Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

The 2011 Florida Marathon

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Ness

Ness

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The 2011 Florida Marathon

It's confirmed! The Florida Marathon starts with four tournaments on the east coast beginning Saturday, December 17 and then finishes with three more on the west coast from December 21-23, just in time for the holidays! Come enjoy 75° weather, beautiful beaches, and one of the largest, friendliest Pokémon TCG areas in the entire world as you compete for Championship Points!

Saturday, December 17
Cool Stuff Games South Florida
5655 S. University Dr.
Davie, FL 33328

Registration: 10:15-11:15 AM
Start Time: 11:35 AM

Phone: (954) 680-3929
Organizer: Larry Altavilla, (954) 226-6679

Sunday, December 18
Brad's Sports Cards
10548 Wiles Rd.
Coral Springs, FL 33076

Registration: 10:30-11:00 AM
Start Time: 11:30 AM

Phone: 954-255-2109
Organizer: Heidi Craig

Monday, December 19
Geek Xtreme Entertainment
2501 NW 17th Lane Unit A
Pompano Beach, FL 33064

Registration: 10:15-11:15 AM
Start Time: 11:35 AM

Phone: (954) 946-1516
Organizer: Larry Altavilla, (954) 226-6679

Tuesday, December 20
Tate's Gaming Satellite
4588 N. University Dr.
Lauderhill, FL 33351

Registration: 11:15-11:45 AM
Start Time: 12:15 PM

Phone: (954) 742-5141
Organizer: Heidi Craig

Wednesday, December 21
2d10 Games
2040 Collier Ave.
Ft Myers, FL 33901

Registration: 10:30-11:00 AM
Start Time: 11:30 AM

Phone: (239) 690-2310
Organizer: Heidi Craig

Thursday, December 22
The Dark Side
501 N Beneva Rd. #260
Sarasota, FL 34232

Registration: 11:00-11:30 AM
Start Time: Noon

Phone: (941) 363-0840
Organizer: Heidi Craig

Friday, December 23
Best Western Brandon
9331 E. Adamo Dr.
Brandon, FL 33619
Note: This address is sometimes listed in Tampa instead of Brandon.

Registration: 10:30-11:00 AM
Start Time: 11:30 AM

MAP Showing all Tournament Locations

FAQ

Are these tournaments sanctioned?
All 7 of these tournaments are City Championship Premier Events which means you can gain Championship Points.

Do I have to attend all 7?
Nope. You can attend however many you would like!

Is this related to the Georgia Marathon?
The Georgia Marathon is a completely different set of tournaments that is usually held in late December-January. Our tournaments have nothing to do with the Georgia Marathon.

Which airport should I fly into and out of?
One of the many great things about Florida? Many airports! You can save driving time by flying into one airport and flying out of another. I recommend flying into Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Depending on your hotel's location during the final tournament, you can fly out of your choice of:
  • Ft. Myers International Airport (RSW)
  • Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)
  • Tampa International Airport (TPA)

Ft. Myers is the furthest south, Tampa is the furthest north. Keeping the schedule in mind, the final three tournaments work their way from south to north (Fort Myers to Sarasota to Tampa.)

What about driving to the Marathon?
Heidi & I put much thought into planning the sequence of tournaments. Because most players attending this event are coming from the north, driving to the Marathon is especially convenient because the tournaments gradually work their way further and further north. So, as you play the last few tournaments, most players who chose to drive will be driving closer to their home each day. For those of you that live in southeast Florida, don't whine! It's still only a few hours back home for you by car. :smile:

Who is attending?
Players from all over the country from as far as California are expected to attend! Play Pokémon with National Champions Kyle Sucevich & Justin Sanchez, other past champions such as Alex Brosseau, World Champion Stephen Silvestro & of course, yours truly!

Why should I attend?
Florida has one of the largest Pokémon TCG bases in the world. In addition to that, it's an extremely friendly group of players. Florida airports offer relatively inexpensive flights, especially when booked early. There are plenty of things to do while enjoying the beautiful weather!

Additionally, we have experienced, friendly & fun judges. Heidi has been judging events for 10 years! Her events are quick & smooth. No nonsense 30-minute announcements. No constant re-pairs. Any problem with software or computers is fixed in a breeze! Florida tournaments are also some of the few tournaments that offer 75 minutes for Top Cut matches. Turnouts may be so large we could be forced to do 60 minutes, but if possible our judges always allow 75 minutes for Top Cut matches.

Why are there no tournaments further north near Orlando, Melbourne, Jacksonville, etc.?
There will still be City Championships in all of these locations. However, for the Florida marathon, we tried to keep these tournaments close together so that players only needed to book two hotels.
______________________________________


Post your questions here! So, who's coming?
 
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I think I'm gonna come, better be better than WME.
(Why did they let me back on this website? i don't even know.)
 
Pro tips for non-South Florida players, from a 2nd generation South Florida Native.

The first 4 events are very close to one another in Southeast Florida (With in 30 min drive). The next 3 are on the west coast going from South to North. So it is not like you are hotel hopping every night and driving miles to the next event. If you look at the schedule you really only need 2 different hotels, one in South Florida, one in Sarasota. This is just a suggestion, you don't have to take m

16th
-If Driving in the 16th Check into Hotel 1 in SouthFlorida

17th
-Play in Davie (Larry)
-If Driving in the morning of the 17th Check into Hotel 1 in SouthFlorida

18th
-Play in Coral Springs (Heidi)

19th
-Play in Pompano (Larry)

20th
-Play in Lauderhill (Heidi)

21st
-Check out of Hotel 1 in South Florida and drive ~134 miles west to Fort Myers
-Play in Ft Myers (Heidi)
-Drive to~77 miles north to Sarasota Check into Hotel 2

22nd
- Play in Sarasota (Heidi)

23nd
-Check out of Hotel 2 in Sarasota and drive ~55 miles north to Brandon
-Play in Brandon (Heidi)
-End of Marathon

For the a Hotel in South Florida I suggest looking in or near Plantation or Sunrise. This will put you less then 15 min from the Davie and Lauderhill events. 30-45 min from the Coral Springs and Pompano events. Don't search for hotels in Miami/Miami-Dade county area. The first 4 events are all 45-60 min away.

If you know anyone who is flying in from out of state I recommend they fly into Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Intl. (FLL). Miami (MIA) and Palm Beach Intl. (PBA) Airports are and hour South and an Hour North. In addition to being close and convenient to the start of the marathon, FLL is also the cheapest when it comes to booking Airfare.

If you have any questions about South Florida feel free to message me.
 
Say Thank You to the following people

Players you need to THANK Jason, Heidi and Larry for being able to pull this off. A fun time weill be had by

all. wish we could have been involved but work sometimes is in the way. maybe next year. Once again

Remember to thank them for organizing this event for you guys.

I hope this can become an annual event like Georgia.

Thanks again to the above people for the effort put into the marathon.
 
I am so excited for the marathon, it's gonna be a blast!! Thanks Jason for all your hard work in getting this event planned. Hope to see many players at these events.
Heidi
 
Thank you Heidi for running all these events! I almost feel like we should change the name of the marathon to The Heidi Craig Marathon: 7 consecutive days of Heidi Craig. What do you think?
 
Ness said:
Thank you Heidi for running all these events! I almost feel like we should change the name of the marathon to The Heidi Craig Marathon: 7 consecutive days of Heidi Craig. What do you think?
Click to expand...


Some are by Larry...lol
 
Gosh, people willing to travel down in GA/AL/FL will have a HUGE propoints advantage... this allows you to hit what, 17 CC's?
 
yoyofsho16 said:
Gosh, people willing to travel down in GA/AL/FL will have a HUGE propoints advantage... this allows you to hit what, 17 CC's?
Click to expand...

15 (7 FL, 8 GA). 15 Cities, 17 Days. the extra 2 days between marathons are Christmas Eve/Christmas. I wonder who is going to do both marathons.
 
Heidi has informed me too that there will be raffles for prizes at all of her tournaments.
 
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yoyofsho16 said:
Gosh, people willing to travel down in GA/AL/FL will have a HUGE propoints advantage... this allows you to hit what, 17 CC's?
Click to expand...

Atleast you cant win a couple then 3-0 drop the rest and pay your way to Hawaii :/

-This is going to be great! Huge thanks to Heidi and Larry for coordinating this! But no thanks to Jason, just hope you dont play against him ;)
 
Ness said:
The Heidi Craig Marathon ft. Larry Altavilla
Click to expand...

That sounds good to me Jason! We all must remember, Heidi has been doing this for many, many years.

No one can deny that if she chose to, she could've run the entire thing alone. She has double digit events allotted
to her every year. So, I'm appreciative about her and you allowing me an opportunity to show the nation that I'm really good at what I do! I have a responsible, knowledgable and
overall AWESOME head judge in Anthony Caspanello and if anyone knows me from attending my few past tournaments...my generosity spills over like cream from a cannoli!!

I truly hope to see all of you at Cool Stuff Games in Davie and Geek Xtreme Entertainment in Pompano!:thumb:
 
Below is a little taste of the (top) competition;

Aaron C- Worlds Competitor (multiple)
Stephen S- World Champion (multiple worlds showings)
Justin S- 2011 National Champion
Jason K- 2X World Champion (multiple worlds showings)
Ryan V- Worlds Competitor
Chris B- Worlds Competitor
Omar I- Worlds Competitor (multiple worlds showings)
Kevin K- Worlds Competitor
Orion C- National Champion (multiple worlds showings)
Daniel A- Worlds Competitor (T32 seniors age up)
Grafton R-T4 Worlds 2011 (seniors 2011, age up)
Brian H- Worlds Competitor (seniors 2011, age up)
Zach N-Worlds Competitor (seniors 2011, age up)


Plus there are so many more excellent players I did not mention, Jim R, Roberto A, etc. This is masters BTW. That's a very scary list.
 
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Pokemon Larry said:
That sounds good to me Jason! We all must remember, Heidi has been doing this for many, many years.

No one can deny that if she chose to, she could've run the entire thing alone. She has double digit events allotted
to her every year. So, I'm appreciative about her and you allowing me an opportunity to show the nation that I'm really good at what I do! I have a responsible, knowledgable and
overall AWESOME head judge in Anthony Caspanello and if anyone knows me from attending my few past tournaments...my generosity spills over like cream from a cannoli!!

I truly hope to see all of you at Cool Stuff Games in Davie and Geek Xtreme Entertainment in Pompano!:thumb:
Click to expand...

:lol: LOL, this was only a joke. We aren't actually going to call a Pokémon tournament The Heidi Craig Marathon. Can't wait for the tournaments! Thanks Larry!
 
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