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Online now: 3 members: TABLE SETTER 11, TD51, TT Man; 128 anonymousDiscussion: Senior events I like and why my own personal list
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| Aug. 25, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | Senior events I like and why my own personal list I've got several years under my belt and these are the events I will continue to support and why. West Coast bias would love to here East Coast results 1. All events in Las Vegas because I live in town and easy on the pocket book 2.) Menifee CA tournies in December and January love the turnout from the CA teams and get to see old friends 3.Palm Springs SSUSA great early season turnout and love the BLD fields 4.) Rock n Reno in May my personal favorite hugely supported has the feeling of a world event Would love to see more East Coast teams attend this 5.) Western Nationals JulySSUSA good mid season event 6.) SSUSA worlds in Phoenix late OCT great weather and all the best teams attend. East coast teams I told you about Reno, what 1 event would make sense for a West Coast team attend and why You will notice no SPA I would go if the team felt it made sense but my personal opinion on SPA is not good. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Hey Joe, I like your thinking and a little bird just told me that concentrating in, on and around the West Coast (California) is gonna be the way to go 'cause we got it going on in California. After my experience with the balls at SPA this past year, I agree with you. SSUSA with Fran and Dave at the helm stand by quality of their balls(Trump) and 1.2 bats and they run terrific tournaments getting better all the time. Phoenix or bust. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Lecak; You mentioned some good ones. Surprised you didn't mention Mesquite,NV or the Huntsman Games. both are in your neighborhood. I've not had the pleasure to attend Phoenix, so I can't speak about it. As for Manifee, they have a good park with lots of shade, but the field(s) is way to short, and the U-2 is allowed still... Just odd that's all. Kinda like Lodi about 265' and allowed. But if their ok, and you want to use it, USE it. I too would like to read a list of favorites from the other side or where ever. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | Taits haven't played Huntsman yet will this year, Mesquite is a whole different story difficult to get any more than a AA/AAA team there, participants seem to frown on Major/Major plus. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Lecak; Might be nice if the guy who puts thm on there reads thius of gets a message, They have that upper field that would be really sweet for them M & M+I think. Perhaps a M & M+ ony event could be considered... I played AA\AAA there. 4 times now. Long drive but also close to St. G. If I remember right it's 325 or 365 to somewhere arounf 400' on that one. A lot of green as it were. If your going to St. G this year they have one there (Mesquite) in between the weeks for the games. Maybe you can hook up in St. G. for that. I did it twice that way. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | Taits: There are 4 fields in Menifee (at the primary location) and 3 of them are 300'. They usually put the lower/older divisions on that small field. But, owing to the time of year (Jan.), there are generally many HRs on all of the fields. Lecak: I'm not sure what it is that you don't like about SPA but we sure have enjoyed their events... as we have SSWS, LVSSA and SSWC. To no one in particular: We like the aforementioned assns because we're a major plus team. If we weren't, perhaps some of the other assns would appeal to us. We used to play in the ISA until they went away from the West Coast. I personally liked their 'base burgler' rule as it seemed to move the game along. We have never played in the Huntsman Games and would like to try it some day... but the entry fees seem very steep. Am I missing something or does it cost about $600 per player? I am aware that all of the players that have played there do rave about it... especially the fields. We have attended the ISSA in Manassas a couple of times and enjoyed it as well. We really liked the location (near DC and Civil War battlefields), the ball park and all of the many quality restaurants in the area. But because they have maintained a solid ASA relationship, their major plus acceptance has dropped considerably. When we went there for the first time (August 2000) there were eight 50 major plus teams there... and we used double wall DeMarinis and Red Lines and were happy with them (but we used the Worth Blue Dots)... a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. We aren't likely to ever play ASA, NSA or USSSA again... for different reasons. I like the USSSA rules (bats, balls, etc.) but not the way that they handle things. I agree with Lecak about the Reno event... getting better each year. I also like to play @ the BLD facilities... as we did in Palm Springs in March... and would like to see some of the other ones... I've heard a lot about the Manteca, Fresno and Redding locations... we now have 4-5 of them in So Cal. BW |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | BW, Last few years the teem fee is 89 or 10 less, 9Early) maybe a 10 spot more if late. Plus 10 a player they pay upon registration fee part thereof. As foer Manifee, Only two fields I believe were there last tim,e I played about 5 yrs ago or so...small shaded park. In town close to city hall and all. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | BW; Fresno is not the BLd it was before. Is the only privately owned park though. They are turning SBC, the biggest of the 3 fields, into a kiddie park with a roller coaster. Home plate is under 10 foot of dirt from scrapimg two soccer fields ayay to make way for more resturaunts or something. So the only one left here is the Regional all 300' fences, 5 fields (completing a 5 th to include lights I heard). But about 7 miles from anything. Other 4 have beern there for about 5 years. No concession last I knew, but a nice buildiong for it. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | BW, correction here is the info for this year. Registration for 2008 Games opens June 1st and ends September 1st. The registration fee is $69 plus your nominal sport fee if you register by Aug 1st. After Aug 1st the registration fee is $89 plus your nominal sport fee. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 Dbax Men's 65 2100 posts | Joe, the SPA World last Labor day in Dalton, Georgia was fantastic. Except for the coach it was a great trip. I have played SPA in Plano and Dalton now and they blow away SSUSA World events. The facilities are the best and the opening ceremonies and hitting and home run contests only add to th enjoyment. As fo Las Vegas, the SSUSA tournies are ok, but the LVSSA normally suck. The competition is the best there is because teams like to go to Vegas. But the facilities are below par and LVSSA is pretty much clueless. They mess something up every year. Palm Springs was great this year at Big League Dreams even though that place is showing wear and tear. Maybe SSUSA can lineup the new one in Gilbert AZ for a future tournament. And the new Golden Eagle complex in Reno was the best I've seen. Overall, SSUSA and SPA are heads above the other associations. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Dbax, The Bld\Fod's are a no u-2, parks. Something most want to be able to use. Not sure if the bat was allowed this year but from what i got from the GM im Manteca Ca the corporate decision was across the board. That was 2 years ago. The Cathedral City park(Palm Springs) used to allow it. I played there when it first opened and the next year. The parking lot shre has lost it's space to the library or something... |
| Aug. 25, 2008 Dbax Men's 65 2100 posts | Taits, you are right about the parking. It sucks. They did allow the senior Combat however. Don't understand why, but it worked out pretty good. If it wasn't always so windy in Palm Springs! |
| Aug. 25, 2008 audieh Men's 60 249 posts | Joe, I have been playing 5 years now and would rate my overall experiences as follows: 1) Tournament of Champions - last 2 years is the best overall tournament I have played. Well organized, good balls and bats, great refs, nice banquet, excellent awards. This has been held in the Lakeland area of Florida. Yall come on down, ya hear! 2) Vegas - worst fields, great competition, good bats and balls, high elevation makes those puppies fly. Best town for softball. The girlfriends and wives always want to go! 3) Spa -Tulsa/Plano - well organized, great competition, good refs, nice people. Good bats needs better balls this year. 4) Winter Nationals in Ft Meyers, Forida. Good fields and refs. Well run tournament with good competition from all over. Good balls and bats. 5) Phoenix - well run, good balls, bats and refs, well organized, fantastic competition especially from the california teams. Only minus is distance for a Florida team. 6) ISA - St Louis 2007, good fields, nice concession, well run, limited competition, good bats and balls. 7) ISSA - Manassas, Virginia - good fields and refs, well organized, numerous sites to see including Washington DC just 20 miles away, limited teams with bad ASA bats. 8) Burlington, North Carolina - good fields and refs, restricted ASA bats. 9) Milwaukee, Wisconsin - decent fields and refs, nice folks, limited bats and limited competition. 10) Any Florida Half Century tournament - good bats, balls, refs, organization, and fields. Only downside is they meet once a month and many times they are they same weekend as national tournaments. Allows out of state players for only 2 tournaments a year. 11) Maui, Hawaii - last 5 years. Beautiful setting, girlfriends and wives always make this trip. Good balls, restricted bats. Nice people but limited 50 and over competition. I have played several others but these would be how I would rate the ones that come to mind. I just wish that all senior tournaments would use good balls and bats as the whole purpose is to have fun while competing against others of similar abilities. |
| Aug. 25, 2008 Dbax Men's 65 2100 posts | audieh, I forgot to mention the TOC. Hands down the best tournament around. And Joe knows about it as we won a ring in the inaugral tournament in 2006! |
| Aug. 26, 2008 Captain D 11 posts | Lecak: I fully agree with you on the SPA issue. The 2007 SPA Nationals had 13 teams in the 50 AAA last year and they stretched the event over four days with an entry fee of $650 plus sanction fees. Don’t know how many teams are in it yet for this year but schedule and cost is the same. They do give you a dozen balls for the tourney but they were duds after two innings of hitting – 3 new balls each game minimum if you wanted to stay competitive. Of course they would sell additional new balls to their customers! SPA and their TD are all about money!!! They do not have their customer’s best interest when making decisions. SPA also introduced a new rule this year that a team must play in two SPA qualifiers in order to go to the Nationals. We only played one this year because the second one was cancelled and other choices were too far away to travel for a weekend. We did get waved on this requirement this year but be reassured; they will hold your feet to the fire next year. This only makes our decision easier for next year as we will not play in any SPA tourneys unless they are convenient and will plan on going to the SSUSA World. Does anyone know why the SPA National winners are not invited to the ToC? The ISA World winners are invited along with a Canadian sanctioned group. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | If your from the East Coast or Central part of the country make a recommendation for us folks on the West Coast as too the one tournament we should spend our money on and pay a visit. Audie you mentioned several, I agree on the TOC but that is no guarantee so that one is hard to schedule, other than the TOC what would you guys recommend we consider. As I stated if I was living on the East Coast (which I have) and could pick only one tourney to go west it would be the Rock n Reno. Great fields, homerun hitters paradise (4500 ft altitude) superb playing fields, ideal weather (although wind is almost guaranteed) Vegas like atmosphere without the high cost, Lake Tahoe is 45 minute drive away, airport is easy to get in and out of. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Joe, I love playing in Reno better than Vegas and the new Golden Eagle complex with all synthetic field would make any tournament in there worth the bother. SSUSA this year used good balls that didn't fade much in the heat. Audie, Thanks for the ample listing as I've never played in some of those tournaments and it's good know real stuff about them from an obviously credible source. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 SSUSA Staff 3485 posts | Captain D - Winners of the ISA Senior Worlds and the Canadian SPN provincial champions are invited to the TOC because those two softball associations are "SSUSA Partner Associations." You may get more information about them from the links to their web sites at the lower left side of the SSUSA Home Page. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 Enviro-Vac Men's 65 489 posts | Being a team manager I can say that the easiest tournaments to get a team together for are destination spots like Vegas and Reno. Flights from Canada / Washington are cheap if booked far enough in advance. Huntsman has always been my personnel favorite and is a short ride from Vegas. Phoenix is also up there as far as easy to put a team together for. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | Taits: Thanks for setting me straight on the Huntsman entry fees... I don't know where I got $600 per man but I was obviously way off base... not the first time either. Still, if it's $80 per man, our entry fee would be close to $1,400. If you factor in the travel costs of other national events this could be a savings for us because we're a southwest team. The big question would be who would we have in our division? i.e. how many teams? (rhetorical). BW |
| Aug. 26, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | BW, Please ck my...Info....Huntsman Games post. Also has link there. Perhaps you took into acct the Per player cost which is about 39 each anf used that. the per p\layer cost inclused healtyh screaning the goodie baq & much more. you definately get your monies worth on the per team player part. Actually the "fee" is the 69-89 team fee, plus the 10 bucks per player what actually shows up. Far too many times I have talked to mgrs that their players did not all show up. I was able to get on 2 teams that way as a bonus in the past. They have a info phone number on their site and you can call, talk to the head guy about your Plus team division which is new this year. They don't get everything right, trust me, but do try and the conditions are as close as you can get to a good artificial field. |
| Aug. 26, 2008 hitt2 353 posts | Tait You forgot to mention the Social bar-b-que for the softball players to enjoy a good meal and have great conversation with friend and fellow competitors. Softballer I played with Stockton 50 this past weekend. I'm not a big banger like you and Don, The top tourneys in senior play I've enjoyed are the Rock’n Reno. Well organized and competition is high and Huntsman. Every ballplayer should go to Huntsman once. Then you will see why this is one of the biggest and best North American events. the wood You major guys wood love this place. Vendors are on site for the first 2 days with great deals. Miken had a test tent to swing bats in last year. Wish Combat would come to this event to sell their products also. Adidas was there the past 2 years. Competition is from all over the USA and Canada The fields are maintained per game. Water and raking The balls are good! They provide water in the dugout every game along with fresh fruit in basket. The volunteer staff for this event is great. This is an annual community event. At the Dixie Center (the sign in location) numerous vendor are providing their product for use along with chiropractic and massage therapy (long lines for the later two). |
| Aug. 28, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Hitt2; You did a fine job of it. Far too much to really give here, you have to experience the place, settings and games. |
| Aug. 29, 2008 caretaker Men's 50 4 posts | Recently played in an ISSA tourney in Salem, Va. Although I haven't played seniors out west yet, the facilities here were exceptional......fields watered and raked after each game, water provided in the dugouts, official scorers provided- as well as functional scoreboards....and bathrooms in the dugouts! Great for enlarged prostrates.LOL. Umpires were next to invisible. Turnout was ok...but those that came were competitive. This was my first year playing Seniors.... I appreciate the camaraderie I have experienced so far from all the teams. It's certainly easier to communicate with guys from the same generation. Play on! |
| Aug. 29, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | caretaker; Restrooms (bathroom) in the dugout. That's a first. I wonder how well that goes over with the teams that have gals on them... |
| Aug. 29, 2008 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | Just my opinion, but turnout should be the MOST important thing. I will walk to the bathroom and water fountain if I can play against more than 3 other teams. |
| Aug. 29, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | dirty; I doubt any person or team likes only having 3 other teams to go up against. But they usually do not know until they cannot "afford" NOT to go. (Hotel and plane reservations, some of which cannot be reimbursed.) Read the refund policy here, in essence your dead meat by the time the schedule or team listing comes out. If you see the team list and you take the time to figure the possible teams in your division, it's too late to enter anyway. One could say it's a part of the 'game'...lol Shucks, spend some of that loot you make and try it for a few major ones in the next year...Ya I know what's coming next from you on that. Read it too many times. |
| Aug. 30, 2008 db14 104 posts | I usually sit back and listen to much of the senseless banter here and truly try to filter out the reasonable information BUT.......Here! Here! I totally agree with the last post. Who is this guy "Dirty" anyway! Where does he play ? (league only) where someone else PAYS! or an occasional tournament where the right number of teams( in his opinion) are there and someone else PAYS! or plays where he does not have to PAY for his own Senior bats? Just one mans opinion but if softball is so miserable and too expensive to him then join a bowling league or chess league.........where someone else PAYS!. I try to avoid this guys posts as we all have enough downers in life but they continue to come up ad-nauseam. We all cannot predict when our last game will be and i sure do not wish to be buried with my money.....to" DIRTY" quit whining about all the negatives and try to enjoy a game that we are fortunate to be able to still play at our ages! |
| Aug. 30, 2008 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | db14 couldn't of said it better. ok for my events i like 1) huntsman games,playing with a canadian team for the last 4 yrs and loving it.thanks jim. 2) SPA and SSUSA,i like both of these(ones i've been to had no bad ball problem). did the ASA 40+ this yr(as it was in dallas) and was a great tourney.i wonder if by dirty's standards it was a waste of money and time as we only had 17 teams in it. oh most of our 1 day tourneys usaully have only 8-10 teams. |
| Aug. 30, 2008 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | db, are 3 teams ever the right number in anyone's opinion? |
| Aug. 30, 2008 db14 104 posts | Sorry but i personally cannot speak as you may for "anyone" and or everyone.....nor should you try to do likewise. I speak only for myself. Some tournaments have three teams some five some as in Phoenix on occasion may have twenty. We are always guaranteed five games and typically enjoy all of them. Our life at softball tournaments does not solely rest on the number of teams in our division. At this point in many of our careers there may be more intrinsic, social and or camaraderie issues which keep us paying what we do. |
| Aug. 31, 2008 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | db14 u did it again.5 games vs 0-2,4 gm min(usaully 2 seeding games to DE) vs 0-2,the 0-2 being going to a DE tourney like most of all the assoc's put on,and losing the first 2.its not like ya want to lose the first 2 but hey it happens,so why would i want to go to tourney's like that.DE tourney's would be a waste of my time and money. |
| Aug. 31, 2008 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | crap needed to edit so here it is,hey staff we need an edit button for our posts. back to previous post-unless i knew i was gonna win the tourney,and we all know we never can be sure of that. |
| Sept. 1, 2008 caretaker Men's 50 4 posts | Dirty...last time I checked I play Men's Senior Softball, so if there are women in the dugout they're at the wrong field, so I needn't worry 'bout sharing the toilet with them. I kind of enjoyed the BR in the dugout,,,invariably when the urge strikes and I'm in the john that I had to walk to....my turn at bat comes up before ...ummm, my bat had it's turn. As far as the number of teams....who cares. I just enjoy playing...besides, I can only play against one team at a time. The way I see it, every day I wake up and look in the obits....I ain't in there....it's a good day! |
| Sept. 1, 2008 caretaker Men's 50 4 posts | oops...senior moment...that was taits that mentioned the women in the dugout. |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | caretaker, I agree with most everything you said. But if I am going to spend that kind of money for a weekend I want to play more than the same 2 or 3 other teams that might be there. Just not enough bang for the buck. |
| Sept. 1, 2008 softballer Men's 65 594 posts | hey dirty just go in the losers bracket and you'll get more than 5 games! well maybe with whatever team you play for! |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Gekle BUilders Men's 50 204 posts | Joe, Thanks for the hospitality in Vegas.Stayed at the MGM out front every morning between 6 a.m.- 7 a.m. waiting for my ride.What a freak show a man shouldn;t have to wittness such a thing every day before a ball game,how does any one stand it year round I'll stick with our 4 seasons and a little more normal population.Another reason to play in the Midwest.Must say LVSSWC was a nice venue field and competition wise .Will more than likley continue to plsy in Vegas mostly for the wives benifit a little reward for putting up with us being on the road all summer .Which takes me back to tourneys east of the Mississippi.7 team touney in Vegas 1 Michigan team 1 Minnasota team.13 team tourney Midwest Regional Nat. in July in Illinois no west coast teams attended.For a lot of the reasons you like playing on the west coast are the same reasons we don't.Travel,money,time change,climate dealing with accomidations keeping the other half entertained.All distractions but not excuses you got some good teams out their but I trhink we can compete with them in their own back yard how would they fair in our back yard ,'food for thought.I think a good berometer would be to see some of you west coast homers to travel east at least one time time in your careers.Last year their were 11 Major teams this year there were 13 good teams still no west coast teams.How a west coast team can say they won a world title when they have never left their back yard seems a little weak.Play our Schedule one year and you might understand better.Enough whining and back to the Vegas Worlds.Had a great time love the compition look forward to next year..Was nice to meet you after a few e-mails exchanged hope to see you in PHX. and hopefully at TOC..Skinny old umpire was bad had no i deal what was happening thrughout game Mike and Bob did a great job real nice guys.Shoot me a e-mail with final results if ya would. thanks again. Ray Morgan/Gekle Builders usa50plus@yahoo.com |
| Sept. 1, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | caretaker; I know of one team that attends many ssusa tournaments and one that does mom & pops & ncssa tournaments only..... have had at least one woman & the former has had two playing with them...not in your posted age div however. Have seen women on orther teams also, but do not remember where, which assn. |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Gekle BUilders Men's 50 204 posts | Joe got caught up in my own babble and forgot to compliment your team on a great game.That was a lot of fun and sound like you guys had a couple more close ones after that.Cisco still amazes me with his play on both sides of the ball.Ricky is a great hitter and your not to bad yourself.Mike at short is one of the best i've seen,picked up some shots I don't think three people in the country could have done at 50.Much better Mob team than we played last year.Thanks again good luck rest of season. The G-Men |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Gekle BUilders Men's 50 204 posts | Joe got caught up in my own babble and forgot to compliment your team on a great game.That was a lot of fun and sound like you guys had a couple more close ones after that.Cisco still amazes me with his play on both sides of the ball.Ricky is a great hitter and your not to bad yourself.Mike at short is one of the best i've seen,picked up some shots I don't think three people in the country could have done at 50.Much better Mob team than we played last year.Thanks again good luck rest of season. The G-Men |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | Ray that was a great game hard to describe unless you played in it. No car was safe with you fellas in that back parking lot. Great description on Vegas by the way. You guys put on hitting clinic. Who was the player that hit that one ball had to be 450-500 feet. I think we hooked your SS up he seemed satisfied with the info we gave him. Spot on with your observations the reason I started the post was too get a feel on traveling east for an interesting tournament. I think if information could be shared and several teams could afford to travel that there could be two or three tournaments beside say Vegas and Phoenix where teams moved from their geographic region. I would think airport, cost, and things for the wives and girlfriends would be key. Good luck to you guys. |
| Sept. 1, 2008 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | softballer, it is not really a question of how many games as how many different opponents. I wouldn't find value in playing 10 games against just 2 other teams. |
