My first question is will referees looking for USAT referee upgrades earn double credit for working two events or will this all be counted as one? Not thinking about myself here, but newer referees who have the rank and experience to work at Junior Olympics but not yet Senior Nationals.
Secondly, what about 14-17 black belts who usually compete in Juniors and Seniors, will they be allowed to compete in the two separate divisions in one tournament?
Lastly, the announced dates are July 10th to the 15th. Will those dates include the coaching and referee seminars or does that mean we will have 6 days of competition?
Overall, I like the idea of only having to travel once from Alaska if it means selecting two national teams. It could also be a great chance to bring together referees who can only travel for one major national event a year. I would also be interested to know what the athletes think about one super event for both.
Two very different issues here. First, this is a big programmatic decision with enormous fiscal ramifications for the organization -- and therefore should have been a decision recommended to and then voted on by the Board of Directors.
Second, is it a good idea? How will it be run? Juniors first few days. seniors after? Integrate the competition ages over the days? How in the world will we have enough referees to run that many rings? (Yes -- WE!) Just how long can people be off work at one time?
What is the rationale? If it is to save money, what does the cost-benefit analysis look like -- what will we be giving up in order to do this? Were the numbers that bad at juniors that this has become not only necessary -- but logistically feasible?
I have major concerns/reservations. I also see great potential.
First concern: this decision was made without consultation with/from the BOD. Why? What is the perceived advantage/benefit? I agree, a cost/benefit analysis would be primary consideration.
Second concern: CAN we get enough referees? WILL we be required to do the whole marathon in order to get housing covered? Will it be counted as one event or two? Will we modify things to allow D levels to be able to help out at least in the colored-belt rings? What if there are crazy referees (like me) that might like to compete as well as work as a referee? Now it might not be possible for an Ultra competitor who is also a referee to get a 'national tournament', if they're not allowed to work and play during that week.
First great potential: Refs only have to give up one week, one plane ticket, one marathon.
Second great potential: if it's WELL-PLANNED and WELL-EXECUTED, this could be a hallmark event for TKD in the US. On the other hand, if they drop even one ball in this circus, it could be one of the largest cluster- things.... to ever happen.
Questions remain: is this just a cost-saving effort? Or is it really a "good idea" that needs to happen to bring things up a notch? I'm not convinced that there is a really good, solid answer to either of those questions. AND, knowing that Master H and the rest of the BOD were not involved in the decision-making process, or even consulted....that kinda scares me a bit. What would royally piss me off would be that if SOME of the BOD members were consulted,and not ALL of them.
--Larry Voorhees
I'm under the impression that because the 2008 Olympic qualifying marathon begins in fall of 2007, September I think, it made it necessary to move Seniors. Didn't Seniors move from Spring to fall a few years ago for similar reasons? From the tone of Askinas' post on the USAT site, it isn't a permanent change, at least not yet. Perhaps if it's wildly successful it will be, if it's a dismal failure probably not. It does seem to me that tournament scheduling falls under the "day-to-day" operations, whereas a permanent change to the bid process might not.
From an former athlete's parent standpoint, I think that some parents training with their kids and/or coaches might be enticed to compete at a combined event, whereas buying multiple tickets to multiple destinations for a family could be prohibitive. But if you've already spent the plane fare and only need to stay a day or two longer it becomes more affordable. AAU already combines their adult and youth. It seems to work for them.
Seminars could be a bit of a problem for the referee that wants to work Seniors days only if the seminar is only offered before the event starts. I never have that problem because I take my seminar before qualifiers and don't have to take it at Juniors. Again, that may not be an issue because we don't know what the new referee program looks like. Perhaps we'll all have to travel to Hawaii or Alaska to take a seminar or training at an HLTC.
As for credit for working two events, who knows what form that is taking. I'm hoping Master Holloway has tried to work in [b]number of days[/b] of events worked, so that the person that shows up for one day of Juniors doesn't get the same credit as somebody that works three or four.