2006 Southeastern Sectionals

[tbryan]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

You are not the only one. I have never been to them. For that much time/travel/money, I will just go to a NAC. Not sure why anyone goes to them that is not fairly local, except for those who are div 1 or missed their slot in the Div II/III and is willing to spend the money on a long shot.

I guess it also depends on your take on regionalization versus centralization in the USFA. Because of people who want to qualify Div IA (strong Div II fencers, Div II fencers who missed their chance at Divisionals, As and Bs who aren't up to qualifying for Div I, yet), Sectionals is normally a fairly strong tournament. So, Sectionals becomes a decent size/strength competition where I can fence, for example, fencers from Florida without having to make the trip to Atlanta or Florida to find them. If the USFA moves more toward regionalization to reduce the numbers at the NACs and Nationals, then Sectionals may become one of the big events in each region.

Oh, and compared to a Div I event, Sectionals (in the southeast) tends to be strong at the top but to have a much broader range of fencers. So, we get to fence some really strong fencers, but we also have some easy bouts in pools to help with seeding and hopefully permit us to fence a few more of the strong fencers in the DEs.

If you have any feelings of loyalty toward your section (or your club's Div IA or strong Div II fencers), you might help them just by showing up. Remember that the number of qualifiers in each event depends on the number of fencers in that event. If I go to a NAC, I'm normally very focused on my own fencing. At Sectionals, I'm more interested and involved in what my clubmates are doing simply because more of them tend to go to Sectionals.

Finally, it probably depends a bit on your division. If you have fairly close events that are strong, like the Chesapeake Challenge, then Sectionals looks less interesting. If your division often has trouble scrounging more than one or two As or Bs at local events, then Sectionals (and NACs) look much more interesting. For example, taking your youth fencers to fence the U19 event and the senior event can also help them understand, "Wow! I need to train harder."

But, yeah, it kind of sucks when both Nationals and Sectionals are close enough to go but far enough to still be a bit of a hassle. Just be glad that Sectionals aren't it in Miami.

[Beowulfman6]

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

Wow...am I the only person in the Southeast that really doesn't want to go to Sectionals b/c it's actually farther away than nationals?

edit: (when did I become a senior member...time flies)

Nope, it's farther for me too. And I have exams.

[bigdawg2121]

hmmm...there should be a new poll...will the southeast sectionals be hurt by general apathy for traveling to Birmingham?

As to your arguments Tom I can see wanting to help out teammates with qualifiers etc. but when you think about it traveling that far, paying that much etc is crazy. I really don't think I want people to qualify badly enough nor do I want A ratings badly enough to show up at sectionals to try to get either.

[Beowulfman6]

It's not apathy for me- just economics. I would go if they were in Charlotte, Atlanta, or Columbia, which are a day trip from here.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

No more than people hated traveling to Richmond VA in 04. Seriously, its the nature of the beast.

[HDG]

Our section might just be too big to be practical.

[tbryan]

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

hmmm...there should be a new poll...will the southeast sectionals be hurt by general apathy for traveling to Birmingham?

We'll see. I imagine that attendance at Sectionals doesn't vary too much. When it was in Virginia Beach, it was easy for everyone in Virginia and North Carolina to get to it. When it is Birmingham, it's pretty easy for everyone in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia to go. Maybe it'll be in central Florida next year. The section is geographically large, so Sectionals will always be expensive for many fencers in the section.

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

I can see wanting to help out teammates with qualifiers etc. but when you think about it traveling that far, paying that much etc is crazy. I really don't think I want people to qualify badly enough nor do I want A ratings badly enough to show up at sectionals to try to get either.

You're right: if there were a large, strong event in Richmond and one in Birmingham, I'd go to Richmond. The only reason for me to fence in Birmingham is that it's Sectionals. But that's perhaps part of the point...to try to draw fencers from across the section to a strong event.

Of course, you're on a bit of different track than some of us. If you're hitting the Div I NACs, then Sectionals probably looks pretty useless unless it's close. If you're in Div III, then Sectionals isn't interesting unless it's very close. For a strong Div II or weak Div I fencer, Sectionals has a slightly stronger appeal. Let's just say that some of us decided that we'd go to Sectionals instead of a Div I NAC this year.

[fluidfencer]

Bill Becker told us (Birmingham/Alabama) to plan for Sectionals to be big this year. The thinking is that a relatively central location, and the fact that Summer Nationals will be in Atlanta (about 2.5 hours from here) should provide an attendance boost.

As far as it being in Birmingham, I don't know that it makes a huge difference. We will have a 19,000+ s.f. venue with a nice host hotel and a nice back-up. There are some OK places to eat at the venue and some seriously good ones nearby (not walking distance). We will have info about area places of interest for the family. Honestly, that's what most any decent host would do.

I didn't realize the flyer was out! Here is that direct VA link. http://www.va-usfa.org/2006SESFlyer.pdf

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

hmmm...there should be a new poll...will the southeast sectionals be hurt by general apathy for traveling to Birmingham?

As to your arguments Tom I can see wanting to help out teammates with qualifiers etc. but when you think about it traveling that far, paying that much etc is crazy. I really don't think I want people to qualify badly enough nor do I want A ratings badly enough to show up at sectionals to try to get either.

[tbryan]

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

Bill Becker told us (Birmingham/Alabama) to plan for Sectionals to be big this year. The thinking is that a relatively central location, and the fact that Summer Nationals will be in Atlanta (about 2.5 hours from here) should provide an attendance boost.

Cool. I hope so.

Originally Posted by fluidfencer

As far as it being in Birmingham, I don't know that it makes a huge difference.

I don't think that anyone was complaining about Birmingham in particular. I think that the complaint was more centered around the distance from where we are. A venue that's 3 or 4 hours away, someone could still leave really early on the morning of the event, show up, fence, and drive back after the events on the next day. So, just one night in a hotel, no missed work/school, etc. It's a long drive, but it's not too bad if you're carpooling.

Now, once the drive gets to be 6 hours or so, most people are thinking of leaving Friday night. Maybe still returning after the events on the second day...or maybe staying until Monday. So, it might be 3 nights in a hotel. Possibly missing a day of work/school. So, my range for a tournament that doesn't require more expense/more planning than a hotel on Saturday night is basically Baltimore to Columbia. Anything in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, or Florida presents a similar challenge. Of course, if it's Florida, I'm more likely to fly.

Now, there may also be some who wouldn't mind the cost for the event if they could combine it with a trip to the beach or something. So, some people might be complaining about Birmingham in particular. My experience is that I'm usually at the venue most of the day, so the city doesn't matter so much beyond how long it takes for me to get there.

For an experienced Div I fencer (like bigdawg2121), I think that hitting two or three Div I NACs looks much more appealing (and worth the expense and hassle) than hitting one Div I NAC, Sectionals, and Nationals. But I think that this discussion starts to get close to some of the USFA's concerns with the event sizes and the purpose of some of the national events.

Why should a fencer bother fencing any qualifying/national events? Why not just fence local events and some of the big circuits in your region? What is the purpose of competing at a NAC? What is the purpose of competing at Sectionals or Nationals?

On the other hand, if you're successful at Div I NACs, why fence local events? Why even fence Sectionals and Div IA events?

If you have limited resources, you have to choose.

Of course, that discussion pulls us waaaay off topic for this thread.

[bigdawg2121]

yeah...the question of resources becomes a big one too. In HS I would plan on going to sectionals for Juniors and Seniors, in different locations on consecutive weekends, every year. My concerns were slightly different then, still being a junior and not having the ratings that I do now, and my section was smaller. Now being a college student I have to really think about resources and what's worth missing class for or even spending money on. I'm sure all the real adults have similar concerns in terms of days off, or worth spending paychecks on. It is hard sometimes to justify going to a tournament like sectionals just to maybe earn a higher rating or qualify for 1As in an off weapon...and its much more financially sound to just ref and only fence your one or two events and have a hotel room for the week. Come to think of it, it's also much more socially sound....