Future Tournament Sites

[fozendog]

Then again, it was in Florida

[Kokonilly]

Wisconsin seems like a neutral area. But California... That's pushing it.

Well, the thing is that California has the LA airport (LAX) and the San Francisco airport (SFO) - major airports that can handle a lot of traffic, comparable in size to JFK in New York. It also has a number of smaller airports, such as the one in Oakland (OAK) or San Jose (SJC), so both NorCal and SoCal are well-equipped for transportation purposes. On the other hand, Wisconsin has the Milwaukee airport (MKE) that is comparable to maybe the St. Louis (STL) or Pittsburgh (PIT) airport (not as big as JFK or LAX) - and, with a few hours' drive, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport (MSP). Granted, MSP is a major hub, but it's a few hours' drive. I was looking at airfare from SFO to whatever airport there is in Ohio, and it's a hassle, despite Ohio being in the middle of the country.

Basically, California is really convenient for flying, not so much for driving, which most teams would probably do anyway. If you want a location easily drivable for the maximum number of teams, I bet New England would be the best (tiny states). On the other hand, having the tournament in the Midwest makes it easier for the states with fewer/no major airports (Iowa, Kansas) to drive. I don't know the rationale behind Florida. Georgia would have been good - except it was in Augusta, which is a two-hour drive from ATL (which, granted, is a major Delta hub). Atlanta would have been better, especially because for us en route there was a four-lane traffic jam/accident or something and a two-hour drive turned to four.

TL;DR: I can understand having it in the Midwest, or in California, or in New England - not so much Florida or Augusta. Feel free to correct me if I got something wrong.

EDIT: Did that make sense? I hope so.

[Luo]

TL;DR: I can understand having it in the Midwest, or in California, or in New England - not so much Florida or Augusta. Feel free to correct me if I got something wrong.

I think it's erroneous to assume that they select national tournament sites based primarily on proximity of major airports or ease of transportation. I think that it's probably far more important what people they have at each of the sites. For example, Mike McKee, a Science Olympiad fanatic and member of the Science Olympiad national executive board, was able to get behind the tournament at Central Florida. Augusta had Bill Wellnitz. Dayton has the Chalkers. It's the fundraising and logistics and all that stuff that makes it (in my view at least) far more important who is at the site than what is at the site. For example, if the UW-Stout national tournament rumors are true, it would be explained by this logic because UW-Stout is kind of in the middle of nowhere and probably doesn't have the most cutting-edge facilities, but if they have really eager tournament organizers (which I hear they do) who are willing to fundraise and plan and everything, then that's where the tournament can and will be held.

[chalker7]

I think it's erroneous to assume that they select national tournament sites based primarily on proximity of major airports or ease of transportation. I think that it's probably far more important what people they have at each of the sites. For example, Mike McKee, a Science Olympiad fanatic and member of the Science Olympiad national executive board, was able to get behind the tournament at Central Florida. Augusta had Bill Wellnitz. Dayton has the Chalkers. It's the fundraising and logistics and all that stuff that makes it (in my view at least) far more important who is at the site than what is at the site. For example, if the UW-Stout national tournament rumors are true, it would be explained by this logic because UW-Stout is kind of in the middle of nowhere and probably doesn't have the most cutting-edge facilities, but if they have really eager tournament organizers (which I hear they do) who are willing to fundraise and plan and everything, then that's where the tournament can and will be held.

This is accurate, if there is no one with any affiliations to a particular desirable university, nationals won't happen there since no one will be on site to organize it.

[chalker]

I think it's erroneous to assume that they select national tournament sites based primarily on proximity of major airports or ease of transportation. I think that it's probably far more important what people they have at each of the sites. For example, Mike McKee, a Science Olympiad fanatic and member of the Science Olympiad national executive board, was able to get behind the tournament at Central Florida. Augusta had Bill Wellnitz. Dayton has the Chalkers. It's the fundraising and logistics and all that stuff that makes it (in my view at least) far more important who is at the site than what is at the site. For example, if the UW-Stout national tournament rumors are true, it would be explained by this logic because UW-Stout is kind of in the middle of nowhere and probably doesn't have the most cutting-edge facilities, but if they have really eager tournament organizers (which I hear they do) who are willing to fundraise and plan and everything, then that's where the tournament can and will be held.

This is accurate, if there is no one with any affiliations to a particular desirable university, nationals won't happen there since no one will be on site to organize it.

Just to add to this, running a national tournament is something like 80-90% the responsibility and effort of the local folks. You have to have the complete support of the university administration and lots of boots on the ground. The National Office provides some assistance and oversight, but in general isn't that involved in the day-to-day planning aspects. The typical way a site is selected is that a local SO 'fanatic' pulls a team together, convinces the administration at the university of the various benefits of hosting a tournament, then the university officially makes a 'bid' to the national office. In some situations (like the UW-Stout situation), that bid might be deferred for a few years until 'all the stars are in alignment'.

So view this is a challenge to all you west coast folks wanting to have a National Tournament in your neck of the woods... feel free to try to pull together a team and convince a university to submit a bid.

[sofan]

It would be very cool to have nats at cambridge. Idk why.
I have not been to previous nats.

[XJcwolfyX]

2016 should be held in Madison again. Out of all the National Award Ceremonies I've been too, that one was hands-down the best and most entertaining. Also, the campus is really new and beautiful. And, to put the icing on the cake, it is located in the center of the country.

[MMeteorite1]

MIT, Duke, Stanford

[quizbowl]

Chicago is relatively central, and easy to get to. Plus we held it back in '99. Maybe I can stir up some hustle and bustle?

[Luo]

2016 should be held in Madison again. Out of all the National Award Ceremonies I've been too, that one was hands-down the best and most entertaining. Also, the campus is really new and beautiful. And, to put the icing on the cake, it is located in the center of the country.

Agreed, I think it will be tough for any tournament in the near future to match or exceed the all-around greatness of the 2011 tournament in Madison.