@eagleone:
I am very confused by this as well. Here is the ASA Code Provision:
Article 513.M
"M. Previously Qualified. Junior Olympic Teams which have previously qualified for a National Championship Final may compete in other National Qualifiers. If a previously qualified team wins another berth from a National Qualifier, the highest finishing team without a berth will qualify.
EXCEPTION: Junior Olympic Girls? Gold teams that have qualified
for the ASA / USA Gold National Championship Finals are not
eligible to participate in the Gold National Qualifier."
None of the teams that are now being shut out from the ASA competition have qualified for or intend to attend Gold National Championships.
Is this another "Local Association" exception? How can the ASA States, with its four berths to USA/ASA Nationals, not be defined as a "National Qualifier"? (By the way, the ASA Code doesn't have a definition for the term "National Qualifier").
Look, it is to our team's advantage that the three teams who have already qualified can't knock us out of the berth competition (unless, as someone points out above, we should be lucky enough to earn a berth this weekend in which case it appears we wouldn't be able to play States
), but I just don't feel it is right to make these changes so late, causing a whole new round of travel/vacation considerations for the families
and apparently excluding three (and probably four) teams from a quality field of competition without any Code based authority that I can see.
Eagle One knows about last year in 16u, though I don't think his scenario included participation in ASA States after having already qualified.
I know about last year's 14u States tournament, when the Ohio Intensity participated in the Region 9 Open qualifier after earning a berth through ASA States.
What in the world has changed since last year?