NAC "F" - Tucson info

[foildad]

Check in times and confirmed entries are posted.
http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/content/view/1797/100/

[fatfencer]

Anyone Know who is coming?

Fatfencer.

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by fatfencer

Anyone Know who is coming?

Fatfencer.

Why does this question get asked about every single National event?

The cast rarely changes. We nearly always have the exact same set of vendors. There's a couple that aren't quite national, in that they only come to NACs geographically near them, but most go where teh fencers are.

-B

[fatfencer]

Because I've never been to a Div 1 NAC b4 and wasn't sure if my fave cast of vendors were going to be there or not.

If not I'll just make do but I'll be most likely buying a kit and mask.

If it bothers you that I asked come and tell me in person. Otherwise be useful and answer the question I asked.

Fatfencer

[Bout ender]

Originally Posted by fatfencer

Because I've never been to a Div 1 NAC b4 and wasn't sure if my fave cast of vendors were going to be there or not.

If not I'll just make do but I'll be most likely buying a kit and mask.

If it bothers you that I asked come and tell me in person. Otherwise be useful and answer the question I asked.

Fatfencer

I hope your faves aren't Blade Fencing, FenceSmart, nor AllStar-USA. I have heard from a reliable source that they are NOT going to this event. The main complaint is that the trip is too long for their drivers plus its too long to have stock riding around the country when it can be better served filling orders.

[KD5MDK]

There's a limited number of people who have them as their favorite vendor.

[Inquartata]

Mordant understatement.

[Bout ender]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

There's a limited number of people who have them as their favorite vendor.

I have heard all the horror stories regarding the Russians...but are their products really that bad? I have bought a few things from the Blade NY store and as long as you know what you want there is no problem...I've ordered from the FenceSmart place in Jersey over the phone as well and other than breaking through the accent to get to the American english underneath, again not much of a problem. Just stay away from the econo stuff and the basic cotton and it should be fine...

[Wingate85]

Originally Posted by Bout ender

I have heard all the horror stories regarding the Russians...but are their products really that bad? I have bought a few things from the Blade NY store and as long as you know what you want there is no problem...I've ordered from the FenceSmart place in Jersey over the phone as well and other than breaking through the accent to get to the American english underneath, again not much of a problem. Just stay away from the econo stuff and the basic cotton and it should be fine...

True. It comes down to service, and I found Absolute to be the best in this area.

[Bout ender]

yeah, they're cool with the service but I noticed that their blades kept having problems and I kept having to go back to get them fixed...I once told them they shold sell boomerangs instead of blades 'cause they kept making me come back to get them repaired...oh well...c'est la vie !

[akaiyuki]

I still haven't gotten a hotel room yet. Any suggestions on where to stay? Ack.

[AndrewH]

I got a room at the Days Inn Convention Center, it seemed to have lots of rooms left when the others had sold out. Pretty cheap plus walking distance to the center so no car needed. Give that a try.

[silver2e]

There is also the Inn Suites Hotel on Granada Ave that is within walking distance. They said they provide shuttle service from airport. Were still giving the 'fencing' rate a week ago.

[azfencer]

The exhibition halls are at the south side of the convention center (almost to Cushing St). Tucson doesn't have many downtown hotel choices and maybe you are excellent walkers, but the InnSuites Hotel is 3/4 - 1 mile from where the fencing will be. That seems really ambitious to walk that far with fencing equipment! I wouldn't want to do that, plus the streets aren't very commercial and I would feel a little uncomfortable walking in the dark if the event ran late. I'm not saying don't do it but I'm saying be prepared. I'm a little worried that people are going to get a really bad impression of Tucson because they try to make this work without a car and never leave our admittedly rundown downtown.

I don't know how to be realistic about this without sounding more negative than I mean to. I live nearby and love walking around the neighborhood and very often walk far longer distances. I'm just trying to imagine being a visitor in town and carrying heavy bags and being tired. Downtown is basically all government buildings so it kind of shuts down evenings and weekends which makes it a little hard to find restaurants unless you know exactly where you are going. It isn't a great place to wander looking for food when you are tired and cranky after fencing. The best bets for food during the day are headed east on Congress St (including a Subway and Bruggers for healthy eaters). Look online and plan ahead is the best advice I can give.

If you have time to wander around, the neighborhoods south of the convention center are barrio neighborhoods, some older and worn and some remodeled and very bright. North of the convention center are the "mansions" from the turn of the century which are also very beautiful. And for the best view in town you can drive to the top of "A mountain" which is less than a mile from the convention center.

[AndrewH]

azfencer, the Days Inn site said it was 2 blocks to the convention center- i realize "block" can be interpreted liberally, but would you call it walking distance? I have no problem with walking a mile or less, though less is always better...

[edew]

It would be nice if information on distance is actually displayed in linear measurements such as feet, meter, miles or kilometers. Two blocks means a lot of different things depending on whether you're in Philadelphia, New York, Las Vegas, LA or San Francisco (here, while the blocks may not be very long, it could be up- or down-hill at a steep incline). Worse is distance measured in time: "South Beach is 5 minutes away..." (by car? by plane? by horse?). A lot of information on Miami is given in time instead of linear distance.

Mark Twain (my avatar) wrote in "Innocents Abroad" about how in Turkey, all distances were measured in time. So when he went to a tailor for a refitting of a new suit, the tailor said, "we'll take 3 seconds off the waist and 2 seconds off the inseam".

[silver2e]

Yeah, and THS and hotel said Inn Suites is 4 1/2 blocks to convention center. If it's really almost a mile thru dark deserted streets, I'd rather stay at Days Inn if they stilll have room.

So is Days Inn really 'closer' to fencing?

Thanks for info, azfencer.

[azfencer]

Riverpark (or Riverside or River something) is about a five minute walk, Days Inn is further but probably still a ten minute walk and managable (maybe just less than half a mile depending on where your room is in this sprawling hotel), Inn Suites is almost twice as far as Days Inn. This is one of those situations where as the crow flies the hotels are pretty close, but since there is a Freeway between the hotels and the convention center to actually walk or drive is a little longer. There are good underpasses at Congress and Granada so walking isn't a problem, the area isn't horrible but I would recommend not walking alone to any of the hotels if dark and you'll be fine. None of these hotels are in significantly better "parts of town" than the others, it's your typical near the freeway kind of thing. You are marginally nearer restaurants at the north end of the convention center (Days Inn, not Riverpark). Hope that's helpful.
AZ

[azfencer]

Ok, I went out walking today to check on the hotel distances and have a bit of a sad update. We have a huge road construction project going on and the Granada(Clark) underpass is currently closed and may still be closed the weekend of the NAC. It was very closed to cars but I thought I might have been able to walk through unofficially this morning, no idea what it will look like in a couple weeks. This means you may have to use the Congress underpass which makes the Days Inn a longer walk (about 15 minutes) and the Riverpark a lot longer walk since it’s right at the closed underpass. On the positive side the Inn Suites is a little closer than I thought, it’s about a 15 minute walk and you can knock 1-2 minutes off if you can get a room on the south side of the hotel. So basically do whatever you want and wherever you can get the best price, all hotels are about equal in travel time if the underpass stays closed. The area isn't that bad, it will be deserted at night but isn't really scary or anything, just quiet. I’ll post the week of the tourney if the Granada underpass opens, but when’s the last time you heard of a construction project finishing ahead of schedule?

DaysInn is right next door to a Carl’s Jr and Green Burrito restaurant, Inn Suites says it has a restaurant and is a 5 minute walk from Denny’s and Burger King, and Riverpark has a restaurant (Bennigins). Other than those you have to hike a bit to get to other restaurants.

[the highlander]

The host hotel, which is The Hotel Arizona, is rated poorly in most rating websites, from moldy bathrooms, to old linens, to bad service, etc. Also, how far is it really from the venue? Can somebody with some definite info enlighten the rest of us please.