USSSA Nationals in Kansas vs ASA Northern

Have attended both. I think that both do a great job and the competition level is pretty equivalent. Big factor for me in planning for the future is that ASA has cropped it's regional tournaments down to 4 days (5 if it draws tons of teams). I played in USSSA in KC last year and although it was well run, well officiated, good competition, my one complaint is that there was too much time between games over a 7 day tournament. This was not due to lack of fields but strategically done to stretch out the stay so that no team was eliminated until day 5. Rather than play 2 games in the first three days of the tournament like USSSA does, I would prefer to play two games on day one, and two games on game two and if 25% of the teams go homeafter day 2, so be it. If I am going to take off work and travel to a tournament, I want to play softball, not wait 24 hours between single games.

Thats how you make $$ I guess.

Deals are negotiated between cities and tournaments, cities want people there spending money in hotels and restaurants as long as possible. Tournaments want concessions, memorabilia, etc and a good deal from the city.

My own view is that if it isnt ASA/USA Nationals then go somewhere FUN. For most, it is their vacation too.

The slow starting tournament schedule lets you ease into it, families can get some sightseeing, etc. done on the side, some practice time too, without it being rushed and stressful. Truly more relaxing and enjoyable than playing till midnight, then playing again at 7 am.

mudbug said:

Thats how you make $$ I guess.

Deals are negotiated between cities and tournaments, cities want people there spending money in hotels and restaurants as long as possible. Tournaments want concessions, memorabilia, etc and a good deal from the city.

My own view is that if it isnt ASA/USA Nationals then go somewhere FUN. For most, it is their vacation too.

The slow starting tournament schedule lets you ease into it, families can get some sightseeing, etc. done on the side, some practice time too, without it being rushed and stressful. Truly more relaxing and enjoyable than playing till midnight, then playing again at 7 am.

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I get the making it fun part. It's just hard to schedule a lot of stuff on the side when you do have 1 game to play many activities take too long or might wear them out. FYI games started no earlier than 8am and fields were empty at 5:30pm even though they were lighted. I get not playing at midnight. But in early August/Late July, to not play games at 6pm and 8pm which might be the best time to play seemed ridiculous.

I understand and agree with the ASA/USA is #1 everyone else is #2 attitude, but you need to understand that for the teams that aren't loaded with future DI talent, those #2 nationals are seen as a competitive experience not just a family holiday so some discussion of competitive value is valid to go along with the enjoyment of the experience.

We've done ASA Northern Nationals (in Lexington, KY), NSA World Series (in Peoria, IL) and an independent tournament in Ohio. All were great experiences -- well-run with an appropriate level of competition for us.

The NSA schedule was a bit more spread out, and it could be tough (especially on me). We'd have one game, it was at 5:00 PM, and I'd spend the whole day just this side of having my game face on. It also felt like it took a bit to get our girls going, although they eventually did rise to the challenge and we did pretty well.

All in all, I think participating in a season-ending tournament like these is a great way to finish up. Took me a while to learn the ropes but I'm glad I did.

In talking to national tournament officials, Ive found they are looking for a balance between ball playing and vacation. They said realistically about 10 percent of the teams have a realistic chance to win the tournament. That means they need to make sure the vast majority of teams better be otherwise entertained to feel they had gotten their monies worth. Thats why they try to avoid playing evening games ( to leave evenings open for outside activities). I cant imagine the old days when they played straight double elimination. Your team has a bad day and thats pretty much it.