Topic of the Week: Club Championships Spectating

[matthewbourland]

Once again the Club Championships have decended upon Sarasota, FL for the culmination of the Club Series. While the pristine beaches and fields were hopping with activity, the majority of those in attendance are players at the event. Online viewship for the event via the website has also increased dramatically with people checking out photos, videos, and the live streaming of the finals games.

For those of you who were in attendance, what changes would you like to see to the event to make it more spectator friendly? For those of you who were following along from home, what would entice you to watch the event in person? How would you like to best experience the Club Championships?

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[commitch]

while the Polo fields are great, having finals at a local high school stadium would be a big improvement. I like being able to see the game from a bit higher up makes it as it allows for spectators to see the motion of the offense and defense a lot better.

Bigger scoreboards, or at least bigger numbers would be a big improvement as well. When the games get crowded, it's impossible to see the scoreboard, and when you can see it, the numbers are hard to read from much distance. Having a volunteer for each field updating that scoreboard would be a nice touch. I know players were constantly telling me as an observer that the score was wrong (which wouldn't matter since we carry the official scoresheet).

And lastly...not so much a spectator suggestion, but a general site logicstics issue. Cold water would be nice. The water jugs were kept full, which is really nice and the little "valved lids" made dispensing easy, but a set of a few ice filled coolers at each station to dispense cold water would be a HUGE improvement. The water jugs were pretty much always warm to hot water versus college nationals usually has a table covered in coolers with beautiful cold water to combat the heat. Definitely a big difference.

Just some thoughts....
mitch

[torre.hargett]

I attended club nationals in 2009, but did not make the return trip in 2010.

I can remember watching the Championship game on the sideline, talking to my friend on the phone, who was at home watching the live stream...due to the crowded sidelines i had to rely on my friend at home to tell me anything that happened in the endzone away from where i was (i was sitting around the brick of the sideline closest to the bleachers). It ticked me off that I had to rely on someone hundreds of miles away, to tell me(and those sitting around me) what was going on 70 yards away.

I asked, and was told the reason the field can't be turned so the bleachers were at midfield was because of wind patterns creating and up/down wind game. Seems kind of silly to have those bleachers < 1/2 full.

One suggestion I thought of while sitting on the sideline last year: make new spectator lines for the finals. Move everyone a little further back AND angle them! Angle them so that those sitting at mid field are 10 yards from the field, and angle the lines to the corners, so those sitting next to the end zone line are 5 yards back(10/5 are replaceable with whatever #'s you wanted to use). I think this would open up the viewing angles for everyone.

Spectating from home, via live feed: replays, scoreboards, thicker side/ez lines, more games? why can't every game on that field be live streamed?

if i think of more i'll post it later, look forward to this discussion

[byronthicks]

I like the idea of angling the spectator lines. We were discussing this morning about moving them back another five yards and make the equipment line the player line for finals.

Sarasota might be one of the few venues where we could angle those lines out since a lot of field sites don't have the space to do that.

[soccerfreak24]

I know this is more aimed toward people who attended the event, but how about a way to watch the game? I couldn't go to event, nor was home during the finals for the live stream. A way to actually watch the games(without having to buy anything from ultivillage) is all I could ask for...

[colinmci]

I really prefer the suggested 3m/5m player/gear lines for any event with lots of spectators. The 2m/3m is a good compromise where space is a limitation, but for the finals, with no other games going on, it definitely should be 3m/5m. If everyone backs up, everyone gets a better view. Also for the semis, if possible. Big plays can potentially happen beyond the 2m line, and even the 3m line, so having the extra space is better. Is it possible to bring in bleachers up alongside the field, or are there concerns about damaging the playing surface?

I also think a stadium would be good. Pretty sure I drove past one on University Ave on the way back to the highway. It'd be interesting to see how the cost and parking availability compare with the polo grounds -- something I wouldn't be surprised if USAU already had numbers on. But at Worlds, watching games in a stadium was awesome and gave a much more official/professional feel.

The Out-of-Door Academy is the organization, and they have a new stadium, Thunder Stadium, just down the street from the polo grounds. It's new, so maybe USAU hasn't checked in yet. I don't know. Worth a look.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...1021?p=1&tc=pg
http://www.oda.edu/page.cfm?p=1979

650 fan capacity in the bleachers. This would be awesome.

-Colin

[ahgoff]

Watching the finals is great, but I think people should be able to watch the whole tournament. My suggestion would be to radially alter the timing of the games. Run it like a tennis tournament:
* Announce the game times and who will be playing when the evening before. Teams may not get exactly the same rest, but they'll get something similar.
* Spread the games out from 9am right through 11pm (need lights on a few fields).
* Pick games that everyone wants to see and put them on central fields with bleachers, lights, etc. Especially do one during the dinner hour and two from different divisions after dinner (6.30pm, 9pm)
* Put scores up on monitors that run every few fields so that people can see where the barn-burners are.
* Run clinics, other activities during the tournament - more people there now.

-Adam
(As a member, not anything else)

[greg.vassar]

What about using a format similar to what is used at College Nationals? That won't solve any sight line issues but will certainly allow for more spectating opportunities.

[harmonry]

Setup a showcase field (or 2) at both the National and Regional tournaments. Have both the semifinals and finals held on the showcase fields. The showcase fields should have some configuration of raised seating or bleachers to allow spectators to look down on the field, thereby removed from the sideline where the players and coaches are roaming about.

[ambler]

I know this is more aimed toward people who attended the event, but how about a way to watch the game? I couldn't go to event, nor was home during the finals for the live stream. A way to actually watch the games(without having to buy anything from ultivillage) is all I could ask for...

Some pretty extensive footage from the finals are on the USAU website:
Women's (Fury v. Capitals)
Open (Revolver v. Ironside)
Mixed (Polar Bears v. D5)
Masters (Surly v. Boneyard)