PGF Northern Nationals / Chiciago

[Pdiddy]

my DD new team earned a berth in the PGF Northern Nationals this past weekend in Lincoln, NE. It was a state qualifier, so as a team that wasn't from Nebraska they couldn't give us the Cali PGF berth (nor the trophy), but could give a regional national berth. We have been to the Hunnington Beach, CA last year but was wondering if anyone knew anything about or had experience with this Northern PGF tourney....we have other "nationals" options in ASA and USSSA, but want to give this tournament a chance to be considered, as it's only a 9 hr. drive or 1 hour flight to Chicago from KC....

 

[Sparky Guy]

There is not a Northern National with PGF. It was called the Midwest Regional Championship Tournament. I believe they have renamed it to the Central Region this year. The information is on the PGF web site. It should be held in St. Charles and Elk Grove, Illinois depending on the age brackets. They are suburbs located just to the west of Chicago. So there are plenty of touristy things to do in the area. There are also plenty of hotels in the area. If you fly in you're a short drive from O'Hare and a slightly longer ride from Midway.

Dave Betcher is the head of the Illinois PGF. He does a great job running the tournament and communicating with coaches. They have fences on all the fields with room for the teams to warmup behind them. They have an opening ceremony with a band and several other things to entertain the players and their families. His email address is dbetcher@marmonkeystone.com if you have any questions.

Had some rain during last year's tournament. The park districts were great with getting the fields back up and playable by the next morning.

One thing. If you're playing in St. Charles be sure your players bring turf shoes with them. There are a couple of turf fields there and you may end up playing on them. I know they do everything they can to keep the older teams off of them. But sometimes it can't be avoided.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

It is still known as the Midwest Regional Championship even though the region was renamed Central on the main PGF web site. To date, it is PGF's only regional championship and I don't see any others for this year either. Bill Conroy is one of the PGF owners and I believe he is the reason this one is held.

Looks like last weekend's event was some sort of "State Championship", so it's reasonable to restrict the champion title to in-state teams. Did they really have berths for PGF Nats in SoCal? Which teams were champions? I don't see anything about it being a National Qualifier. All PGF qualifiers are supposed to be open to any team and berths awarded to top finishers regardless of where they're from.

You can get info on this year's event at midwestpgf.com (WARNING: may want to turn your sound down first). You can get info on last year's event (e.g. teams, schedules) at 2014 Midwest Regional Championship.

 

[Pdiddy]

excellent information guys....thanks for helping me get a handle on what that tournament is....and we didn't have an issue with a state title going to an "in-state" team....we were happy just to cause some grief to the other "in-state" teams....

and there was not a Cali berth at stake to the winner....Dinkle is the Iowa PGF guy who ran the tournament and said is sending a trophy to us without "Nebraska State Champs" on it.....and BTW he did a great job.

 

[MNDad]

excellent information guys....thanks for helping me get a handle on what that tournament is....and we didn't have an issue with a state title going to an "in-state" team....we were happy just to cause some grief to the other "in-state" teams....

and there was not a Cali berth at stake to the winner....Dinkle is the Iowa PGF guy who ran the tournament and said is sending a trophy to us without "Nebraska State Champs" on it.....and BTW he did a great job.

Spelling is Greg "Dickle". He also run Iowa Premier Gold. He's a good guy.