U-Con Con Chair Update

Greetings! I am honored to report that I have been selected  as the Con Chair for 2022. I will strive to ensure that, after a two year hiatus because of the pandemic, we will have a safe, in person, and fun gaming convention. 

Speaking of which, I would first like to thank Fred Paffhausen for being the Con Chair during these past two years when we had to make the difficult choice to go virtual. It is not what he signed up for, yet he and the U-Con committee kept the fun alive.

My plan is to have updates here, at least once a month to start, and then more often as we get closer to the October 7-9, 2022 convention dates. We are still in the very early planning stages, and have a lot of work to do in March, which includes finalizing the schedule, exact dates for event submissions, hotel rooms, and registration.

We are planning for an in-person convention with around 800 attendees. In 2019, at our last in person con, we had around 1,150 attendees. I expect we’ll have fewer because of potentially lingering pandemic issues and the date change. However, we are prepared for more attendees, and will monitor event submissions closely, as that is a good indicator of overall attendance.

I realize that people will want to know what our on-site COVID-19 policy will be with respect to proof of vaccinations, masks, etc. At this time, we fully expect that the convention will be held in person at the Marriott. We will observe appropriate pandemic procedures for the situation at the time, but it is far too early to make a determination on what that will entail. However, we will not hesitate to require masks and proof of vaccination if the situation calls for it. We will do our best to keep everyone informed as we move forward. My personal goal is to have this decided on and announced before our hotel block reservation closes so that people can make an informed decision about attending.

Speaking of which, we also plan on opening the hotel block reservations in early April, and will be sure to make that a separate announcement.

I’m very excited about U-Con being in person again, and seeing as many of you as possible! The hotel is working closely with us on rooms, gaming spaces, and meals. Many experienced U-Con volunteers have already stepped up to make this event happen.

May the dice be ever in your favor!

– Charles J. Cohen, U-Con 2022 Con Chair