Dear USATT members,
Later this month, a member of our Olympic family will commemorate the 50th anniversary of a tragedy that shocked the nation and impacted the American sports landscape forever.
On Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, U.S. Figure Skating will present the nationwide premiere of RISE, a film that honors the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating World Team that perished in the crash of Sabena Airlines Flight 548 en route to the World Championships on Feb. 15, 1961. The premiere will be the centerpieces of a live event that will originate from the Best Buy Theater in New York City and will be simulcast to more than 515 movie theaters in all 50 states. The special event, including pre-show, will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. MT/7:30 p.m. PT (tape delayed).
We’re excited about hosting the 2011 US Nationals in Virginia Beach, VA this December. I hear that not everyone else is, so I’d like to share some information about the decision and the venue. First a quick summary: the city has a terrific, brand-new convention center with a free shuttle bus system connected to all the hotels and an energized local organizing committee led by Hall of Fame Board Member Dean Johnson. Their Convention and Visitors Bureau submitted a bid competing against Las Vegas and won on points.
Here’s what happened and what you can look forward too. USATT asks over 50 cities to submit bids for our major events. Some cities can’t accommodate our space needs and some don’t have local organizing committees to lead the effort, so not everyone submits a bid. We did have two strong bids this year: Las Vegas and Virginia Beach.
While we’re familiar with Vegas, their bid was for a different and less convenient hotel. We knew first hand that Virginia Beach had a nearly new venue that would lend itself well to our U.S. Nationals (access, lighting, airflow, meeting rooms, restrooms, delivery docks, venue labor, internet availability, support services) and it is within driving distance to a large number of our members and 2/3’s of the US population. They offered a wide array of quality hotels options with very competitive rates with a transportation plan designed to cater to the needs of the athletes and coaches. They have already committed to securing local sponsorship, a staff person who will be dedicated to attracting media coverage and spectators and recruiting more than adequate volunteers.
Since the move increases the travel time and cost for West Coast participants and there is a history with Vegas that we would give up for at least this year, the board debated these issues. The question was which would provide a better experience for the participants? Virginia offers greater convenience to the East Coast for the first time in years. (Folks on the East Coast consider Milwaukee and Grand Rapids as Mid-West, while folks in the West consider them East, but we can leave that one for the map-makers to debate.) The facility and the committee lend themselves to creating more of a festival event and to attracting more spectators and media. At the end of the debate, the board voted in favor of the move; we’re taking a risk to make improvements in the Nationals.
Dean Johnson will provide more color on what participants might expect in terms of local attractions that will be available as a follow-up to this blog with his CLOC Report. We’ll also post hotel information shortly. You can fly into Norfolk International Airport with service provided by American, Continental, Delta, Southwest, United Express and US Airways. See route map: http://www.norfolkairport.com/flight-information/route-map.
We’ll keep you posted on the developments as the year progresses and look forward to seeing you in Virginia.
Sincerely,
mc
PS Board Member David Del Vecchio was recently asked some questions online about the bid process and I am happy to share his reply.
2011 National Championships – Virginia Beach, VA
On Dec. 15, 2010, at the USATT Board of Directors Meeting held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, representatives from Virginia Beach made a presentation on their bid to host the 2011 USATT National Championships. On January 10, the Board held a teleconference meeting and the awarding of the bid to host the 2011 National Championships was an agenda item. Following in depth and thorough discussions the Board voted to award the bid to host the 2011 National Championships to Virginia Beach, VA.
“The City of Virginia Beach is excited to bring this world-class event to our Virginia Beach Convention Center,” Buddy Wheeler, Sports Marketing Coordinator said. “The competition venue is located just six blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and will offer athletes the best of everything. We look forward to the opportunity to show the athletes, coaches and fans of USA Table Tennis the best of what our City has to offer. It is an honor to be selected as the host of this event and we appreciate the Board’s confidence in us.”
More information on this event will be posted when it becomes available.
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