Now this is funny So Cal ASA Gold Classification for 2010!

[movinup]

I was just surfing the net and came across this brilliant announcement on the So Cal ASA home page:

JO Gold Classification Tournaments Jan 15-17 Hemet and February 12-14 TBA. Classify for what? Every So Cal gold team that was at nationals last summer has committed to the new Premier Tournament and therefore won't be playing ASA. Plus there is a handful of others that have accepted invitations from Premier to attend - the posted total is 17 teams on the Premier site. At least four more will likely qualify in early June for the Premier Tournament and some may even choose to go out of state to qualify for Premier (if it is allowed). So now ASA wants everyone else to classify?

At the rate Premier is going, there won't be a viable ASA gold division next year in So Cal (or maybe a weak gold division and no 18U division). Just another attempt by ASA to make $$$$. Let's see, last year it was $350 for two games and only nine teams weren't classified as gold. This year they have already lost at least 17 teams. Legislation to extinction or do they really not get it?

[All-American SB]

Many of the teams that are scheduled to attend the Premiere Tournament will still classify as Gold teams. They will do for many reasons including insurance. I stated last year that the only reason for the classification tournaments was money; so nothing has changed there.

[jmo]

Many of the teams that are scheduled to attend the Premiere Tournament will still classify as Gold teams. They will do for many reasons including insurance. I stated last year that the only reason for the classification tournaments was money; so nothing has changed there.

Any team that qualified for Gold nationals last year is already classified as a Gold team. They don't have to play in the classification.

Now I think they will still register with ASA because both Boulder and the Champions Cup are ASA sanctioned tournaments and for the insurance.

[ssarge]

Do folks believe that teams who have accepted an invitation to Premier won't still play in ASA qualifiers as well? If none did, it would surprise me a little. Still an exposure opportunity. And you'd be hard pressed to find a viable alternative competitively. The qualifiers offer 2-3 dyas of great competition in a pressure situation.

That said, California teams who have accepted invitations to Premier are MOSTLY grandfathered in as Gold teams by their participation at Nationals last year. And so won't need to play in the classification tournaments.