US Nationals 2010

[Kian]

There are of course several factors to be considered. It is of course a very clear phenomenon that many people on this forum who say something along the lines of "Let's do it at X, we can do it at Y" really are just immature little kids who don't know any better and really are only considering the relative convenience for themselves. Anyway, the advantages of Stanford last year?

-The organizational team is based out of California. This means in general, fewer plane tickets to buy, and more people are able to make the trip and help out.
-Stanford was a free venue. I grew up in that area, I know people, and it's easy for me to make things happen, strike deals, etc.

But honestly, there were a few problems.

-The organizational team being based out of California means there was significantly less consideration given to transportation. I just kind of *assumed* we'd have enough cars to get people around places and this was actually not nearly as trivial as I was hoping for it to be.
-This lack of consideration for transportation made it harder for everyone else who was traveling as well.
-Because the team was based out in California, and the team was so large, we did not find a single place for everyone to stay. Instead, people were split between my home in Burlingame, Leyan's apartment in Sunnyvale, Stanford campus, and a hotel in Redwood City. That was a bit of a mess.
-And because of that, there wasn't as much socializing from our side.
-And people like Dan Dzoan didn't take the Monday off work to travel. Meaning on Sunday he just had to go home, and couldn't "socialize."

In terms of moving nationals around, it is an opportunity to do a few things.

-Yes, it's a travel experience for us. I mean, what's a summer vacation if you're not getting mugged in a bathroom?
-It's a lot of fun to see new places.

Another new aspect of nationals that has come under consideration for me is the ability to engaged new groups. The team in California is very good, and we've worked together for quite some time on these types of projects, but there are good dedicated groups of organizers all around the country. And so, some collaboration could be very beneficial. Jim Mertens, for example, has been quite dedicated to us over the years. It would be a good collaborative effort to do something with him in his area. The Texas group has accomplished a lot, and so has Tim Reynolds.

*It is unlikely that there would be a competition in NYC because most of the kids in the Tri-State area are just whiny little brats that want to competition in their area, but aren't willing to do any work.

I actually intend to do something new, or at least start something new. I am currently looking into locations for 2010, and I will probably stay late at work to call and try to actually book the venue, and secure a deal with the hotel. But my new idea?

Let's say we hold Nationals in location X. I intend to work with another group to hold a competition in Location Y the same year, as a practice run for nationals the NEXT year. This local group might be my own in California, in which case it wouldn't be necessary because I have experience with them. But let's say MIT wanted consideration for nationals in 2011. We would then host a competition at MIT in 2010 at some point, and try to make it a large competition.

So yeah, if you want nationals in your area for 2011, get to work for 2010.

http://images.google.com/images?q=g...ent=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

SOCORRO!

I think this is an excellent idea. At least for places where no large competitions have been held before, it would certainly provide a good rehearsal of the logistics in a given area. It seems very reasonable to me.

 

[cmhardw]

Let's say we hold Nationals in location X. I intend to work with another group to hold a competition in Location Y the same year, as a practice run for nationals the NEXT year. This local group might be my own in California, in which case it wouldn't be necessary because I have experience with them. But let's say MIT wanted consideration for nationals in 2011. We would then host a competition at MIT in 2010 at some point, and try to make it a large competition.

So yeah, if you want nationals in your area for 2011, get to work for 2010.

That is a great idea! It lets the team in location Y "learn the ropes" so that Nationals will be really well run each year, which is great. It will also finally stop the "Hold Nationals in my home town, because my home town rox0rz!" posts, because that location would have to "prove themselves" with a competition in order to do this.

Great idea Tyson!

Chris

 

[Jake Gouldon]

Tyson, are you saying I'm a winey little brat?

 

[Kian]

Tyson, are you saying I'm a winey little brat?

Yes, he is. One that can't spell, either.

 

[shelley]

Why is there this need for an organization team? I can understand needing a handful of dedicated people to plan the entire weekend, but after that, you have access to all the competitors and families to help execute the competition. Just do like they did at worlds where people can volunteer ahead of time to help, and you give them the schedule of when they are judging and scrambling.

There are benefits to having a team you trust in which everyone knows what they're doing. The judging team at Worlds was considerably less experienced than the typical judging team at a California competition. I saw instances where it took three or four people to call an obvious +2. My judge for multiBLD neglected to write down the number of cubes I solved.

 

[Dave Campbell]

There are benefits to having a team you trust in which everyone knows what they're doing. The judging team at Worlds was considerably less experienced than the typical judging team at a California competition. I saw instances where it took three or four people to call an obvious +2. My judge for multiBLD neglected to write down the number of cubes I solved.

Indeed, and that is the obvious benefit. But I don't think the integrity of the competition comes into question in an instance such as this. The cost of porting staff around, and limiting where you can hold a competition does not seem like a positive trade off for the few instances when having someone less experienced would cause issues. Plus, this could probably be resolved by allocating resources more appropriately (i.e. putting the right person in the right position).

 

[Tyson]

There are benefits to having a team you trust in which everyone knows what they're doing. The judging team at Worlds was considerably less experienced than the typical judging team at a California competition. I saw instances where it took three or four people to call an obvious +2. My judge for multiBLD neglected to write down the number of cubes I solved.

Indeed, and that is the obvious benefit. But I don't think the integrity of the competition comes into question in an instance such as this. The cost of porting staff around, and limiting where you can hold a competition does not seem like a positive trade off for the few instances when having someone less experienced would cause issues. Plus, this could probably be resolved by allocating resources more appropriately (i.e. putting the right person in the right position).

Back to the drawing board. Our idea fell through. Am now taking new suggestions, but don't make a suggestion unless you're willing to actually do some work.

 

[puzzlemaster]

There are benefits to having a team you trust in which everyone knows what they're doing. The judging team at Worlds was considerably less experienced than the typical judging team at a California competition. I saw instances where it took three or four people to call an obvious +2. My judge for multiBLD neglected to write down the number of cubes I solved.

Indeed, and that is the obvious benefit. But I don't think the integrity of the competition comes into question in an instance such as this. The cost of porting staff around, and limiting where you can hold a competition does not seem like a positive trade off for the few instances when having someone less experienced would cause issues. Plus, this could probably be resolved by allocating resources more appropriately (i.e. putting the right person in the right position).

Back to the drawing board. Our idea fell through. Am now taking new suggestions, but don't make a suggestion unless you're willing to actually do some work.

Does this mean that Socorro is out of the question now? I haven't done anything really with organizing a competition. However I can tell that a tremendous amount of work goes into it. If someone around here who knows what they're doing were to find a venue that would be suitable, then I'd be willing to help.

 

[Tyson]

Who here would actually go to Socorro? It's an 80 minute drive from Albuquerque.

 

[Mike Hughey]

I already said we would. It might be pretty lonely for the few of us who show up, though.

 

[JTW2007]

I'd go wherever it is, but Socorro would be nice because it's within driving distance from me. Really, I think it would work out the best in California again, but I agree that it'd be nice to have it somewhere else. California does have the benefit of a very capable organization team, and if Nationals is held there, it can almost be guaranteed that all of them will be able to organize.

 

[blade740]

I would. I can take a train.

 

[Kian]

I already said we would. It might be pretty lonely for the few of us who show up, though.

Yes, yes it would. We have the luxury of being old enough to rent a car . Obviously it would to inhibit a LOT of people, though.

 

[DavidWoner]

I'd come if I could get a ride from Albuquerque. Which shouldn't be hard if Grandpa Kian is planning on renting a car >_>

 

[puzzlemaster]

I would be there.

 

[cuberman0312]

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, it will be my first competiotion

 

[waffle=ijm]

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, it will be my first competiotion

let's see where in princeton then. did you find a auditorium or something that princeton is willing to rent out for about 3 days that is big enough for 200+ people? Princeton library isn't an option btw.

I'm all in support for a Princeton competition.

but without an appropriate venue that's big enough to host US nationals. there is not point in holding US nationals in princeton.

Also it was mentioned that you shouldn't say stuff like "ZOMG hold in (insert location) since I can go since it's only 5 minutes away"

I live in princeton (within the university) btw. and my honest opinion is that won't work due to tourist/traffic and obvious lack of parking