The LC Invitational

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts

WHAT IS THIS?

This is an invite-only Old School Magic tournament in Greater Boston, continuing the tradition of LOBSTERCON in 2021. Covid-19 vaccinations, proof of a negative Covid test, AND mask wearing are required for all participants. The anticipated field is probably about 60-70 players, but our new venue can support much more than that, so there should be plenty of elbow room.

Invitations are not transferrable. A non-refundable deposit of $75 is required to confirm your spot, which includes registration in the main event as well as a ticket to the Friday night welcome event, along with swag, door prizes, and probably some other interesting perks throughout the weekend.

The format for the main event will be Atlantic 93/94, no proxies allowed, typical EC/American reprint allowances as with past LOBSTERCON events. The structure will be straight Swiss, seven rounds. Deck photos will be required, to be submitted before the first round of the main event. Deck photo submitter link: https://airtable.com/shr58A90w6Ndy81wi

EVENT TIMING and LOCATIONS

Sept 17, Friday night welcome event: 5:30pm – 11pm

Dilboy VFW Post, 351 Summer St, Somerville MA

Friday night Premodern side event registration: https://forms.gle/uNaD2JybA1dX9S9M9

Sept 18, Saturday main event: 11am – 8pm

Dante Alighieri Society, 41 Hampshire St, Cambridge MA

THE FOOD SITUATION

Lobster rolls will once again be available from Kelly’s Roast Beef, with pre-orders opening up about 10 days before the event. Otherwise, both the main event and Friday evening gathering are “bring your own food,” with lists of take-out suggestions to be provided. Dedicated bartenders and cash bar at both venues.

COVID SAFETY AND ASSUMPTIONS

We are opening registration for this event in July 2021, in the context of increasing vaccination rates and dramatically reduced Covid transmission rates, case numbers, and hospitalizations across New England. In general, our operating assumption for the LC Invitational is that the event will take place in-person as long as (1) all participants provide proof of vaccination and (2) the current favorable conditions hold.

The organizers of the LC Invitational reserve the right to cancel or substantially alter the format of the tournament in the event of unfavorable Covid conditions in Greater Boston in September 2021, namely, if the 7-day average of newly reported cases rises above 5 per 100,000 per day; if the number of hospitalizations in Massachusetts rises back above 250; if other leading indicators point to a rising R-naught value greater than 1.1, etc. In the event of such cancellation/format change, partial refunds will be issued to all participants, contingent on our recouping venue costs and other deposits.

Covid conditions in Greater Boston are much, much worse than they were when registration opened in early July. As a result, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville are now all under indoor mask orders. The venues for both the main event (in Cambridge) and Friday night event (in Somerville) have confirmed: the indoor mask mandate will be enforced for both events. So, everyone will be expected to be masked at all times when not actively eating/drinking. It is what it is.

We’re combining masking with vaccinations (mandatory and already confirmed by everyone registered — 100% compliance, thanks for that), and Covid testing in the days before the event. If you get a PCR test, aim to do it on Tuesday (14th) or Wednesday (15th). Equally acceptable are the antigen rapid tests, or the home test kits that are available at e.g. Walgreens or CVS. If you’re doing a rapid or home test, please do it right before you travel on Thursday (16th) or Friday (17th). We’ll be expecting everyone to show some sort of proof of a negative test by the time things kick off on Saturday (uploaded with deck photo or shown at check-in).

All of these measures together add up to the gold standard in safety for an event like this. Everyone coming to this event was personally invited. We are a close-knit community. Let’s take the best possible care of one another. And if you’re feeling like these precautions are somehow too much or still too little, this may not be the event for you. No hard feelings — there will be other events in the future, and we’ll see you then.

TRAVEL LOGISTICS (updated Sept 9 w/ parking info)

Best airport to fly into is Boston Logan Airport (BOS). Recommended hotels are in the Kendall Square area of Cambridge — look at the Residence Inn by Marriott Boston Cambridge and the Boston Marriott Cambridge for a general sense of where you’ll likely want to be. The main event is in Kendall Square and the Friday night event is in Davis Square — these are both served by the MBTA Red Line, providing easy accessibility from other points in/around Boston, including Alewife Station parking garage and South Station. There is also limited off-street parking available at both venues on a first-come, first-served basis.

Parking information: Friday night, there are a limited number of free off-street parking spaces in the VFW parking lot, first-come, first-served. For the Saturday event, there are a limited number of free off-street parking spaces in the Dante Alighieri parking lot, first-come, first-served (park in the UNMARKED spots). Once these spots fill, the Dante Alighieri Society will validate parking at the Landmark Cinema parking garage on Binney Street for a ridiculously reasonable $5 for all-day parking — just see the Dante Alighieri bartender to get your ticket validated.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW (updated September 9th)

There is a private/invite-only Facebook event page for the LC Invitational where you can discuss plans with other attendees here: https://www.facebook.com/events/817230358966613/ Please contact DFB to get added to the event if you’re not in there already.

Deck photos are due before the first round fires on Saturday. Note there is also space for you to upload your proof of a negative Covid test (if you have that ready to go at the time you submit your deck photo). Deck photo submitter link: https://airtable.com/shr58A90w6Ndy81wi

Lobster roll orders are now open. The cost this year is $25. They are ONLY available by pre-order — we will not have extras to sell at the event. Orders close on Tuesday (Sept 14). To order, send $25 PayPal F&F to drbard@gmail.com.

Our annual baby supply drive is underway! This year, Room to Grow created a customized wish list just for NEOS, reflecting urgent needs for their Boston program right now. Please consider buying some items from the registry — and if you do, send DFB a screenshot or copy of your receipt email so we can add your donation amount to our running total.

The LC Invitational Online Charity Raffle will open on Monday, Sept 13th — watch this space.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT:

Claim your spot by filling out the form linked below. Use the same password you were provided with your invitation: https://airtable.com/shr5zy5He4pJ1NAId

THE INVITE LIST (updated September 7)

Lists of current registrants and others on the invite list:

Registered: Adam Lemke Adam Merkado Akos Czibere Andrew Callaghan Andrew Coppellotti Andrew Walker Andy Baquero Andy Blaufarb Ben Katz Brett Attmore Brian Limbacher Bryan Manolakos Charles Klein Chris McCubbin Cliff Matthieson Dan Serwan Daniel Kelly Dave Firth Bard David Jorgensen Derek Stafford Dom Dotterer Don Perrien Doug Miles Duncan Devlin Eli Dionne Geoff Matteson Geoff Willard Greg Titcomb James Lebak Jared Miller Jason Beaupre Jason Caron

Registered: Jason Dorman Jeff White Jeffrey Johnson Jimmy Johnson Justin Iskra Levi Baumgardner Lucas Glavin Luke Zinnen Marc Flore Micah McOwen Michael Scheffenacker Mike Frantz Mike Harris Mike VanDyke Nate Gates Nick Santini Paul DeSilva Paul Kovalov Pete Lankering Pez Unholy Rich Bourque Rich Shay Ryan Gresco Ryan Lauria Scott Bradley Seth Roncoroni Stephen Hartford Tapan Lockwood Tim Moran Will Kessler Will Magrann William Serwetman

Invited: Aaron West Alan Thompson Albert Iemma Andres Hojman Anthony Giangreco-Marotta Audun Dossland Baron Nick Ben Revell Ben Wagnon Benoit Seveno BJ Myrbacka Blake Burkholder Brendan Cox Brian Fay Brian Selden Brian Urbano Carter Petray Clenet Verdi-Rose Constantine Prishvitsin D Scott Brauner Daniel Anschutz Daniel Paulsen Dave Dupont Dillon Barfield Eric Martin Francois R Derbas Thibodeau George Murphy Gerard Siatkowski Greg Kraigher Guillaume Soucy Jackie Kenty Jame Easteppe James Duncan James Rosenblum James Slowikowski Jason Hathaway Jason Kenney Jason Morawski Jason Schwartz

Invited: Jason Seaman Jason Williams Jeff Anand Jimmy Cooney Joel Bowers John Grudzina John Longo Jon Revell Jonas Twitchen Karl Rivest Harnois Laurence Boulanger Mari Steinhage Mark Brothers Mark Jonovitch Mark Price Matt Asente Nicholas Batista Park Cofield Patrick Quinn Paul Paloglou Peter Broadbridge Quinn Maurmann Richard Stebbing Ryan Arnold Ryan Rudolph Ryan Williams Shane Semmens Shaun Augeri Shawn Sullivan Simon Christie Stephen Preston Tim McMath Travis Turner Will Parshall Winston Wood Yan Desmeules Yanick Blanchet Yves Larochelle