Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Will Nationals be in St.Louis in 2010?

I would also love nats to be in Indy I have been there many times for yugioh tournaments and Gen-con and the food problem would be completely addressed as well as the nothing to do problem with the fact there is a skywalk connecting the mall to the convention center. I remember I scrubbed out at one yugi regional and walked over to the mall and bought pokemon pearl as it had just come out. I also have a blast whenever I go to gen-con and the movie theater at the mall is also a nice touch.
 
First off, I'll say that I had a lot of fun the whole weekend, regardless of location. Being able to see everyone and just hang out and have fun trumps wherever Nationals is held. I don't let little things ruin my time.

That being said, I thought St. Louis left a lot to be desired. The food selection was mediocre at best. A lot of restaurants closed early. We tried calling Quizno's and they wouldn't even deliver to our room past 1 p.m., are you kidding me? There was also nothing but grossly over priced lemonades and funnel cakes in the convention center during Nats itself. I mean we all made it work and had to walk some, but the choices were so limited.

The Holiday Inn, where the trip winners and a whole lot of others stayed was hardly a nice hotel. The pool was like an over-sized bath tub! I mean, I'm not even kidding here. We also got a suite and the bathroom door lock didn't even work, the lights flickered on and off like a lightning storm and there wasn't even a fridge or microwave.

It was a great experience as it always is and I want to say Pokemon Nationals was a big success and a well ran event and I went in with an open mind, but St. Louis was just not impressive to me.
 
8-man Side-events

If we're going to have staff "TAG IN" then create a system that lends itself to this aspect.

1. Simplify the paperwork so the judges can focus on judging and collecting bracket-rosters.
Why not a "Side-event computer table?" We had sign-ups for modified side. Just have a table with a couple of people typing and printing off a bracket with player names. That paper is given to a staff member who will lead their 8 people to a table and begin. Once the round ends, the judge calls time and the winning players write their own names onto the bracket sheet. The only thing that a judge would do is call time, judge, and pick up the completed sheet. Single-Elimination tourneys makes this process fast and fun. You lose, you sign up for the next and try again. Top 3 can get packs (i.e. 6, 4, 2)
In a single-elimination format with player-filled bracket sheets, any judge that shows up as an 'in-between,' will simply call time and continue the next round. The sheets do all the work :thumb:

2. If you have 2 staff, you have 2 tables. When you get more staff, you have more tables. People shouldn't even be in the play area because the sign-ups will be at the computer table. This takes the turnmoil and confusion away from the play area itself.

I remember running the 8-mans on Sunday last year. I think at one point I had 3 going at the same time, all working off the same clock, but at different stages of completion (1 at each of the 3 rounds). It's not difficult to run the events like this. Also, I'm one of few that knows how TOM sets up Age Modified Single Elimination with 8 players, so I used that algorithm and a D20 to decide the initial matchups, and then let the tournament run itself. I think that 8-mans are pretty easy to run, as long you don't try and overextend yourself at one time (16 matches, for example, would be too many for a single organizer). Also, the number one rule of the 8-man is that everybody should be having FUN, whether they win or lose! And most really appreciate and support that attitude.
 
Hey All those Saying Gathering Grounds were rude, well think of it this way.
I personally work and sometimes it gets rough. Which GG tried their best to deal with all the people there. There are only a few things I have to say: Uxies ~ They were selling then $5 Friday and I got a Few of them- by the last day they were like $20 (lol I really don'r blame them though). But seriously $5 for Victory Medal :/


V. Vince I understand that but it wasn't just Victory Medal. ~_~;
 
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Victory Medals on e-bay have sold for $5-$10 .

The card is just not demand.

Cute, rarish, but not demand.

Not defending everything, but come on. You really expect them to pay more than $5 for a $10 card that is not in demand?

Vince

As for the food issues, I think if I pull up about every thread from Worlds for years, we would hear the "no cheap food/decent food" argument any time they go to a venue for the first time. Orlando/San Diego/Hawaii/Anaheim, you name it.

Let's just lay it out there. Noone knows what to expect the first time they hear "Pokemon Nationals". Our crowd is a unique one.

I will be frank, I hold all my Regionals in malls JUST to handle the food thing. It took me 4 years to really figure this one out!
2004 Stadium, bad food selection in Arlington, Texas
2005 Regionals bad food selection in Memphis, TN
2006 Regionals bad food selection Viking, St. Louis, MO
2007 Regionals bad food selection Memphis, TN
2008 Regionals Great food selection Mills Mall - Missouri
2009 Regionals Great food selection South County Mall - Missouri

We learn from these things people.

Vince
 
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Hey All those Saying Gathering Grounds were rude, well think of it this way.
I personally work and sometimes it gets rough. Which GG tried their best to deal with all the people there. There are only a few things I have to say: Uxies ~ They were selling then $5 Friday and I got a Few of them- by the last day they were like $20 (lol I really don'r blame them though). But seriously $5 for Victory Medal :/


V. Vince I understand that but it wasn't just Victory Medal. ~_~;

Wait, you work? Wonders never cease!
I'd have to say origins would be my first choice. Indy would also be good.
 
I think they will keep Nationals in Central US. They would want the location driveable for the folks east of the rockies all the way to the east coast.

I think we are looking only at these locations:
1. St Louis (I think this is farthest west they would go)
2. Columbus (NOT)
3. Nashville
4. Indianapolis

I will rule out my home town of Chicago (downtown at least) because I think the traffic and prices downtown will drive people crazy. Chicago suburb Schaumburg just opened a 100,000 sf convention center/hall that could easily get the job done with plenty of food and hotel options around, but I still think that is too north for folks to want to drive to from the South.

Regading dates, Nationals wasn't going to be on July 4th this year, and they weren't going to do it the weekend before. I don't think OP had any choice on the dates, there really isn't any sort of malice here. Nationals to Worlds dates will fall where the fall, GenCon and Origins dates will also.

Next Year St Louis, I think OP needs to specifically address FOOD and DRINK options and vendors at the convention center. Morning Coffee? Not Available, Lunch and Dinner, Long Lines. A drink option, we had lemonaide for $6. (I did find the vending machine on saturday night). Next year, I will have to know the numbers for Pizza delivery. It really wasn't good for first timers. Next year I will know better, but the first timers will still be left unhappy.

I never even visited Gathering Grounds for the gaming stuff, but that is a different issue.
 
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I think PUI would be making a mistake to make the central US the focus.

It has been proven that people will travel to the event no matter where it is.

So if Nats isn't going to be part of a larger gaming event, put is somewhere good.

Chicago, Dallas, Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver. Pick one.

St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Columbus. Skip it.
 
I think PUI would be making a mistake to make the central US the focus.

It has been proven that people will travel to the event no matter where it is.

So if Nats isn't going to be part of a larger gaming event, put is somewhere good.

Chicago, Dallas, Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver. Pick one.

St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Columbus. Skip it.

Are simply trying to irritate the people who live in these cities?
 
I'm still convinced that St. Louis was picked because of the fact that it’s so close to the median population center of the US making it just about equally convenient for everyone to attend (in theory at least). The local OP community strength was almost certainly a factor as well.

However if you want to “put it somewhere nice” then you could look at other factors. Worlds is regularly held in CA and FL. Why not rotate Nats in a similar fashion? You could do something similar like holding it in NYC or Houston every year ... or you could have a multi year schedule with Nats circling the country every X number of years.

Staying in one location year in and year out has it’s advantages, but I have to admit, with apologies to the fine folks who live there, that I have no real desire to go back to St. Louis even for future Nats. I’ve been there and have that T-Shirt now. Don’t regret it at all. But St. Louis isn’t like NYC which I would vist again and again.
 
Thoughts about St. Louis:

Enough to do? Sort of
Food: D-minus
Convention center: Good location for event.
Holiday Inn Select: Will avoid at all cost. In my room I could hear every word spoken in the lobby. Would make good concert hall, not a hotel.

The main slop was that the organizers whiffed on organizing food. How this effected the day? Simple:
On Saturday, 30 minutes was added for lunch break just to compensate for lack of nearby food. Same exact time period that was deducted from the two rounds of top 128 and top 64 played on the same day (masters played 45 min rounds instead of 60). So, we had enough time to walk to the other end of town to eat, but not enough time to come back with a slower deck in top cut. I thought that was bad. Finishing Sat at after midnight was bad planning as well. I would have been playing on fumes by then, if I haven't lost in previous round...
I know, this is the first time the event is held there, and that this event was otherwise rather flawless and well run, but if we go back there, we must have a serious, high volume food vendor ready to feed the masses or the main reason for being there, kicking some Pokemon TCG butt, will be compromised.
 
I hope the discussion in this thread encourages PUI to continue to offer the event in the St. Louis location.
It's a 16 - 20 hour drive for us, but we enjoyed every minute of it :)
it's only a 14-16 hour drive for my family if i ever went...i would kill my siblings in the first 7 ours.
 
I can understand Worlds being in some large city like San Diego, Honolulu, Orlando, resort crap like that. I mean.. it IS worlds, people worked their bums off trying to get to Worlds and why not let it be in a tourist attraction? You get a Worlds Invite, you want to enjoy yourself.

Nationals for the USA is FREE though. If you want to get as many people as humanly possible to attend your events, then a central location that is relatively easy for the majority of the people to get to in order to attend is extremely efficient. I can understand St. Louis for that reason, but a Central Location is far better, and you have to consider, what gives us Central/Midwest American's anything? For all we know, Worlds could be in NYC next year which gives the Midatlantic/New England states something to cheer for. At least leaving Nationals in central gives the Midwest something to be happy for.

I would not complain if it were in STL again next year, but I would be far more inclined to go if it were in Indianapolis or Chicago (Or obviously one of our crappy Ohio cities..). You throw it out in California and I won't waste my time.
 
May I make a suggestion?

Baltimore MD.

Reasons why:

1. It's about the middle of the East Coast, so it's very easy for everyone from the north and south to drive to, and also has a major airport for anyone who wishes/needs to fly.

2. Food is NOT a problem in the least. Innerharbor is very close to the convention center, and they have TONS of cheap, good, fast food.

3. Things to do. In addition to having the ball park, there's also one of the nicest aquariums in the country in addition to several art gallerys, a zoo, plenty of places to walk and shop, parks, and innerharbor. Annapolis is just a short drive away, as is D.C.
There's so much to do in D.C. that I'm not even going to go in to detais on that one. :p In addition to all that, there's also many things to do on the bay. The mountains are also only a few hours away for anyone who likes hiking.

If touring isn't for you, there's also a Six Flags near by.


St. Louis really wasn't great IMO. It was in the middle of no where, and there really wasn't that much to do. The lack of food was also annoying.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

I think PUI would be making a mistake to make the central US the focus.

It has been proven that people will travel to the event no matter where it is.

So if Nats isn't going to be part of a larger gaming event, put is somewhere good.

Chicago, Dallas, Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver. Pick one.

St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, Columbus. Skip it.

Baltimore would be a better location than D.C. due ease of getting there. D.C. has some really bad traffic problems.
 
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Fantastic, so the North and South have easy rides but the West have to drive across the country. Whoopie! ;)

I'm sure TPCi already have a good idea of where they are going to hold it next year. I don't think we need to make suggestions. We all want it close to us, so why bother?
 
^ I live in California and I don't care where it is, but I just thought St. Louis was sub par. Totally non-bias opinion here. I'm going to have to fly somewhere for Nats every year anyways.
 
Fantastic, so the North and South have easy rides but the West have to drive across the country. Whoopie! ;)

I'm sure TPCi already have a good idea of where they are going to hold it next year. I don't think we need to make suggestions. We all want it close to us, so why bother?

The West has to fly anyway, so why would that matter? I wouldn't mind NYC either, and that's a bit of a drive for me.

My point is that the East Coast NEVER gets anything. Worlds in FL hardly counts considering that Florida counts as being on the East Coast just about as much as Alaska counts as part of the West Coast. :tongue:
 
Alot of PTO's of Alot of games like Philadelphia as a place to run large events.

Hartford has a pretty nice Convention Center.

Oh, and Boston is both awesome and interesting. And I'm not just saying that because I just so happen to live there. Okay, I MIGHT be saying that because of it.
 
The West has to fly anyway, so why would that matter? I wouldn't mind NYC either, and that's a bit of a drive for me.

My point is that the East Coast NEVER gets anything. Worlds in FL hardly counts considering that Florida counts as being on the East Coast just about as much as Alaska counts as part of the West Coast. :tongue:

East Coast gets nothing? So Nationals last year didn't count? I live on the east coast (NC), and I loved being able to drive to Nats and Worlds last year. This year, I can't possibly drive to Worlds, but I was able to drive to Nats still.
 
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