ASA nationals

[CoogansBluff]

Somebody help me sort this out. ...

Local team did very well at ASA 18U Nationals in Spartanburg, SC, this week. I know there also is an 18U ASA Gold nationals, and the PGF nationals, that are a higher level.

How does the competition vary at these events and other nationals?

 

[JAD]

My $0.02....I would think the toughest competition would be at PGF Nationals, followed by Triple Crown Nationals, ASA Gold, then ASA Nationals. There will be good teams in all 4 tournaments, but the top CA teams seem to favor PGF and Triple Crown. It will be interesting to see how the new "Payout" tournament ASA put together will do in the next few years.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

ASA has gone down hill in a big way.

The 18 Gold ASA National tournament didn't even fill up this year. Some of the competition wasn't even strong on a local level.

 

[riseball]

They should enjoy it while they can since as soon as these mythical National Champions put on a college practice shirt their former glory and $2 will buy them a Gatorade.

 

[PA SB Dad]

It looked like the Challenge Cup attracted a strong field of teams this year for it's first year. In terms of ASA Nationals vs Gold Nationals, Gold Nationals does not allow college players to participate, whereas I believe 18U Nationals does, which might tip the balance in terms of strength of competition.

 

[Momo'sDad]

There were great teams at both the PGF and ASA 12u Nationals this year, but the crop was deeper at PGF. Unfortunately the NorCal teams struggled a bit at PGF, but a few teams showed pretty well at Nationals. We were in the right tournament for us and thankful we were given the opportunity to compete here at home.

 

[MNDad]

My $0.02....I would think the toughest competition would be at PGF Nationals, followed by Triple Crown Nationals, ASA Gold, then ASA Nationals. There will be good teams in all 4 tournaments, but the top CA teams seem to favor PGF and Triple Crown. It will be interesting to see how the new "Payout" tournament ASA put together will do in the next few years.

I agree with your ranking. Many of the teams we saw at the JO Cup were also at TCS Nationals. Both had very strong competition.

The biggest difference I see in the various Nationals is the overall quality. The top 10 in any of the major tournaments would be competitive wherever they played. When you get to 25+ is where they really differentiate from each other.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

It looked like the Challenge Cup attracted a strong field of teams this year for it's first year. In terms of ASA Nationals vs Gold Nationals, Gold Nationals does not allow college players to participate, whereas I believe 18U Nationals does, which might tip the balance in terms of strength of competition.

This year 18A teams with college players were given an invite to the 18Gold tournament.

 

[MNDad]

This year 18A teams with college players were given an invite to the 18Gold tournament.

Did they let them use their college players?

A duel ASA Gold/ ASA A qualifier was held here in June. The team that won it had college players so the Gold berth was handed down to the 2nd place team.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

This year 18A teams with college players were given an invite to the 18Gold tournament.

Did they let them use their college players?

A duel ASA Gold/ ASA A qualifier was held here in June. The team that won it had college players so the Gold berth was handed down to the 2nd place team.

Yes, there were 18A teams that had a college player that played in this year's ASA 18Gold National tournament.