Interesting WFC Question

Bringerofpie · Post by **Bringerofpie** » 20 Dec 2007 20:21

I think it would be great to have it every other year if there were a big Orlando tournament on the off years.

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 20 Dec 2007 21:57

what other amateur sport has their world championships every other year?

dblthnk84 · Post by **dblthnk84** » 20 Dec 2007 23:30

hacksterbator wrote:what other amateur sport has their world championships every other year?

What other amateur sport is footbag?

Shouldn't the concern be what's best for footbag, not what is best for other sports?

dyalander wrote:
If Worlds were every 2 years, clubs would be a lot more serious about bidding. There would be much more enthusiasm in this regard than in recent years. That's an extra year to get logistics and a better proposal together! Not to mention time to build a better budget.
Yeah like with individuals saving up to go - just because its on every year doesn't mean you can't think beyond the next one - so if you don't have enough money you save for the one after - if you can't make a bid for the next one you prepare for the one after. So I don't think this is a legitimate pro.

I could be completely wrong, but I've always assumed that part of the reason why clubs weren't always jumping over each other to host Worlds every year was because they are recovering from other tournaments they've hosted (including past Worlds). A tournament of that size has to be a pain to organize, and as such I can't imagine anyone would want to do it on a regular basis. I guess now would be a good time to send a thank you out to Steve Goldberg for all the work he's done for our hobby.

dyalander wrote:
How many times has this happened? -- Sorry, we couldn't get [insert media coverage here. MTV, ESPN, CNN, etc.] due to insufficient notice/interest and/or planning.
And how many times do you think it was just a blow off! Those networks send crews out to things on short notice all the time. They also sit on things for ages before showing it if at all - the time is just an excuse - if one of those networks really wanted to pick us up a couple of months would be enough notice. Again I don't think this is alegitimate pro.

As much as it sucks to consider, you might be right about that. At least we could (maybe) get rid of that excuse and know for sure?

dyalander wrote:
Worlds would become more representative of the WORLD. In 2006 it was like 80% Europeans competing, and 07 it was at least 70% North Americans. The Top 8 of both years were radically different, with only 2 of the 8 making it both years. With Worlds occurring less frequently and giving players ample amount of time to save, there would be less of "I went to Euros/US Open instead". These tournaments don't even compare!!
I don't think this is a legitimate pro - if you can't make it every year save up for every second. Those who can go every year should suffer because others can't.

Hmm, I can see how people that have the money to go to worlds every year could feel slighted- but that isn't really dealing with the problem that many people can't go to Worlds every year. This results in a unbalanced representation of the state of our sport, as evidenced by Jorden's statistics about the Top 8 from '06 and '07. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think those changes can be completely attributed to vast changes in the skill levels of those competitors.

As a stray thought on that last one, even if money wasn't an issue would it make a significant difference on who was able to travel to Worlds? I'm under the impression that many people still wouldn't be able to go regularly because of scheduling conflicts (life sucks, but the alternative doesn't sound so appealing...) and younger shredders might have trouble getting their parents permission to travel abroad.

I hope these don't come off as personal attacks, I'm sleepy and just wanted to bounce around some thoughts while I had them. G'night all.
________
medical marijuana news

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 21 Dec 2007 01:45

hacksterbator wrote:what other amateur sport has their world championships every other year?

The World Rope Skipping Championship happens every 2 years.

Booyah!

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 21 Dec 2007 09:35

Great Jorden! Footbag has now been reduced to rope skipping -jk

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 21 Dec 2007 11:13

Since this sport is pretty much for youngsters, making the WFC's every two years is really limiting.

Some of us are going to be too old to play someday so cutting the amount held in half is kind of tough.

And some of us can only afford tournies held near where we currently live. So if it goes from (hypothetically) Prague08 and Portland09, to Prague 08 and Portland'10, it's limiting for those individuals. Not to mention 2.5 more years till I can attend a Worlds, who knows if I'll even still be playing then.

RawSko · Post by **RawSko** » 21 Dec 2007 12:53

Sporatical_Distractions wrote: Some of us are going to be too old to play someday so cutting the amount held in half is kind of tough.

I was also thinking of this issue. The window of time where a player is at his or her peak is not as big as it is in other sports. Fewer chances would put alot more pressure on each player (especially the top 10), which could possibly (depending on the player) result in lesser performances.

If Worlds were every two years, it is possible that the skill level would increase more slowly. I've heard it said that Vasek doesn't even practise very much these days, but rather he trains for a while just before a big event. If he only had to defend his title every other year, there would be less pressure in the off time and more time to forget in between his active times. As has been mentioned before: just because one HAS more time does not mean that one will USE that time. I strongly agree that the result would vary greatly from player to player.

The idea of planning 2 years in advance rather than one does sound appealing though, just because I don't really see much of a down side. The option of all that extra time could only lead to good things, right?

At first I thought the idea was rediculous and it didn't make sense at all, but now I understand the logic behind bi-annual WFCs. Interesting idea, but I still don't like it. Annual Worlds still makes more sense and is more fun

dyalander · Post by **dyalander** » 23 Dec 2007 23:00

I've always assumed that part of the reason why clubs weren't always jumping over each other to host Worlds every year was because they are recovering from other tournaments

and also

The idea of planning 2 years in advance rather than one does sound appealing though, just because I don't really see much of a down side. The option of all that extra time could only lead to good things, right?

It's probably true that many clubs can't hold worlds because they use up their resources on other events - but firstly the same problem will arise every two years and secondly just because a club has used their resources and efforts up for the year and is unable to host the next worlds, they can still plan to hold the one after that. Making worlds every two years doesn't open that up as a new possibility that doesn't already exist. Clubs can already plan 2 years in advance as it is. That they don't is not a problem with having worlds annualy, its a problem with how clubs manage their resources.

Alternating between Europe and Nth America with other places able to jump in any year they can, is one way to have it every year and still have all the preperation advantages that people are saying will come with making it two years.

Another way to allow for longer prep times would be to award worlds two years in advance if there are places who are willing to commit to hosting it. I'm sure the IFPA would consider anyone who said they couldn't be ready for 2009 but would be by 2010 or 2011 and if they showed that the groundwork was there they would probably lock it in.

The potential for better comps as a result of longer organisation times and more competition to host worlds each year are not legitimate pros for having it every two years over having it annually.