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AFFL: FINANCIAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS (1 Viewer)

Anyone who's still defending Neill, ask yourself this. In this climate, all things being equal, and lets just say solvent for a FF league managment company, why would a venture capitialist sink upwards of 500K to a mil into a fantasy football site? Assuming you could find someone to buy that bridge, would you then find someone to provide that cake if Neill was in the full disclosure that:-the "brand" AFFL is damaged irrepabrably-the lions share of any investment is paying off last years winners debt-the current management has shown at the absolute very best, poor mangagement skills, and we know the worst to be, they've acted to defraud peopleHaving money doesn't necessarily mean you have brains, but unless Neill is decieving THE INVESTORS as he seemingly decieved his clientele, why would anyone invest in this sinking ship?
I'm certainly not defending Neil, but if the deal got made to buy out AFFL, I am sure that the buyer would1) Rebrand the product - pretty easy to do. Just make some new logos, etc. 2) Fire the current management of AFFLIt comes down to whether it is cheaper to write the software from scratch or purchase the AFFL software, which may not be great but is already tested and bug-free (presumably). Also, if you wanted to open a FF website for next year, I don't think you could get a website created from scratch in time if you started now, so maybe you look into the AFFL software for that reason. For the sake of the AFFL winners, I hope this is the case. But the group of possible buyers must be pretty small, because any reasonably sized internet company would want to develop the app in-house.
 
HI,,,, NORTON17..SORRY ABOUT THE UPPER CASE, AS FOR TRYING TO BE DR.EVIL,, YOU HAVE NOT DEALT WITH MR.WICKHAM THE PAST MONTH.AS I STATED I SENT NEIL AN EMAIL YESTERDAY, HERE IS THE REPLY FROM HIM. IT REALLY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. I Kirk, I have not made any promises yet. I have told everyone that we are working with investors or trying to sell off the software or AFFL, and that we had hoped to find a resolution by the end of February. It is obviously not going to happen by the end of February, but I am still optimistic that we will find a resolution soon. As for the message board, I ran into come technical difficulties when I changed the board to require login to post. I am having one of my programmers look into it, but since he is no longer getting paid, he has to do it in his spare time. I cannot control your actions, and you will have to do what you think is best. Regards,Neil WickhamAFFL Commissioner866-946-2335-----Original Message-----From: Linda and Kirk Higgs <higgskl@ptd.net>Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:52amTo: Info <info@affl.com>Subject: Neil ? 4 U Hi Neil,,, I just wanted to say good bye!! You keep making all these promises that don't come true. Now i am VERY HAPPY to say i made the personal decision to pass everything i have to a group of 25 winners who have not been paid. You HAVE 7-14 days I will do any and every thing possible to guide them in them next week. I have instructed my attorney, who is my brother-in-law to take the lead in this. And to no surprise he has agreed. It is around 158 pages so far..... I am going to sit back and watch you get what you deserve......And it will not be from the BBB or our congressman... They are a waste of time. I told you where i was coming from. Even though i was paid many people have asked me to include them and boy am i happy too. So your time has run out... I will enjoy this for sure.....also you owe me a $25.00 merchandise credit.. i am requesting it today....Good Bye Loser.......... Kirk Higgs
You do realize that this e-mail isn't going to really sway the judge's decision in your direction, right?
 
WELL KEYS,,,,,,,,,,,,, THE EMAILS HERE ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE DAMAGED PARTIES, AND OTHERS ON THIS BOARD WHO WANT TO KNOW...

THE AFFL WEBSITE HAS COME BACK ONLINE... BUT NOBODY CAN POST TO THE MESSAGE BOARDS. IT IS LOCKED DOWN AND I DOUBT IT WILL OPEN UP

 
HI,,,, NORTON17..SORRY ABOUT THE UPPER CASE, AS FOR TRYING TO BE DR.EVIL,, YOU HAVE NOT DEALT WITH MR.WICKHAM THE PAST MONTH.AS I STATED I SENT NEIL AN EMAIL YESTERDAY, HERE IS THE REPLY FROM HIM. IT REALLY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. I Kirk, I have not made any promises yet. I have told everyone that we are working with investors or trying to sell off the software or AFFL, and that we had hoped to find a resolution by the end of February. It is obviously not going to happen by the end of February, but I am still optimistic that we will find a resolution soon. As for the message board, I ran into come technical difficulties when I changed the board to require login to post. I am having one of my programmers look into it, but since he is no longer getting paid, he has to do it in his spare time. I cannot control your actions, and you will have to do what you think is best. Regards,Neil WickhamAFFL Commissioner866-946-2335-----Original Message-----From: Linda and Kirk Higgs <higgskl@ptd.net>Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:52amTo: Info <info@affl.com>Subject: Neil ? 4 U Hi Neil,,, I just wanted to say good bye!! You keep making all these promises that don't come true. Now i am VERY HAPPY to say i made the personal decision to pass everything i have to a group of 25 winners who have not been paid. You HAVE 7-14 days I will do any and every thing possible to guide them in them next week. I have instructed my attorney, who is my brother-in-law to take the lead in this. And to no surprise he has agreed. It is around 158 pages so far..... I am going to sit back and watch you get what you deserve......And it will not be from the BBB or our congressman... They are a waste of time. I told you where i was coming from. Even though i was paid many people have asked me to include them and boy am i happy too. So your time has run out... I will enjoy this for sure.....also you owe me a $25.00 merchandise credit.. i am requesting it today....Good Bye Loser.......... Kirk Higgs
You do realize that this e-mail isn't going to really sway the judge's decision in your direction, right?
This is like the only guy who got paid. He's got me re-thinking my collection practices. It kind of has a "loose cannon" feel to it.
 
WELL KEYS,,,,,,,,,,,,, THE EMAILS HERE ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE DAMAGED PARTIES, AND OTHERS ON THIS BOARD WHO WANT TO KNOW...THE AFFL WEBSITE HAS COME BACK ONLINE... BUT NOBODY CAN POST TO THE MESSAGE BOARDS. IT IS LOCKED DOWN AND I DOUBT IT WILL OPEN UP
The ALL CAPS makes your posts very hard to read, my man. It'd just be easier for those that are interested in what actions you are looking at and your own interactions with Neil if you didn't go ALL CAPS except for the rare EMPHASIS.Just sayin' :confused: -QG
 
Kiddnets, this is correct about the playoff challenge. I was 1 of 94 contestants in this challenge for $30 - if you finished in the top 10% the payout was $100. When paying the entrance fee, you had two options (1) deduct from your league championship winnings (2) pay $30. There is absolutely no way in my mind this guy should have hosted the playoff challenge without having the funds to cover his other contests.

 
I will not use all caps again........seems to be a problem for some of you to read it. Kirk

 
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Kiddnets, this is correct about the playoff challenge. I was 1 of 94 contestants in this challenge for $30 - if you finished in the top 10% the payout was $100. When paying the entrance fee, you had two options (1) deduct from your league championship winnings (2) pay $30. There is absolutely no way in my mind this guy should have hosted the playoff challenge without having the funds to cover his other contests.
I think he knew what was coming and tried to squeeze every last buck out of us...Because $2000.00 profit for him on that would not put a 1" dent in the money he was going to need to pay. He knew he had no money in the bank for months. So it was get as much as you can before the end of the year....like when people would go out and charge anything and everything right before they filed personal bankruptcy. It was not some big shock to him.. he knew all along........
 
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The biggest red flag in this whole thing, is not the fact that Neil had to dip into the prize pool to cover some costs, BUT that he took the whole pot and is in TWICE the debt that is owed for the prizes.

Good luck to all that lost out.

 
Hi All....I guess logical IMO is giving Neil 30 days or so to find a partner/buyer/investor/loan. As I understand it, he is currently over 800k in debt....not much there to win in a lawsuit, except Neil's hide.

I agree what Neil did was at best poor business judgement. I'm not sure he intended to commit fraud...IMO. He is still communicating with us...albeit, not sometimes what we want to hear.

If after a reasonable time, Neil cannot find a financial solution, then a legal approach my be warranted.

I think, the total "Fantasy World" would benefit if the AFFL.com could find a financial solution.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

 
Funnies said:
Hi All....I guess logical IMO is giving Neil 30 days or so to find a partner/buyer/investor/loan. As I understand it, he is currently over 800k in debt....not much there to win in a lawsuit, except Neil's hide.I agree what Neil did was at best poor business judgement. I'm not sure he intended to commit fraud...IMO. He is still communicating with us...albeit, not sometimes what we want to hear.If after a reasonable time, Neil cannot find a financial solution, then a legal approach my be warranted.I think, the total "Fantasy World" would benefit if the AFFL.com could find a financial solution.Anyway, just my thoughts.
Maybe you are not really a winner, I wish you well during your wait. You just don't get it do you? Neil should not need any days to pay the money back out that he collected. He has said over and over again just give me until the end of the month. You say he still communicates with us, he says the same thing over and over. You may call that communication. But, now he tells us that it is not going to happen. And he has "no idea when it will"......... how long would you wait? that's crazy,,,,, We are not waiting..........our concern is not the "Fantasy World" it's the money that was basically stolen.. even though you might not want to come to the realization of it....courts will decide it.......
 
Funnies said:
Hi All....I guess logical IMO is giving Neil 30 days or so to find a partner/buyer/investor/loan. As I understand it, he is currently over 800k in debt....not much there to win in a lawsuit, except Neil's hide.I agree what Neil did was at best poor business judgement. I'm not sure he intended to commit fraud...IMO. He is still communicating with us...albeit, not sometimes what we want to hear.If after a reasonable time, Neil cannot find a financial solution, then a legal approach my be warranted.I think, the total "Fantasy World" would benefit if the AFFL.com could find a financial solution.Anyway, just my thoughts.
Maybe you are not really a winner, I wish you well during your wait. You just don't get it do you? Neil should not need any days to pay the money back out that he collected. He has said over and over again just give me until the end of the month. You say he still communicates with us, he says the same thing over and over. You may call that communication. But, now he tells us that it is not going to happen. And he has "no idea when it will"......... how long would you wait? that's crazy,,,,, We are not waiting..........our concern is not the "Fantasy World" it's the money that was basically stolen.. even though you might not want to come to the realization of it....courts will decide it.......
 
Funnies said:
Hi All....I guess logical IMO is giving Neil 30 days or so to find a partner/buyer/investor/loan. As I understand it, he is currently over 800k in debt....not much there to win in a lawsuit, except Neil's hide.I agree what Neil did was at best poor business judgement. I'm not sure he intended to commit fraud...IMO. He is still communicating with us...albeit, not sometimes what we want to hear.If after a reasonable time, Neil cannot find a financial solution, then a legal approach my be warranted.I think, the total "Fantasy World" would benefit if the AFFL.com could find a financial solution.Anyway, just my thoughts.
Maybe you are not really a winner, I wish you well during your wait. You just don't get it do you? Neil should not need any days to pay the money back out that he collected. He has said over and over again just give me until the end of the month. You say he still communicates with us, he says the same thing over and over. You may call that communication. But, now he tells us that it is not going to happen. And he has "no idea when it will"......... how long would you wait? that's crazy,,,,, We are not waiting..........our concern is not the "Fantasy World" it's the money that was basically stolen.. even though you might not want to come to the realization of it....courts will decide it.......
 
Hi...just for info. I was a winner...the Silver Contest.
Sorry to here that, I see you were a 40K winner plus the TV. I can see why you would want to wait.... Call Neil see if he gives you any real hope, other then the same run around...........After talking it over with other people involved and out of "respect for the big winners". We will give the big winners a chance to recoup the prize money.......So we will as a group, hold off until the last minute. Once the big winners decide the end is here, we can all walk hand in hand into the court room..... I only do this for them,,,,surely not affl...............Kirk
 
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Hi...just for info. I was a winner...the Silver Contest.
Sorry to here that, I see you were a 40K winner plus the TV. I can see why you would want to wait.... Call Neil see if he gives you any real hope, other then the same run around...........After talking it over with other people involved and out of "respect for the big winners". We will give the big winners a chance to recoup the prize money.......So we will as a group, hold off until the last minute. Once the big winners decide the end is here, we can all walk hand in hand into the court room..... I only do this for them,,,,surely not affl...............Kirk
 
Hi Kirk,

Sounds good. Thanks. I'll try to contact Neil in the next couple days. This Forum is great...let's keep sharing info and keep everyone in the loop.

 
So we're now in a situation where he definitely won't be able to pay people by the end of the month, yet he is still advertising sign ups for next year on March 1st. Neil, if you're listening, if you start accepting any money for next year without having fully paid the winners from last year, you'll stop being a negligent businessman with poor decision making skills and enter firmly into the crook/scam artist realm. I'm not an AFFL customer so I'm not owed any money, but if you start taking people's money again knowing you can't deliver on your promises, I will notify consumer protection media outlets and contact any law enforcement agencies I can find that deal with internet fraud.

 
I realize Neil doesn't have to come on these message boards and update the status of the current situation, but I do not appreciate it when there is very little communication between him and the winners, and what little communication there is, it is fruitless. I only won $1350 for winning my league at the gold level, and althought it's not going to make or break me, it's the principal and the black eye that it could have on the whole community that iritates me, like everyone else has stated.

Frankly, I am ready to move forward with a lawsuit at this point. I would be willing to give Neil another week, but if I were Neil, I would be out of the country by now banking on the fact I won't get extradited.

 
Just a quick update, and sorry that I haven't posted in a while.

2008 sign-ups are not being accepted yet, and will not be until the 2007 prizes are paid out.

We don't have a deal done yet, but I am working with a few companies on a full buyout. The terms we are negotiating would completely pay out 2007 prizes. I do not have a timeline for any of these deals, but I will keep the winners informed of the progress. In both of these opportunities, for the most part I would no longer be affiliated with the AFFL, except as a technical consultant.

Thanks for the patience.

 
In addition, I will not be leaving the country :thumbup:

I did not embezzle any money and did not commit fraud, and I can prove it in court.

 
In addition, I will not be leaving the country :thumbup: I did not embezzle any money and did not commit fraud, and I can prove it in court.
Guaranteeing prize money when you know you dont have the ability at the time of the guarantee to pay those prizes isnt fraud? running a mid season contest knowing you cant pay the regular season contest prizesmuch less the prizes offered in the mid season contest,isnt fraud? running a playoff contest knowing you dont have the ability to pay the promised prizes isnt fraud? May i suggest getting a second opinion, sir.Your words are going to cause one of us, and real soon, to contact the Justice dept, never mind a civil lawsuit that you could care less about because you have no assets to recover.I think you have a lot of nerve.
 
Hi Neil,

I was wondering if there were an plans on you and Jeff Pester starting a Correctional Commissioner Service for next year? My brother is serving a little time and says it'd go over real well there. You don't have to worry about any lawsuits he says if you don't pay out the green in the end. Black and blue tend to be the colors of choice around there.

Thanks.

 
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Neil and others-

Neil, I 've been playing in your leagues for four years. enjoyed it, great competition and love the software interface. In the 2006 season I almost took first in the Gold but ended in 3rd. This year you owe me about $800. I own 2 companies and in the past I have had cash flow problems and have had to work with investors. I'm an eternal optimist and have tried to keep the business running while keeping both customers and employees happy.

Anyway, I feel your pain and I know you want to pay us back but that you may be unable to ( or at least for awhile). Sounds like you made some bad choices, sounds like some mismanagement of funds and probably should not have continued "business as usual" while under the financial duress. But , like me, you were pretty sure you could get the investor, make it happen. I did, and i'm rooting for you to do the same. You've always been honorable in your communications the last 4 years and I admire your continuing to show tact and diplomacy on this site while in the heat of such angry criticism. Alot is being thrown at you, here...your e-mail...your voicemail...it's tough. I know you love fantasy football and you were proud to award the money the last 4 years, even while you were taking a loss.

Good luck, please try to find a way to pay us.

(Watch the heat I take for this post....but...I'm trying to put the positive laws into effect)

Ken

 
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Neil and others-Neil, I 've been playing in your leagues for four years. enjoyed it, great competition and love the software interface. Last year almost took first in the Gold but ended in 3rd. This year you owe me about $800. I own 2 companies and I have had cash flow problems and have had to work with investors. I'm an eternal optimist and have tried to keep the business running while keeping both customers and employees happy.Anyway, I feel your pain and I know you want to pay us back but that you may be unable to ( or at least for awhile). Sounds like you made some bad choices, sounds like some mismanagement of funds and probably should not have continued "business as usual" while under the financial duress. But , like me, you were pretty sure you could get the investor, make it happen. I did, and i'm rooting for you to do the same. You've always been honarable in your communications the last 4 years and I admire your continuing to show tact and diplomacy on this site while in the heat of such angry criticism. Alot is being thrown at you, here...your e-mail...your voicemail...it's tough. I know you love fantasy football and you were proud to award the money the last 4 years, even while you were taking a loss.Good luck, please try to find a way to pay us. (Watch the heat I take for this post....but...I'm trying to put the positive laws into effect)Ken
" i did not commit fraud and i can prove it in court" = tact and diplomacy.
 
Just curious...how long the big money winners are going to wait? At the very LEAST, I would have already contacted my attorney and discussed my options.

 
In addition, I will not be leaving the country :lmao: I did not embezzle any money and did not commit fraud, and I can prove it in court.
This is the crap I was talking about - you make a professional post above this one then nuke any credibility remaining with this passive agressive tact. You should be on yor knees begging for forgiveness instead of smarmy comments - let's see what you can prove in court.....I hope one of these guys takes you up on it. Awful job man!!! :bye:
 
http://www.gobignetwork.com/classified/act...6097/index.aspx

Fantasy football company looking for expansion capital

Posted By: Neil Wickham

Company: International Fantasy Sports

Category: Funding Needed

Location: Troy, MI (United States)

Post Date: 2/4/2008 11:40:23 PM

International Fantasy Sports is a Nevada LLC, with operation primarily located in Michigan. IFS has been in business since 2003. IFS is a fantasy sports provider with a firm position in the high stakes fantasy football segment and many growth opportunities in the rest of the market. IFS has developed its own commissioner software based on state of the art software platforms. Our 2007 revenue was $385,000, and we are projecting near $800,000 for 2008.

IFS is seeking $1,000,000 to pay out 2007 prizes, reduce short-term debt, and for 2008 minor software enhancements. These enhancements would allow us to ability to run large-scale marketing contests. Such contests could generate $100,000 to $1,000,000 depending on total size.

We are projecting a break-even year in 2008. Investors could break even as soon as two years, and large returns are possible shortly thereafter.

 
http://www.gobignetwork.com/classified/act...6097/index.aspx

Fantasy football company looking for expansion capital

Posted By: Neil Wickham

Company: International Fantasy Sports

Category: Funding Needed

Location: Troy, MI (United States)

Post Date: 2/4/2008 11:40:23 PM

International Fantasy Sports is a Nevada LLC, with operation primarily located in Michigan. IFS has been in business since 2003. IFS is a fantasy sports provider with a firm position in the high stakes fantasy football segment and many growth opportunities in the rest of the market. IFS has developed its own commissioner software based on state of the art software platforms. Our 2007 revenue was $385,000, and we are projecting near $800,000 for 2008.

IFS is seeking $1,000,000 to pay out 2007 prizes, reduce short-term debt, and for 2008 minor software enhancements. These enhancements would allow us to ability to run large-scale marketing contests. Such contests could generate $100,000 to $1,000,000 depending on total size.

We are projecting a break-even year in 2008. Investors could break even as soon as two years, and large returns are possible shortly thereafter.
good luck with that... hey; invest in our company... we only have a 800K debt problem from 2007. Once thats paid; we're good to go and make some money.
 
Anyone who's still defending Neill, ask yourself this. In this climate, all things being equal, and lets just say solvent for a FF league managment company, why would a venture capitialist sink upwards of 500K to a mil into a fantasy football site? Assuming you could find someone to buy that bridge, would you then find someone to provide that cake if Neill was in the full disclosure that:-the "brand" AFFL is damaged irrepabrably-the lions share of any investment is paying off last years winners debt-the current management has shown at the absolute very best, poor mangagement skills, and we know the worst to be, they've acted to defraud peopleHaving money doesn't necessarily mean you have brains, but unless Neill is decieving THE INVESTORS as he seemingly decieved his clientele, why would anyone invest in this sinking ship?
I'm certainly not defending Neil, but if the deal got made to buy out AFFL, I am sure that the buyer would1) Rebrand the product - pretty easy to do. Just make some new logos, etc. 2) Fire the current management of AFFLIt comes down to whether it is cheaper to write the software from scratch or purchase the AFFL software, which may not be great but is already tested and bug-free (presumably). Also, if you wanted to open a FF website for next year, I don't think you could get a website created from scratch in time if you started now, so maybe you look into the AFFL software for that reason. For the sake of the AFFL winners, I hope this is the case. But the group of possible buyers must be pretty small, because any reasonably sized internet company would want to develop the app in-house.
Why would a buyer bascially buy out Neill's debt to simply sell the company and fire the management? Presumably, you'd buy the company to preserve the client base and work off the established name. Not only is that name worthless, it would be an albatross on doing further business, damaged nearly irreparably. Without the name or the management, what do you have? Software, sure, but why buy out a company when it sounds like you could buy it for a dime on a dollar at a Sheriff's Sale the way this company is going? I'm not saying either one of us is right or wrong, the software system and issue you present, why would any prudent investor put a dime into paying off his past debt if there is nothing of value coming from it. Although, I suppose there is no shortage of imprudent investors.
 
In case anyone was wondering and wasn't aware, Neil has opened the message board back up on the site.

http://forums.affl.com/
I find it highly suspect that 1) all of the previous threads complaining about the lack of prize payouts have been deleted and that 2) since it's been "up" in recent days that nobody has started a new thread on the issue. Either he's locked people out from posting or he's actively deleting things as soon as they're posted. I'm not sure I'd consider that "up" but I guess it technically is.
 
Anyone who's still defending Neill, ask yourself this. In this climate, all things being equal, and lets just say solvent for a FF league managment company, why would a venture capitialist sink upwards of 500K to a mil into a fantasy football site? Assuming you could find someone to buy that bridge, would you then find someone to provide that cake if Neill was in the full disclosure that:-the "brand" AFFL is damaged irrepabrably-the lions share of any investment is paying off last years winners debt-the current management has shown at the absolute very best, poor mangagement skills, and we know the worst to be, they've acted to defraud peopleHaving money doesn't necessarily mean you have brains, but unless Neill is decieving THE INVESTORS as he seemingly decieved his clientele, why would anyone invest in this sinking ship?
I'm certainly not defending Neil, but if the deal got made to buy out AFFL, I am sure that the buyer would1) Rebrand the product - pretty easy to do. Just make some new logos, etc. 2) Fire the current management of AFFLIt comes down to whether it is cheaper to write the software from scratch or purchase the AFFL software, which may not be great but is already tested and bug-free (presumably). Also, if you wanted to open a FF website for next year, I don't think you could get a website created from scratch in time if you started now, so maybe you look into the AFFL software for that reason. For the sake of the AFFL winners, I hope this is the case. But the group of possible buyers must be pretty small, because any reasonably sized internet company would want to develop the app in-house.
Why would a buyer bascially buy out Neill's debt to simply sell the company and fire the management? Presumably, you'd buy the company to preserve the client base and work off the established name. Not only is that name worthless, it would be an albatross on doing further business, damaged nearly irreparably. Without the name or the management, what do you have? Software, sure, but why buy out a company when it sounds like you could buy it for a dime on a dollar at a Sheriff's Sale the way this company is going? I'm not saying either one of us is right or wrong, the software system and issue you present, why would any prudent investor put a dime into paying off his past debt if there is nothing of value coming from it. Although, I suppose there is no shortage of imprudent investors.
Nobody would or will.............He knows it too .........
 
Neil, What are you going to do if it doesn't sell, or you can't get VC? When are you going to throw in the towel?

 
We are working on the message board, although it is slow because of the current lack of resources.
Neil, You just told us it was up and running yesterday? But for me going and seeing if anyone can post, everyone would believed you...You have it set right where you want it.....enough of your BS.....
 
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It looks like the website main page changed from saying sign-ups would start March 1st to "soon".

Site still says rules will be posted March 1st.

Message board still not open to posts.

-QG

 

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