Okay, well in the absence of five factors, namely
(i) a frequently updated page for Pokémon on WotC's European sites for the UK, France and Italy and those countries under the catchment area of WotC-Europe;
(ii) the unexpected departure of Harlan Levey from WotC-Europe, Manager of Organised Play & Tournaments for 2001 and the best representative of WotC we as players have had in Europe and the STSs for information, help and advice;
(iii) the delay in WotC-US Poké-Brand Manager Keith Strohm's recommendations for immediate action (under threat of downsizing? Please?!? ) for European Offices - namely WotC-UK, WotC-France & WotC-Italy, to catch up with WotC-Europe and fall in line with WotC-US for both Organised and League play - and discontinue recommending older players to play Magic:TG while making sure the younger players have an active and up-to-date league to develop their play and sustain the game;
(iv) the support that was, has been, and still is available to European members from Team Europe, throughout this period;
(v) the noticeable increase in numbers of European players now accessing the WizPog for the first time:

For the interim, all European players can log in regularly onto this post and find out all the information that they need.

Useful information to post if you'd like to contribute is -
(1) When Neo Destiny has reached your stores;
(2) The state of league and news of active leagues in your area/province that have 'good' practice of support from WotC and/or Gym Leaders;
(3) Any news of 'Challenge' and 'Professor' tournaments;
(4) Any 'interesting' actions by your local WotC office - an example could be of erratic behaviour, communications, responses to phonecalls about organised and/or league play, etc.

Please do not post information about your own tournaments, nor post anything that can be seen to be 'inflammatory' and generally not helpful. We know how bad things are in Europe at the moment. This is a chance to show that we are ready, whenever WotC offices in Europe are willing to put Keith Strohm's words into actions.

This topic is a very good idea for European players.
I think the info that will be posted here could be also put on the TE board.

As soon as I have news about Belgium and Europe, I update my website (see address in my signature) too. Players from our countries may go to check there too.

The first thing i did when i came home was turning on my phone and beeb beeb a mesage from Golduck that said that he got 50 league starter kits.
But we have waited olmost four weeks for an answer on this question;if we can use the school as a place to have the league?

We wrote a letter to the school but it does not seem that we have gotten any place to have the league.
So on monday we are going to go up there and talk to the principal about it.

So we are olmost ready to start the league and that's very good..
I can't wait to put on the red gym leader T and get theese funny questions from theese little kids. I think it will be just great.

A good idea may be to post that question about starting a league up, on the 'Tournament & League Play' board. From my observations, the mod SDPokémom is well clued up on league stuff, beiing a Gym Leader herself. Hows about directing any specific questions to her?

Good to see you back from vacation. It would be helpful if you could look through these points and tell us how it is around your area. Look forward to hearing from you and maybe playing against you if WotC decide to let me judge/partake in Sweden this year.

-fK

quote:

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Useful information to post if you'd like to contribute is -
(1) When Neo Destiny has reached your stores;
(2) The state of league and news of active leagues in your area/province that have 'good' practice of support from WotC and/or Gym Leaders;
(3) Any news of 'Challenge' and 'Professor' tournaments;
(4) Any 'interesting' actions by your local WotC office - an example could be of erratic behaviour, communications, responses to phonecalls about organised and/or league play, etc.

Please do not post information about your own tournaments, nor post anything that can be seen to be 'inflammatory' and generally not helpful. We know how bad things are in Europe at the moment. This is a chance to show that we are ready, whenever WotC offices in Europe are willing to put Keith Strohm's words into actions.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Michel:
Hi FreddyK,

This topic is a very good idea for European players.
I think the info that will be posted here could be also put on the TE board. As soon as I have news about Belgium and Europe, I update my website (see address in my signature) too. Players from our countries may go to check there too. I'll call the new responsible at Wizards Europe on Monday. I hope to have a meeting with him about the game in Belgium and in Europe (leagues, tournaments, Challenges, Prof program, ...) as soon as possible.

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Hi Michel,

No problem at all. Updating your site would be really helpful - I think Dark Golduck aka Eskil is busy and can't get access to his website as frequently as he'd like to *cough*heavy-hint-to-update-the-Team-Europe-website-Eskil*cough*

Keep us very updated with that meeting with the new European TO. I'd be very interested in the results of that!

I'd like to hear from other European players too. Golduck - could you do a Heads-Up post to all TE members to make sure they are at least members of this board?

My goodness. That's been out since... *thinks back before the STS* ...oooh...

BTW Totally off-topic, and not needing a reply but Dark Dragonair's Pokémon Power is 'Evolutionary Light' which is not too far from 'Evolight', wouldn't you say? Time to change your sig...

Keep up the good work, TheThinker. Tell us what WotC-Italy say to you, as soon as possible.

I've called Felix, the responsible of the Pokemon branch at Wizards Europe, today. What's news ?

- they're 'rebuilding' the team now that Harlan has left the company
- they are finalizing the Gym and Prof events schedule, announcements will be made as soon as dates will be confirmed (it seems that we'll not have to wait too long)
- someone will come on the TE board to inform us, like Harlan did
- they have received the questions of the Professor test and they are deciding in which language it will be translated

As they have a lot of work with the Magic Grand prix in Belgium (Antwerp, March 2), he asked me to be patient ...
Reorganization + Magic GP are, for them, a lot a work indeed.

I have an appointment with him on March 8 (he prefered to meet me a little bit later to have a better basis for the discussion).

Until then, my opinion is that the best thing we have to do is to wait quietly
If things happen earlier, it's OK, but we know they're working for us anyway.

The contact I've had was really positive, and I'm sure that not only they don't forget us, but that they really want to do nice things for us (and with us).

So, please, don't be too impatient

Would it not be nice if WotC-UK & WotC-Italy do something similar, too? Perhaps someone higher up could ask them to make themselves available.
I hope so.

It's does not sound good at all.
Im sure that no one can do a good job like harlam so thank you for doing everything you can do for us.
And im olmost sure that it will be no substitute for harlam but 'We can't get the fish witout fishing' that sounded strange.
LOL

I hope the leauge thing here will fix up fast right Eskil.
We are just waiting for that call from the principal.

Let me tell you when we were at the school today looking for the principal we met some teachers and they asked what we needed the wendsdays for and i told em that we were trying to start a pokemon league and the one teacher lought and tenrned her back to us and walked away.
I think that is just soo stupid done and it makes me really pist of.

um that's quite bad you know... if kids asked for it in my school i'd only be too happy to help...

Yes, Harlan has left WotC Europe, it did a great job for the players and he was very close to our community.

What happens at WotC, and the reason why Harlan left the company is not our business

If you read my previous post, you'll see that I'm optimistic about our future, and you'll see why.

OK, nobody will do what Harlan did the way he did it. But I think it's a bit early to condamn the new team

Don't worry about your professor (he will NEVER be in the Professor Program !!!).
Where I work, everybody is laughing at me and they call me 'Pikachu'. These poor people don't know anything else than Pikachu about Pokemon
Anyway, I have fun with the game and the community, I have traveled to NY and San Diego, Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona last year, other nice cities this year, just for the game. They didn't

When you don't know something, it's always easier to laugh at than to try to understand it !

On the mainland, we pay £2.50 for packets. 'Redundant' sets such as the Gym Series go for £1.00 - I'l leave it as an exercise for yourself to convert the figures, but those prices I quoted are stable and the ones to be found in any gaming High Street store.

Keep up the posts. Sorry to hear about the lack of scene over there.

Okay I have been talking with Lee at Wizards UK about what is happening here and we have some positive news.

There will be 4 Gym Challenges in the UK at locations spread around the country; London gets one, the South East gets another [guess where ], South West gets one and the North too.

There will be no Stadium Challenge, but trips to worlds for the 10-14 and 10 and unders will be available as prizes at each gym challenge.

There maybe Professor events at each time willing but there is a plan to hold one at UK GenCon .. news when I get it.

The Gym Challenges will be held over the 4 weekends in April so it should be possible to attend all 4 if you wish and your partner will let you!

This is good news and although I would have liked a Stadium Challenge, it is a positive move from where we were last year.

We know it is coming and it's time to prepare...

I will post this under a seperate post in Tournaments for UK players just in case they miss it here.

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: ukpokemonpro ]

quote:

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Okay I have been talking with Lee at Wizards UK about what is happening here and we have some positive news...

There will be no Stadium Challenge, but trips to worlds for the 10-14 and 10 and unders will be available as prizes at each gym challenge.

There maybe Professor events at each time willing but there is a plan to hold one at UK GenCon .. news when I get it.

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There MAY BE Professor events? MAY BE???

THAT'S JUST SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS!!!

Just who do they think they are at WotC-UK?

Have they learnt NOTHING from last year?

They have BROKEN THEIR PROMISE made to the older players after last year's news of an STSQ finally came out. They assured us that we WOULD get a tournament on the same level as an STSQ for 15+. Taken that the Professor Program has now come into effect, you would have thought that they would have FOR SURE an event for the older players with a prize of judging at Worlds.

THAT is what the Professor Program is about, isn't it?

THAT is our incentive for helping the younger players to come through.

THAT was the next stage for taking organised play FORWARD.

WASN'T IT?

I want some GOOD answers from someone, VERY QUICKLY about this. This is going to kill Pokémon off in the UK for sure. NO incentive for older players means players will give up at the age of 14. League attendance will drop, and eventually collapse. It is the OLDER players who are attending leagues here more regularly than the younger ones. It is the OLDER players who have had to put up with TOTAL LACK OF CONSIDERATION from WotC-UK, and it looks like more of the same this year.

How this can be seen as POSITIVE news is beyond me. Pokémon has seen the first nail in the coffin.

And no Stadium Challenge?
That's where the Professors usually have their competition too.

This does NOT sound good at all.

-fK (little less )

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: Freddy K ]

Now I know it looks like no 15+ but that wasn't what Lee was saying. He would like to give us something at the events and a separate Prof only event at GenCon to be confirmed.

So it looks like we get a Tourney at GenCon and possibly 4 others at the Challenges if time permits... Now I am sure we can lobby hard for that

Hope they accept foreign players !!!

I'll be there with my daughter(she will be in 11-14 this time) , and very happy to meet you (again) !

FreddyK, as long as they don't say NO, YES is still possible !

'pro - *frog pills swallowed* ....ok. Can you arrange a meeting with Lee? I think we could gain from judging these events you know in the UK. We have to get ourselves involved, even if it is to try and get some sort of communication established with WotC-UK. Half term would be great, we could meet him at WotC-UK HQ in Uxbridge. Look how much Belgium have gained from such dialogue.

Thanx for the pills. Damn right, about the enraged Clefairy...

It seems like we'll have 3 Gym Challenges here -- one in Milan, one in Rome and one in Naples. I still know nothing about Professor events at the Challenges, but I STRONGLY hope for them they'll have them (looks at Molotov bottle with "for WotC Italy HQ" label on it hidden under the bed ).

For the Italian Stadium Challenge, rumors say it's going to be in October, so it'll probably be for next year's WC (or maybe a Winter one such as the EC/WCSTSs?).