dynasty, one that was later to parent other championship winks teams: Zoo, Somerville, Hythnlbtwoc.

With egos ready for any boosts they could find, the winkers thrived on any attention they received, be it mockery from other students or “official” publicity. Early on there was an article on the sports page of the Boston Globe, a picture on the centerfold of the Boston Record American, even a feature in a Long Island paper.

It was a club that, more than any around today, had an ongoing inner life, not restricted to occasional matches. But let’s not forget those early matches! Outdoors at Cornell with a 4 person team, winning just 1 game in a double [sic original=”roundrobbin” correct=”round robin”], this before the pot-out 1 pt. transfer rule was in effect; a match on home felt against Columbia, a team that was never seen again after that; a 3 way match with Cornell and Harvard that marked the end of the prehistoric age in North American winks since the Harvard team also disappeared after that match; and playing against Regis College (a local women’s school) whose winkers typically were tripping at matches. Ah, the good old days…


DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

Pages 20 and 21

The Pairs’ Tournament final game fit that new NATwA tradition—a close race for a major title complete with a last game between the two contenders with many interested spectators on hand. Dave and TDI must win at least 5-2 over Sev and Larry or it’s all over.

Severin won the crucial squidge-off. The first action almost came in the third round but both Sev (B) and then Dave (G) disdained squopping each other from 2 inches in favor of bringing in winks from the line. Larry (R) supplied the first mistake by going off the table in the fourth, B the first squop in the fifth, and TDI (Y) the first threat with 6 pottable winks.

After 9 rounds and 7 minutes, Y has a possible blitz but since they hold the stronger position, G&Y decide not to be dramatic. From this point till the end of the game G&Y will use the entire 30 seconds on almost every turn, R&B usually about 20 seconds. R, experiencing difficulty executing his shots (going off the table twice) was heard to mutter “Goddamn! What the hell am I doing? Goddamn!” But B kept providing R with winks with a fine display of middle and long range squopping. By the 15th round only 9 minutes remain. R&B are engaging in a fringe attack, trying to get position while ignoring the major squops. G&Y respond with careful and accurate defensive play. “I want a shot judge on this one” says G in the 17th before a R shot.

“Come on Dave, don’t be an asshole” retorts B. With 2 minutes left confusion finally arrived. A secondary pile is disturbed after a shot and it’s not clear what did it. Decision says it was only Sev’s hand and the pile is replaced. At this stage G is in trouble and the needed 5-2 for the tie might be troublesome. Y continues to show his bristoling talents as the 20th round ends regulation.

In the 1st round, approaches, squops, and bristols all failed, but in the 2nd G picked up a tempo with a long shot knocking B off of a triple. At this point a spectator quietly noted that G needs to bring in his boondocked wink to aid in the race for 3rd place. The match starts to swing towards R&B as a 2 round sub by Y costs a free G wink via color order. In the 3rd, G fails to see his boondocked wink and boondocks a B in order to give himself a wink to play with. R once again misplays a shot (“I’ve been playing like horsemeat”) and fails to boondock a Y. Y finally tries a pot attempt and misses a 4 incher badly. Ferd astutely remarked that “Rounds have not been marked by sterling play”. B and G bring in boondocked winks and R, desiring to secure second place, pots a wink to open the 4th round. At this stage Y has 3 pottable and 1 capable of all sorts of things, G has 2 pottable, R has 1 in, 2 pottable, and 1 wink capable of freeing another, and B has 1 pottable, 1 squopping but pottable and yet another squopping in a bristoling position, aimed at the big yellow on a pile.

R&B are willing to [sic original=”conceed” correct=”concede”] Y 1st and R goes after a G. Y sets up some 5th round dramatics by dropping one and then squopping a red double, hoping to be able to pot-desquop either a G or a Y in the 5th if necessary. B increases the drama by trying a pot and landing over 8 inches from the pot. R alertly remarks, concerning Y, “He can pot that and squop you and you’d be sucked.”

The 5th round took only 25 minutes to complete and necessitated the use of the Somerville Consensus through averaging mechanism. G has 2 going on 6, R has 6 with a good shot at 9 or even 11, Y has 6 and can do a variety of things for up to 11, and B has 3 and can go to 5 or even 7 by potting off a G. If G pots and then squops a R, Y should have 1st but B would need only to pot from 8 inches for 3rd, a 4-3 loss, and the title. G, fearful of Severin, decides to pot both, which should clinch at least a tie for 3rd but also gives R a good shot at 1st . Then chaos poked out its head and put agape its cavernous mouth, engulfing the game in a haze of contention. G potted from 4 inches and then his second shot, from 8 inches, goes in but a green wink bounces out. Dave examined the wink, compared it to the one still in the pot, and somewhat positively identified the bounced out wink as the “fat wink” that had gone in on the shot before.

The decision was made to play the game out and see if it made a difference which wink came out.

R, fulfilling a Ferd prediction that he would attempt to throw the game to a 5-2 loss, thus necessitating the playing of his 200th career game, missed a 3 inch pot, blaming it on the depsyche caused by the [sic original=”prievious” correct=”previous”] problem.

At this point the tension was growing and fighting broke out among the spectators with Ferd and * engaging in a shoving match.

Here the following colloquy occurred:

G: What would you (B) do if we free the yellow?

B: Pot the wink.

Y: l’m going to pot.

G: I’m afraid in your potting that yellow, the red will cover the other yellow.

Y: You’re going to worry about that?

Ferd: Let’s assign Charles to worry about that.

G: Maybe B will miss the pot.

Y: B is Severin, he’s not going to miss.

B: What?

So now the scoring is Y=6, R=6, G=6 or 4, and B=3. So it also is decision time before B’s last turn after Y decides not to try any potting and simply frees a yellow to give him 7.

The four players caucused and decided to give the seven spectators the final decision within the framework of 3 options. l) The wink, is in, 2) The wink is out, and 3) G should do the shot over. The 7 decide to use the following [sic original=”proceedure” correct=”procedure”]. We would each state, by secret ballot, our belief of the probability that the wink that bounced out was different from the one shot. If the average of those probabilities was over 75%, the wink was in. If it were below 25%, the wink was out. Otherwise G would shoot over. And the average was 28%, G was given second life, and this time the wink was unquestionably potted. Now it was the last turn of the game, Severin’s turn.

B has several ways to try for a 2⅓ – 4⅔ loss that would win the tournament. He can try a long bristol onto a Y that would result in a 3 way tie at 6, providing he stayed on a G.

Or he could pot his big wink from 8 inches and then pot off of G, producing a 7-7-7-6 final score. The potting seemed easier.

B calmly dropped both of them to win the tournament by ⅔ of a point.

Hands were shaken all around and Larry expressed what I believe was the feeling held by everyone present during the game when he turned to Severin and said, “Thanks for pulling my fucking ass out of the fire.”



1976 PAIRS

Page 21

As the eight pair tournament opened, two superstar pairs quickly emerged as the major contenders—Larry & Sev and TDI & Dave Lokweed—each containing one half of the 1975 champions. And at last, Dave Barbano was in Boston, ending his record streak of 139 consecutive non-Boston games. Inge and Dave won the first confrontation of the favorites to take command, registered six straight 6-1’s, and assumed a three point lead at 36 to Sev and Larry’s 33, * and Carl’s 24½ and the surprising Charles and Martin, with 22, who became even more surprising as the first day’s play ended by knocking off the leaders to tumble them 1 pt. behind S&L and to place themselves in third place. On Sunday C&M again foiled TDI&D to clinch a hard earned third place, and to set up a last game of the match with S&L sitting on a three point lead over TDI&D and everyone else gathering as spectators.

Results


NATwA today

Page 22

TORONTO REGION

old Toronto – the scattered 490 crowd.

  • Myro – fragrant
  • Earl – of keen intelligence

new Toronto – last year’s B division champs out for more glory.

  • Dave – beloved
  • Joe – he shall add

Yokels – some Somerville, TKO’s, Loonies, and recruits put in one package, representing a large area.

  • Margaret – pearl, child of light
  • Rich -wealthy and powerful

Myro is soon to wed.

ITHACA REGION

CC’s – old old faces with a new image.

  • Dean – dweller in the valley
  • Jacob – supplanter

Cornell – graduates of the high school +?

  • Belinda – wise and immortal
  • Matthew – God’s gift

Crown & Centipede – Rivendell – S.A.D.

  • Daniel – the Lord is judge
  • Miles – a warrior

Renaissance – the strength of four of Last year’s teams all in one place.

  • Larry – victorious, crowned with laurel.
  • Phyllis – green leaf or bough

FAR FAR EAST

Bay Area Winking Lovers Society Berke , Los Altos, and Stanford

  • Ross – a horse

Old Fresno Winking and Drinking Society

  • Tim – God fearing

BOSTON REGION

MIT – hopes to field a team.

  • Charles – robust, strong
  • Jason – the atoner, doctor

Somerville – some new players and maybe even a new name, but no more Bob.

  • Ferdinand – of adventurous life
  • Martha – Patron Saint of all good housewives

Zoo – completed with, gasp, novices.

  • Bill – determined protector
  • Saul – longed for, desired


RAnDoM numbers

Page 23

BIT March 1976

Yunanistani Hududu  3.527
Vicarub             3.495
Jadefin             3.484

Top Averages

Steve  5.03
Martin 4.40
Dave L 4.83
*      4.33
Ferd   4.50
Bill R 4.25
Sev    4.23
Larry  3.92
TDI    3.80

PAIRS May 1976

                              I   II
Larry-Severin   8-2 50.83:  37.5,13.33
Dave L-TDI      8-2 50.17:  37.0,13.17
Charles-Martin  5-5 35.5 :  28.0, 7.5
Ferd-Don        3-7 28.0 :  20.0, 8.0
Carl-*          4-3 27.0 :  27.0
Andy-Joe-Matt   3-4 19.5 :  19.5
Dave B-Phyllis  2-5 16.5 :  16.5
Lyle-MP         1-6 10.5 :  10.5

SINGLES May 1976

                 *  D  J  P  S Others
*       9-2 54   x  8  8 11  9   18
Dave L  9-2 52½  6  x 12 10  7   17½
Jim M   5-6 4O½  6  2  x  7 11½  14
Ferd    5-6 39   3  4  7  x 10   15
Sev     4-7 32½  5  7  2½ 4  x   14

Other players:

Larry 5-2 29
Martin 1-7 14½
Charles 3-6 19
Carl 1-3 11½
Joe 1-2 9½
Andy 0-5 8½

HOTT October 1976

           Method I  Method II
Renaissance  3.58     3.58
Zooo         3.49     3.61
Somerville   3.41     3.31

Top Averages

Sev     5.10
Dave B  4.58
Joe     3.92
Dave L  4.75
Bill R  4.33
Pete    3.83
Bill G  4.75
*       4.08
Ferd    3.75

SCORE DISTRIBUTION

  Score      BIT PAIR SING HOTT 75-76 EVER
   7-0        0    2    3    2   18    208
   6-1       13   21   25   14  213   1597
  5½-1½       0    1    3    1   31    205
   5-2        6    5    7    7   59    491
  4⅔-2⅓       1    1    1    0    5     26
  4½-2½       2    3    1    1   18    106
   4-3        5    1    8    9   79    539
  3½-3½       1    0    0    1    3     25
 Ave. Score  5.19 5.70 5.49 5.21 5.41 5.48

YE 0LDE WINKERS CLUB

        Start of  Game    Game    # of
         Winking   # 1   # 100   Games
Severin  12/65    2/67    2/72    341
Ferd      3/66    2/67    4/71    349
Bob H     3/66    2/67    4/71    328
*         5/66    2/67    5/71    374
Dave B    9/66    2/70   11/73    152
Michael K   68    3/70    2/74    119
Moishe    9/68   12/68   12/71    239
Tim       9/68   12/68    5/72    169
L         9/68   12/68   10/76    100
Spike    11/68    4/71    2/75    139
Bill R    5/69    2/70    5/72    310
Jim M     9/69    2/70    4/73    153
MP        9/69   11/69    2/75    131
Dean      1/70    2/70   11/72    145
Jake      3/70    2/71   11/75    112
Dave L    9/70   12/70   12/73    254
Craig     9/70   12/70    4/73    190
Bill G   10/70   12/70    5/73    210
Tina     11/70   10/71     X       79
mary      1/71    4/71   12/72    196


Page 24

S E V E R I N

Took Singles crown from Bill R. 2 years ago.

Edge over * is 18-14-2 in tournament play.

Advantage is 9-5-1 over * in informal play.

Defeated Keith Seamen 27-15 in title defense.

You’ll know him by the clothes he wears.

[+template:(Tucker Tw ID • [+xmp:title+] — publisher • [+iptc:source+] — title • [+xmp:headline])+]
Graphic inviting people to "Come One" "Come All!" with a winks pot at center, with "THANKSGIVING" and "NEW YORK CITY" around the top, "WORLD" and "SINGLES" vertically at left and right, plus "along with an informal NATwA event" near the bottom

S U N S H I N E

Trounced Sev in last 3 games they’ve played.

Records galore: most NATwA games, wins, losses.

Emerged victorious in Singles this past year.

Asserts courageous chickens like Thanks. turkey.

Keeps statistics home court advantage.*

You’ll know him by his bare feet.

* Severin’s territory (Ithaca and Mohegan), holds a 7-2-1 lead whereas on * turf (Boston and Bennington), it’s been Severin 14-6-1. It should be noted that all 3 World Singles matches to date have been won by the visitor. Rumor has it that Severin grew up in New York City.