Message board »Message Board home »Sign-in or register to get started
Online now: 7 members: 3_SoftballFreak, Coach5, Dave07, LC7, Steve83, TABLE SETTER 11, ronniealvarado#7; 128 anonymousDiscussion: No Teams East of Mississippi in Seattle??
| Posted | Discussion |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Corky Men's 55 451 posts | No Teams East of Mississippi in Seattle?? I only looked at the teams in the 50AAA division but, looks like someone might consider holding the NATIONAL tournament in a central location. Looks like the west coast is catered to as usual, and the Eastern teams sent a clear message. ANYONE......ANYONE. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Michigan Vet Men's 65 255 posts | I agree!! We (Pinnacle) went to Phoenix last year and had a great time. But California, Washington & Oregon are just to far and EXPRNSIVE. We took a team vote and Vegas won by a landslide. I do not think there will be very many East/West games in any age groups (Geckle won Eastern Regional 50+ in AAA, we finished second and neither on of us is going). There were 5 teams in AAA and none of us are going! Our manager voiced his opinion to Fran and she mentioned they MIGHT make Phoenix a permenant site.This would be OK, easy to get to and can get cheap flights. Good Luck to The team from Maine in O55 AAA, they are a good bunch of guys!! |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Fred Scerra Men's 80 542 posts | There are some in the 55+ Div with one team coming from Ma. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Ken Men's 55 462 posts | To all teams from the east: I play for a team close to L A. I spoke with Terry last year and told him that my team would not attend the Worlds this year because of the ridiculous location. It is almost as stupid a decision as holding it in Canada a few years ago. I asked why he wouldn’t consider a more central location in order to insure more teams from the east. His response was that SSUSA has a rotation of Vegas, Phoenix, and a third location that works out best for them (I understand Seattle is where Bill Ruth lives). Seattle may be a great city, and a nice place to visit, but it is certainly not an inexpensive place to fly to, not to mention the fact that most of the people that I talk to expect bad weather this time of year. I would feel the same way if they held it in Florida or New York. The SSUSA, and all of the other associations, have a responsibility to us, the people that support them in their qualifiers all year, to hold their World tournaments in locations that will draw from the entire country. What they have in Seattle is the Western Nationals that they tried to have in Reno. Having only 17 teams in the 50AAA, and 15 in 55AAA, with only a couple from east of the Mississippi is comical. By holding it there, they are doing a disservice to us all. More of you need to let them know. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Hit the gap Men's 70 154 posts | This truely a National Tournament: Wow guys. I don't think the numbers don't support your premis. Here are the numbers. 220 teams total. 4 from Japan 3 from Hawaii 2 from ON Canada 1 from SK Canada 12 from TX 6 from WI 6 from MN 6 from MI 5 from IL 4 from FL 4 from MA 3 from MD 3 from VA 3 from MO 3 from NJ 2 from OH 2 from PA 1 each from NY, DE, OK, KS I would say that's pretty good representation from teams across the country. It's an opportunity to compete with the best and see a different part of the country. Phoenix is nice but I certainly don't want to go there every year. Additionally, the fields are top notch. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 killer22 Men's 55 3 posts | I won't touch on the geography here, but the topic mentioned no teams east of the Mississippi were going to Seattle. Although that isn't totally correct, the comment above showed something like 49 teams from east of the Mississippi going. That is out of the 220 also quoted as being the total teams playing. Of the age groups that are still considered "working" people (age 65 and under) there are only 24 of 137 teams from the east. I have played in the Western Nationals the last two years in Seattle and it was a fine place to play in July, but it appears the vast majority who have to take vacation time to play, don't want to go to the Northwest to play their national tournament. They will spend their vacation time to play in Vegas or Phoenix, but not Seattle. As was mentioned before, airfare is not cheap going up there, expecially the week after Labor Day! I know it is an impossible job to please everyone, and I have not been associated with Senior Softball for long, but I have been around long enough to know what people are looking for. I wish the organizers and participants well and will check the results in the next couple of weeks to see how everyone fared. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Ken Men's 55 462 posts | Hit the gap: Here are some more numbers. Let’s see. Florida with 4 teams, Ohio with 2, Pennsylvania with 2, Illinois with 5? Do you really think these paltry numbers represent good participation from the east? These numbers are ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as Washington with 29, not to mention California with 63! Those two alone represent almost half the teams. Hold it in a place like or Kansas City or Chicago and see what you get. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 Hit the gap Men's 70 154 posts | Hi Ken. If you won't travel from Thousand Oaks CA to Seattle for a tournament, how come you are willing to go to KC or Chicago ?? Please explain to me why Seattle is a "ridiculous location" and Phoenix and Las Vegas aren't. They certainly aren't centrally located and it won't be 100 degrees + in Seattle. A few years ago, our team traveled from the west coast to Florida for tournaments twice in the same year because they were the Championships for the respective organizations. I know you can't please everyone. It's foolish to think that every team out there is going to be able to afford to travel. It's expensive and it's a time committment. But, if you want to play in the best tournaments around then you go wherever they are held. If you don't like the locatation, stay home. |
| Sept. 5, 2006 OLDBUCK23 Men's 60 62 posts | Have it in Columbus, Ohio. The local Chamber of Commerce states that Columbus is within a days drive for 2/3 of the U.S. population. Berliner Park has 31 diamonds, the most at one facility anywhere. Columbus recently hosted a girls 18U fastpitch tournament with 450-500 teams. That same tournament once had 724 teams. SPA and SSUSA-- you're missing a good thing ! |
| Sept. 6, 2006 Ken Men's 55 462 posts | Hit the gap: I won’t travel to Seattle because it’s wrong to have the tournament there. Just like it was wrong to have it in Canada a few years ago (and how about THAT turnout). Just like it would be wrong to have it in New York, Florida and, yes, even California. You aren’t drawing the teams from the rest of the country like you would if the tournament was in Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago or Kansas City, all travel hubs and inexpensive to get to. Buck has a great idea about Columbus. Not sure about the airfare though. By the way Gap, are you going to the LVSSA? I think you’ll be surprised at the turnout they get from teams all over the country, even with all that 100-degree heat you’re worried about. |
| Sept. 6, 2006 Michigan Vet Men's 65 255 posts | Here is a breakdown of the younger (i use this term lightly)teams East of Mississippi: 40 = 0/10, 50+ = 3/46 (2 Wi, 1 NJ), 55+= 5/34 (2 IL, 2 Wi, 1 Fla), 60+ = 8/46 (1 mI, 1 Md, 2 NJ,1 Oh, 3 IL) thats a total of 16/136 and 12% of teams. Lets take a look at Vegas this year and see how many there are. |
| Sept. 6, 2006 Hit the gap Men's 70 154 posts | Hi Ken. I will agree with you about hub cities being less expensive to fly into. That is one downside about the trip to Seattle, I have played many, many tournys in Vegas, Phoenix, Reno (every year but 1 out of the last 10) SPA in Plano TX and several times to FL. and the turnout has always been good. I am sure that the turnout would be greater with a more central location like KC but I wouldn't want to go there every year just like I don't want to play in Phoenix every year. I like variety and enjoy seeing different parts of the country and do not go solely to play softball. I always try to set aside some time for sightseeing. Best wishes to all. |
| Sept. 6, 2006 bashbro1 Men's 70 267 posts | The name Mississippi, spelled Mi-ss-iss-ipp-eye, meaning "Oh Great River," comes from Ojibwe, a Native American language spoken around the river's headwaters, or some other closely related Algonquian language. A little known Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, reached a point on the Mississippi near present-day Memphis in 1541. The European discovery of the Mississippi proper was made by a French missionary, Jacques Marquette, in 1673. Robert de la Salle, a French explorer, reached the river's mouth in 1682 after descending from the Great Lakes. Before the coming of the railroad, river commerce was of greater importance, and the securing of the Mississippi (1861–63) in the American Civil War was a vital objective of the Union forces. The river is open to ocean-going vessels as far up as Baton Rouge, via an 11 m/7 mi channel to its huge oil refineries. Traffic on the New Orleans–Baton Rouge stretch increased by 150% during the 1960s, and the system as a whole plays a vital role in the internal communications of the USA. St Louis is the chief central port on its banks. Senior Softball-USA discovered the Mississippi River when the “Worlds” were placed in the hard to get to god-forsaken “Pacific NorthWest Region” West of the Mississippi! According to the latest Senior Softball-USA Official Map there are 24 states west of the famous Alluvial Plain and 26 east: WEST: 1. Alaska 2. Arizona 3. Arkansas 4. California 5. Colorado 6. Hawaii 7. Idaho 8. Iowa 9. Kansas 10. Louisiana 11. Minnesota 12. Missouri 13. Montana 14. Nebraska 15. Nevada 16. New Mexico 17. North Dakota 18. Oklahoma 19. Oregon 20. South Dakota 21. Texas 22. Utah 23. Washington (Venue for this year’s “Worlds” can you believe it?) 24. Wyoming EAST: 1. Alabama 2. Connecticut 3. Delaware 4. Florida 5. Georgia 6. Illinois 7. Indiana 8. Kentucky 9. Maine 10. Maryland 11. Massachusetts 12. Michigan 13. Mississippi 14. New Hampshire 15. New Jersey 16. New York 17. North Carolina 18. Ohio 19. Pennsylvania 20. Rhode Island 21. South Carolina 22. Tennessee 23. Vermont 24. Virginia 25. West Virginia 26. Wisconsin Now that we know East from West let’s look at just the 50’s Teams Registered (i.e. not entered in the Worlds in Seattle) with SSUSA/SSWC to get a statistical picture of representation of east vs. west! The 50’s division within SSUSA A quick count shows: East of the Mississippi=173 West of the Mississippi=236 North of the Mississippi=14 Add 173 + 236 and get 409 (giddy up 409?) So: 173/409 = ~42% East 236/409 = ~57% West Therefore for every 10 teams entered (leaving out our great neighbors to the north for the moment without prejudice) we should expect for equal representation without taxation roughly 6 teams from the west and 4 teams from the east. I let “Hit-The-Gap” now determine if the numbers are skewed to the West due to the Worlds being held in Siberia, I mean Kent, WA! LOL Bashbro1 living in Kent, WA next to Russell Road and who had the great privilege of having dinner with the one the only Ken Van Bogaert and his lovely wife Mary in 80 degree temps @ the Kent Station’s Ram Sports Bar/Restaurant. Ken bought our dinner out of his Video sales money! |
| Sept. 6, 2006 hornachec Men's 55 50 posts | Have been reading your comments on having the tournament in Seattle, Please have your city contact Senior softball and place a bid to host the world tournamnet. The city of Kent has some of the best fields you'd ever want to play on. Sorry you guys will be missing it! Forecast for the next 10 days is Temps in the 70's , with a CHANCE of showers on Saturday. We've traveled all over the U S to play, kind of wish the tourney was somewhere else, because instead of enjoying a new part of the United States, I'll be home doing yard work after the ball games! Jim - Seattle |
| Sept. 6, 2006 Ken Men's 55 462 posts | Gap, Please don’t take my displeasure with having the tournament in Seattle as a slap at the city itself. I’m sure it’s a great place to visit and I hope to get there some day. I’m just unhappy at not getting to play against teams from the east that would ordinarily have come had it been in a location farther east. Every time we attended the Worlds at a location other than Vegas or Phoenix (like Roseville and Salem), we end up playing the same teams that we’ve played throughout the year in the qualifiers. One year (Salem) 6 out of the 8 teams we played against we had seen all year. Is this scenario going to produce a true Champion? I don’t see how. In any event, I hope you have a successful tournament and I’m sure Seattle’s hospitality won’t disappoint. |
| Sept. 8, 2006 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | I reviewed the list of teams participating in the Eastern Nationals in the 50's and 55's. I would have looked further but the website keeps making you logout. This tournament did not appear to well supported East of the Mississippi except for the teams centrally located to Michigan. If this one wasn't supported why would someone think a national in the East would be any different by the East coast teams. |
| Sept. 11, 2006 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | I'm not certain of why the location of the teams is that important. This tourney was held in great facilities, which were very well maintained each and every game. The schedule was done in a logical manner. We only had 4 teams in our division (55 major +) and the teams that weren't there really missed out. The weather was ideal and the city of Seattle has an awful lot to offer. Hotels were conveniently located to the fields. We knew where (which park, fields) we would be playing a full week before it started. What's not to like about this? Isn't our goal to play tourneys that please us? This is the first SSWC National that we have attended since 1999. We won't miss the one in Phoenix, AZ next year. |
| Sept. 11, 2006 CAT 200 posts | I know that there is an awful lot of money and politics at the city level to sponsor a Senior World tournament, but seriously, Columbus, Ohio would be a great spot. It is within a few hours flying time from approx. 90% of the U.S. population. The complex has 32 ball diamonds !!!! yes, 32....You could host the entire tourn. at the one complex. And the fun would be in socializing and watching the other age divisions. Plus, no shortage for practice fields. Sounds like that I work for the Chamber of Commerce but I don't. As others had mentioned, I just like to see larger tourns. where everyone has the opportunity to play different teams. Aferall, isn't it about making new friends also !!!! |
