ASA gift exchange

cmspock said:

I told them, from what I can gather, it looks like this is a long standing tradition with ASA. They want to wait and email the coach after we find out who we are playing to make sure they are participating.

Has anyone gone and the other team didn't bring gifts to exchange?

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We did gift exchanges at both ASA/USA Nats. Our first game at PGF 14U was against another SoCal team, so we mutually agreed to forgo it. The next year at PGF 16U, a Wichita Mustang team came empty-handed. I don't recall doing exchanges either year at PGF 18U.

dgh31 said:

I have a similar question regarding the California State Games "C" Regionals. We are attending for the first time and I've seen people on here saying things about gift exchanges. Not sure if this applies to the "C" regionals as well. Has anyone been to these before? Do they exchange gifts at this tournament?

Thanks.

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Both of my daughters went to the California State Games in 2013, so I can tell you what happened then. I have no idea if this will be what you will experience.

First thing to note: This was a state-wide event encompassing several different sports. There were several hundred, if not thousands, of participants from various sports like archery, badminton, karate, etc. This was not just softball.

The opening ceremony was held at Qualcomm Stadium. They grouped all of the participants by sport in alphabetical order. Thus, softball was towards the end of the procession. Most of the teams dressed in a costume. Softball was the only group that did this. All of the other sports wore team gear. The groups were staged for the procession in the parking lot outside the stadium. It was during this (very, very long and hot) wait that the softball teams did pin-trading. Again, softball was the only sport that did this. The procession finally started and each team walks in to the stadium via the tunnel. Think of the Olympics with each nation's athletes walking in. It was like that. The parents were all sitting up in the stands, and each team was announced as they walked in and shown on the jumbo screen. If your team has a banner, make sure they're carrying it. The athletes were all seated in the stands, some people came up and spoke about the history of the event and its relevance, they had a special guest speaker, and a performance from a couple of guys doing tricks on pogo sticks (I'm not making this up). The finale was a fireworks show right at sunset.

The packet your team got at Districts should tell you what to expect. If not, maybe a call or email to your District Commissioner should get you the info. I hope your teams have a great experience!

CPEM said:

Both of my daughters went to the California State Games in 2013, so I can tell you what happened then. I have no idea if this will be what you will experience.

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Thanks so much for the information. Sounds like it's going to be similar to this year. After posting this question the tournament director did send out something about doing a gift exchange. I guess everyone was asking her if it's something we should expect.

Really looking forward to this experience for my daughter.