New information from OHIO ASA-Warren Jones regarding National Qualifiers

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Warren just called and asked that I post this. Any team who qualifies for an ASA/USA berth in Ohio can play in any other ASA/USA qualifier without losing their berth.

Regards,

Martin Drain
District 1 ASA Commissioner
419-343-4716

 

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This is great news and LONG over due!

 

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It will be interesting how the PGF/ASA saga plays out. ASA used to invoke unilateral rulings irrespective of the effects it had on teams. Is this in response to PGF swooping in this season and establishing a foothold in the Midwest? It's a given that the Premier teams in the country will opt to play PGF, as they already travel and keep the same company during the year..with the exception of the Cali teams..which do travel to the D9 and Triple Crown Events. Seems to me that ASA will now be viewed as an alternative body that teams can go to when their teams aren't top tier..just like NSA and UTrip are to ASA.

 

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PGF foothold in the midwest? Where is the PGF tourney in OHIO? PGF isnt even on par with USSSA at the younger ages.

 

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PGF foothold in the midwest? Where is the PGF tourney in OHIO? PGF isnt even on par with USSSA at the younger ages.

Give it time and PGF will surpass USSSA.

 

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I know in theory this sounds great, but we have this in Florida and it has caused many problems. When a qualified team plays in a qualifier they tend to be pretty good teams. When they play well and knock other good teams into the losers bracket, or knock other non-qualified teams out of the event you will start hearing rumblings. Fla has tried a couple different options to try to handle these situations - from establishing a consolidation bracket where the qualified teams fall immediately after the first game - automatic loss - to letting the teams play all the way through. Trouble arises when 2 teams from the same Org play, or two teams that are friendly play. Or heaven forbid a qualified team knocks multiple strong teams out and a weaker team gets the berth. If you are a qualified team you just might want to play your bench against certain teams in the tournament to get experience...... the list goes on and on.

Remember - ASA Qualifiers are held to allow states a way to give their best teams an opportunity to play in the ASA/USA Championship, not to allow ALL teams a chance to play in every tournament. By the time you have 3 qualifiers completed, and now 3 qualified teams playing in the 4th event, the chances of finding the true 4th best team is lessoned. The event is now at the mercy of the bracket draw. You could be the 4th best by far and draw all three of the qualified teams and go home in last place.

Not saying it isn't good to allow all teams to play - but Ohio ASA should have a plan to handle these questions and situations. And if you find the perfect way to handle allowing qualified teams a chance to play let me know and I will pass it along down here - becase Fla ASA still struggles with it!!!

E=Strohbro;441393]This is great news and LONG over due![/QUOTE]

 

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I know in theory this sounds great, but we have this in Florida and it has caused many problems. When a qualified team plays in a qualifier they tend to be pretty good teams. When they play well and knock other good teams into the losers bracket, or knock other non-qualified teams out of the event you will start hearing rumblings. Fla has tried a couple different options to try to handle these situations - from establishing a consolidation bracket where the qualified teams fall immediately after the first game - automatic loss - to letting the teams play all the way through. Trouble arises when 2 teams from the same Org play, or two teams that are friendly play. Or heaven forbid a qualified team knocks multiple strong teams out and a weaker team gets the berth. If you are a qualified team you just might want to play your bench against certain teams in the tournament to get experience...... the list goes on and on.

Remember - ASA Qualifiers are held to allow states a way to give their best teams an opportunity to play in the ASA/USA Championship, not to allow ALL teams a chance to play in every tournament. By the time you have 3 qualifiers completed, and now 3 qualified teams playing in the 4th event, the chances of finding the true 4th best team is lessoned. The event is now at the mercy of the bracket draw. You could be the 4th best by far and draw all three of the qualified teams and go home in last place.

Not saying it isn't good to allow all teams to play - but Ohio ASA should have a plan to handle these questions and situations. And if you find the perfect way to handle allowing qualified teams a chance to play let me know and I will pass it along down here - becase Fla ASA still struggles with it!!!

E=Strohbro;441393]This is great news and LONG over due!

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I can only say what they do here in Eastern PA/NJ. If a team that has qualified wins the tournament, they have the option to pass the berth to the other finalist. If they have a berth it goes to the next in line and so on and so on. It works pretty well. Granted by the end of the season some fairly weak teams are awarded berths but they rarely go to Nationals anyway.

 

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USSSA isn't even on PGF's radar screen. There will always be alternative organizations in certain regions - but nationally, top level teams are the prize for ASA and PFG Nationals.

Give it time and PGF will surpass USSSA.

 

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Here is the link to the planned events in the Midwest..

Homer Gold Betcher Exposure Home Page

And as Jennatui points out..they should be confirming venues so that teams can plan accordingly. That is a good point you bring regarding ASA Mark. As you know PGF invites certain teams to Nationals, but the number of invites this year will most likely be less than last years.

 

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PGF is working out details for Ohio tournaments. Please be patient .Info will be out very soon.

 

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... Remember - asa qualifiers are held to allow states a way to give their best teams an opportunity to play in the asa/usa championship, not to allow all teams a chance to play in every tournament. By the time you have 3 qualifiers completed, and now 3 qualified teams playing in the 4th event, the chances of finding the true 4th best team is lessoned. The event is now at the mercy of the bracket draw. You could be the 4th best by far and draw all three of the qualified teams and go home in last place.

Not saying it isn't good to allow all teams to play - but ohio asa should have a plan to handle these questions and situations. And if you find the perfect way to handle allowing qualified teams a chance to play let me know and i will pass it along down here - becase fla asa still struggles with it!!!

It shouldn't be much of an issue in Ohio because, with the exception of 16U, they rarely use all their allotted berths. They probably won't use all their 16U berths this year because it is being held in NorCal. Teams in Ohio that want to go to ASA/USA Nationals should end up with a berth passed down to them regardless where they finish in the standings.

BTW, it's interesting PGF was brought into the discussion on this thread considering they have always barred previously-qualified teams from competing in their qualifiers. I wonder if that is going to change - at least in the Midwest considering they're holding 6 events for each age group with 1 berth apiece.

 

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Homer Gold Website lists June 14th weekend in Columbus as a PGF Platinum qualifier. That's the same weekend as Laser Nation. On the Laser Nation thread, it was mentioned that it is not confirmed yet. Whatever the outcome, are PGF qualifiers by invitation only?

 

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Homer Gold Website lists June 14th weekend in Columbus as a PGF Platinum qualifier. That's the same weekend as Laser Nation. On the Laser Nation thread, it was mentioned that it is not confirmed yet. Whatever the outcome, are PGF qualifiers by invitation only?

Not in the past - they were new events open to anyone that registered.

 

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Interesting...

 

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Not in the past - they were new events open to anyone that registered.

I believe in the beginning the intent was for it to be invitation only but my gut told me then it probably wouldn't fly.

 

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I believe in the beginning the intent was for it to be invitation only but my gut told me then it probably wouldn't fly.

I'm not sure what you mean - are you talking about PGF qualifiers or nationals?

The question was regarding qualifiers since Laser Nation is an invitational and that would be unusual for a qualifier. I don't see an issue with Lasers being an invitational as long as they do not exclude top teams that are PGF's target participants.

Second, there's never been any intention for PGF Nationals to be invitation only. Invitations were/are necessary for the first couple years of each age group to establish them. Based on that criteria, 12U and 18-Platinum are the only age groups that warrant invites this year. Many people (including me) expressed their displeasure last year when PGF continued inviting some teams at the older age groups - especially ones from SoCal. We're waiting to see what they do this year.

 

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It will be interesting to see where they get their umpires from--the Laser Invitational has quite a few games to cover and with all the other tournaments that weekend, umpires will be in short supply. It will also be interesting to see their fees vs games guaranteed.

 

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Dayton Metro is the weekend before Lasers.

 

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I believe in the beginning the intent was for it to be invitation only but my gut told me then it probably wouldn't fly.

Wrong - they have never had a National Qualifier that was by invitation only.

 

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It will be interesting to see where they get their umpires from--the Laser Invitational has quite a few games to cover and with all the other tournaments that weekend, umpires will be in short supply. It will also be interesting to see their fees vs games guaranteed.

I am sure their connections expand outside of Ohio.