Tournament Schedule for 2008-2009

[edew]

No, no thanks are needed. And I'll be spiriting myself away in my Prius.

[journalmom]

I just came back from VA through Baltimore MD and I thought the convention center area was very nice. The location and the area seemed ideal. Near nice restaurants, hotels, and museums....Did we ever have NAC's in Baltimore in the past?

[IHateMrPotatohead]

Not that I recall in the last ten years or so. It's probably too expensive for the venue.

[SJCFU#2]

Originally Posted by journalmom

I just came back from VA and drove through Baltimore MD and I thought the convention center area was very nice. The location and the area seemed ideal. Near nice restaurants, hotels, and museums....Did we have ever have NAC's in Baltimore in the past?

IIRC the only NAC ever held in the Baltimore area was in 1993, and that was in Towson, not downtown (back then NAC's were still small enough to be held at a college athletic center - twenty strips at most). Prior to that two NAC's were held in Hagertown (which has to have been among the most out-of-the-way locations of all time) and one in College Park (the Cherry Blossom Open was combined with a NAC in 1989).

[KD5MDK]

But Hagerstown is Maryland's Hub City!



Actually, a while back around here there was an article posted from the Baltimore Sun about how the new Convention Center and associated hotels were underutilized and they needed to drum up more business. Of course, that may have changed by now, but I'd love a Baltimore NAC.

[fencerchica]

Oh man, me too. B'more would be ideal since I live in MD, but heck, I'd love a mid-Atlantic or southish New England D2/3 NAC or Nationals almost as much. I've never been to a NAC or Nationals I didn't have to fly to. :-(

(I've heard from locals in my division who've been around for longer than I that the B'more convention center has at least in the recent past been prohibitively expensive. I hope that has changed / will change, though!)

[seak]

I was the one who posted the article from the Baltimore Sun. I have thought for a while that Baltimore would be a fantastic location for a NAC (and as someone who grew up in Baltimore I'd love it). No one has ever told me about how much the USFA tends to want to pay for NAC convention space though. With that information I could determine if it was feasible in terms of general floor space cost.

As a graduate student whose currently living in NC though, I don't really have the time to do a bid/deal with the USFA paperwork etc, although I'd certainly be willing to help.

[Welted 24/7]

I'd love a NAC in Baltimore. Living in downstate NY, it's pretty much the closest drive-able city in terms of actually getting to a NAC, as compared to the other ones that usually host.

Well, actually, there WAS the time they had the JOs in Hartford, but that was, of course, the year I aged out. Was there some issue with having it in CT that's preventing them from doing it again?

[campb1pr]

Once upon a time, there was interest in having a NAC at the Dulles Expo Center, about 10 minutes drive from Dulles Airport, outside of Washington DC. I don't remember what killed it (could have been size, cost, hotel issues, or anything), but as far back as I can remember (about 12-15 years) that was as close as it's gotten to the metro Washington area in a while. There was the sabre World Cup in that area eons ago, but in a strange space, IIRC.

I think that overall cost to USFA and participants would probably nix any DC/Baltimore area events that would be close enough to large airports to be doable. Richmond is about as good as it gets in the immediate VA/MD/DC area.

[the highlander]

Considering how the current powers in USFA has messed up these past few years, I would not be surprised if the lack of NACs in the cities mentioned in the discussions above, which are convenient to the majority of the fencing population, is also just an offshoot of simple mismanagement.

We, the fencing population in the East Coast are very quick to take USFA's word for it. It is not justified that USFA should skimp on the venues, making everyone spend thousands of dollars in ever rising airfare, because it mismanaged the funds.

Towson MD, Hartford CT, College Town PA, Somewhere W VA, etc., should be revisited as posssible venues.

[seak]

I can almost guarantee you that there's no place in Towson large enough for a current NAC

[ddavis]

Earlier this year there was a Volleyball NEQ (sort of equivalent in scope to a fencing NAC) at the Baltimore Convention Center. I'm guessing that the financial constraints for volleyball would be similar to those of fencing, so it may make sense to consider Baltimore for a NAC once again.

[wbowman]

Originally Posted by the highlander

Towson MD, Hartford CT, College Town PA, Somewhere W VA, etc., should be revisited as posssible venues.

Being close to somewhere with decent air connections is important. The only place in WVA I can think of that would qualify is Morgantown (location of WV University) which is close to Pittsburgh but not THAT close.
If "College Town PA" is supposed to be State College (location of Penn State), the closest airport is probably Altoona, which is not exactly on the major routes.

[KD5MDK]

Airports served mainly by puddle jumpers don't work because they don't have the cargo capacity for fencing bags, BTW.

[happy]

Amazing - they have posted check-in times for some of the NACs!!!

I'm posting the link rather than the file because not all of the tournaments have check-in times, so I assume they are still being added?

http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/compon...tdown/id,1780/

[tdwg83]

Okay, how easy would it be to do 2 events on the same day?

Div 2 Men's epee and Div 3 Men's foil at NAC A????

[teacup]

The USFA website also states that online registration will be available in August.

[HDG]

Originally Posted by tdwg83

Okay, how easy would it be to do 2 events on the same day?

Div 2 Men's epee and Div 3 Men's foil at NAC A????

It's prohibited at NACs, JOs and Summer Nationals I'm afraid.

[wolfercdat]

I too had the pleasure of staying here compliments of Abbott Laboratories when I attended a week long course at their schoolhouse. It's going to be a great hotel for the adults. The place is as beautiful as the website, but it comes at a hefty price tag. We were giving $50 vouchers so we could eat at the hotel restaurants, but with that voucher you could probably purchase only a quarter of the menu items and have it come under that amount and that doesn't include drinks. For instance I arrived late the first night and wasn't too hungry so I went to one of the restaurants and had a bowl of soup, a side of asparagus, and a glass of ice tea and the bill came to around $40! Granted the food is delicious, but be prepared. At another meal I had some sort of steak, a side of asparagus, a side of some potato dish, and ice tea and the bill came to right under $100. If you want a real breakfast, the all you can eat buffet (which was outstanding) was $25. Thankfully I paid for none of the meals but if you're wanting economy eating at the Gaylord Texan may not be a good idea. I'm not sure how they're working the parking issue since we'll be at the convention area, but if they're making us stay in their parking garage I think it cost me $15 a day. In case you're thinking of just walking somewhere to eat and just staying at the hotel, you'll be out of luck. There is nothing within a "short" walking distance of the Gaylord Texan which means you're taking the shuttle. However, the hotel has a very nice and popular club on the property and gets some pretty impressive names to perform there. I did not go to the club personally but this was the feedback from other folks staying there. They also have a very nice workout area.

If you want an alternative, right next to the Gaylord Texan is the Great Wolf Lodge, so if you have kids it might suit your needs better. If you're not familiar with them, they have an entire indoor waterpark free for room guests. I don't know what the prices are like for meals at the Lodge, but the web site shows the room prices to be comparable to the Gaylord.

Hope this helps some of you who are unfamiliar with the area.

[notalent]

Originally Posted by teacup

The USFA website also states that online registration will be available in August.

One wonders what they are going to do to make that happe. Peet anything you can confirm?