PowerPlay Dergi

Canada held its first official PPM meeting in August in Kitchener Ontario. The turnout was as expected and the conversation lasted many hours varying from general PPM discussion such as tactics, training, facilities etc. through to how to pronounce Allen's (Aowyr) PPM nickname. All in all, 8 managers showed up to attend this first ever (official) PPM meeting. The attendees included (from the Canadian support team) canucks357, KetchHoel and saint2e along with North America's only gamemaster Aowyr. The remaining attendees included Jaschke, kanukisbrave, fedidit and JoruneZephyr. Nytemare was in the restaurant however sadly the lovely ladies at the front desk never directed him to the PPM table despite our greatest efforts to inform them to do so. Most of the managers resided near the meeting location or worked near Kitchener. However it would be a shame not to mention the dedication of two managers, Jaschke and Aowyr, from Wallaceburg, who made the 4.5 hour round trip to Kitchener totaling nearly 500km when you consider they came early to visit Guelph - the stomping gounds of canucks357. If you were to google directions from Wallaceburg to Kitchener you will find quickly that it takes more than 4.5 hours for the round trip. I have not yet decided if Aowyr's car has super capabilities or if he strikes fear into all drivers from his gamemaster status effectively clearing traffic and allowing him to zip down Canada's busiest highway.

The meeting itself provided an enjoyable evening with drinks and good food. On a personal note, I'll be sure to order whatever JoruneZephyr gets next time as he seemed to know his way around their menu quite well (ribs and wings platter). Everyone had a nametag that included their first name, PPM nickname as well as the name, league and logo of their team(s).   It was nice to finally put faces to names and be able to joke about past wins/losses in person. Some of us really only had losses to discuss thanks to sub-par seasons so we left all the winning chat to KetchHoel and his soccer team (which perhaps resulted in the establishing of the Atikokan Irons soccer club).  As well as spending time poking fun at each other, important PPM topics were discussed.  Canada's support team was keen on finding out what people perceive about PPM, what things are good, and what can be improved. One of the great things about this meeting is that it included many managers with all sorts of PPM experience (from 8 seasons to 2 seasons). This gave everyone a good idea of the challenges people have at different stages of the game.  A lot of discussion focused around promotion benefits, the OTR system, as well as "catching up with the big dogs." While it seemed unanimous that a financial bubble is about to hit the upper tiers of PPM, everyone present discussed their PPM financial goals and a few strategies going forward. All in all it was a great learning experience for everyone. 

Overall it was a very enjoyable evening, and we hope that in we can get even more PPMers out to future meetings. The general consensus was that this should be a twice a year event and it is hoped that with each meeting the numbers will grow. If you are interested in creating a meeting I encourage you to do so. The game becomes even more exciting when you wage war on your friends. You can find some images from the meeting below courtesy of kanukisbrave (manager IDs given from left to right). I apologize for some people being cut off, I never was any good at photography...

Dinner of champions (term used loosely)...: