SAN DIEGO - The European Mahjong Association yesterday has cancelled the cooperation with the internet server MahjongTime. This happened after MJT cancelled the German Open Online Championship just two days before this was to take place. Also the German and the Dutch mahjong associations yesterday ended the cooperation with MJT. EMA-president Robert Rijnders supposes MahjongTime may be broke. 

 The German Mahjong Online Open Championship would be held today and tomorrow. Yesterday, the subscribers to the competition received an e-mail from the staff of the internet mahjong server with the followig contents:

Dear player,
We regret to inform you that the German Mahjong Open Online Championship 2009 is cancelled. We apologize for the created inconvenience and we will refund you the registration fee for this tournament as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Mahjong Time Staff

For the German Online Open, 48 players had subscribed. On being asked, Mr. Slava Novozhenya, president and Chief Operating Officer of MahjongTime, denies that MJT is in trouble. “We are just having technical difficulties hosting the tournament at this time. We will announce another tournament soon.”  

Communication

In the online championships, until yesterday MahjongTime cooperated with EMA, the European Mahjong Association. Since there had been no communication with MJT about the postponement of the German Online Open, EMA yesterday cancelled this cooperation as a reaction to the MJT announcement. DMJL, the German mahjong association, has done the same, says DMJL-president Mr. Uwe Martens, in a comment to MahjongNews.

EMA-president Robert Rijnders has not been positive about the latest developments in San Diego for some time. He comments to MahjongNews: “MJT does not want to talk about new events, such as the EC Riichi 2010 or the next European championship. There has been hardly, if any, communication for the last six weeks. My e-mails are not answered, not even the ones in which I want to discuss the end of the partnerships with EMA and the Dutch Mahjong Association.”

Robert Rijnders also is the president of the latter organization, which yesterday also cancelled the cooperation with MahjongTime. In an announcement on the web site of the Dutch Mahjong Association, Robert Rijnders states that the late abandonment of the German Online Open is not the main reason for this decision. “MahjongTime could not fulfill the expectations. Besides, in spite of hard promises they made, they decided on the very last moment not to sponsor the World Mahjong Championship 2010.” The Dutch are the organisers of this world championship. They now will look for other sponsors for this event, Mr. Rijnders says.

‛Broke’

Partnership with MJT, by the way, has very limited value for EMA, says Robert Rijnders, ‘although it may mean some publicity for MahjongTime.’ “MJT has not kept the appointments we have made. The Dutch Daja / Thirteen Orphans Tournament has skipped MJT as a sponsor since their e-mails are not answered either.”

This is confirmed by organizer John Kuijpers of Daja. “MJT had promised to sponsor us and they would send some material. But we never received anything. I have sent Mr. Novozhenya several e-mails, but I never got an answer. That's why we removed MJT from the list of sponsors.”
According to Robert Rijnders, MahjongTime may be all but broke. “I doubt if they still have people employed. But the site still is up and will bring in a bit of cash. But if people ask me if they should renew their subscription in case it will end, I advice against it.
“But”, says Mr. Rijnders, “perhaps I am being too pessimistic. Maybe MJT will find a solution.”

MahjongTime server