July 29th will witness the fifth annual showdown to see who, among the best of the Alderaan Region's top players, will compete in the World Championships at DecipherCon.
Let me tell you a little about what the Alderaan Regional is, and what it means to you. Maybe even give you a little history about the Alderaan Regionals.
In the early part of 1996, Decipher put forth the idea of having a Star Wars CCG World Championship. It was to be the most important tournament of the year! To play in such a tournament, you had to be good, really good! The winner of such a World Championship would recieve an enormous prize package, in addition to the prestige of being named the best Star Wars CCG player in the world.
The road to the World Championship was not an easy one, and it changed several times over the last five years.
In 1996, the only way to get to the World Championship was to win a "Regional Qualifier." There were many Regional Qualifiers, some regions had more than one. Essentially, there were 32 in all. Alderaan had 2 such Regional Qualifiers, one in Santa Barbara and the other in Sacramento. At that time, anyone could participate in a Qualifier, even if that player wasn't resident in the particular region the Qualifier was to be played at.
In fact, I competed for and won a spot to the 1996 World Championship at a Regional Qualifier in Provo, Utah. It was quite a long drive, let me tell ya'! The Alderaan regional had enormous success by sending 6 of the 32 to Vail, Colorado to compete. I had won in Utah, Kevin Reitzel too Las Vegas, Kyle Heuer won in Sacramento, Todd Feldman won in Seattle and Jeff Floyd (I screwed your name up, dude, sorry!) took Santa Barbara.
In 1997, things changed a bit. Now, you could only play in the Regional Qualifier from the region you reside from. There were still 2 Regional Qualifiers for the Alderaan Region, one in Las Angeles and one in Mountain View.
Also, in 1997, there were Open Tournaments at select major summer conventions where anyone could compete for a chance to go to the World Championship. Todd won such an honor. However, he was informed that his trip to the World Championship would have to come out of pocket. Thus, he also competed in the Mountain View Qualifier. This didn't sit well with me as in my opinion, he was already going. However, I was assured that it was legal, and I left it at that.
I placed fifth in the Mountain View event and Todd Feldman ended up going. Las Angeles sent someone... But, I don't remember who. I do remember Jon Quesenberry coming to help run this event. I'd harsh him every time he walked by my table... :)
1998 was a strange year. My marriage was on the rocks and Star Wars CCG had taken a back seat for me. Once again, the structure of the Regionals changed. Each region was to have only one Qualifier, called the Regional Championship. Ours was in Mountain View.
Also, to get to the regional, you must compete in a Regional Pre-Qualifier. Each Squadron Member was to run two or more at their respective communtitees. Of these Pre-Qualifiers, you could play in either a constructed deck event or a sealed deck event.
I ran my obligatory two Pre-Qualifiers and assisted in running the Regional Championship. Ben Van Buskirk (sp?) took that tournament to proceed to represent Alderaan in the World Championship.
1999 saw the Regional Pre-Qualifiers go away. Now, although there was still only one Championship, this one also in Mountain View, anyone could compete in it. I received the honor of running this event.
Another change has taken place. The World Championship is now 3 days long. The first day is an open event, where anyone can compete. The winner of the first day, got to compete with the other Regional and Open Winners on the second day. I do believe that James Lafferty from San Diego, won the first day event... I'm not sure, though.
Todd Feldman won an uprecidented third victory and shot at the World Championship. Also, at the ComicCon Open, Clayton Atkin won a chance to compete... His first major tournament victory!
It's the year 2000 now. Now, there are new State and Continental Championships. the Winners of the Continental Championships also get to compete with the World Championship first day winner and the Regional and Open winners.
Once again you there
will be two Championships held at the Alderaan Regional Championship:
The Young Jedi CCG Championship will be held in the morning by Cat Ceder,
Rogue 14. In the afternoon, I will oversee the Star Wars CCG Championship.
Here is the actual event
schedule:
| Saturday,
July 29th, 2000 10:00am
Young Jedi Championship! Entrance fee: $5 Directed by: Cat Ceder, Rogue 14 |
Young
Jedi CCG
Sanctioned Swiss Tournament |
| Saturday,
July 29th, 2000 2:00pm
STAR WARS CCG Championship! Entrance fee: $5 Directed by: Carl 'Mike' Hardy, Red 32 |
Star
Wars CCG
Sanctioned Swiss Tournament |
Here are the directions to get to the GVCC:
Take Hwy 101 to the north end of Santa Barbara (Goleta). Get off on the Fairvew exit and go south into town. Take a right on Hollister Ave. and the GVCC will be on your left side.
Staying overnight during the Alderaan Regional Championship may be advisable
for those players that are travelling a long way to get there. For
your convenience, I've included a number of hotels that are very close
to the Goleta Valley Community Center:
| Super 8 Motel
6021 Hollister Ave Goleta, CA 93117-3217 Phone: (805)967-5591 |
Motel 6
5897 Calle Real Goleta, CA 93117-2346 Phone: (805)964-3596 |
Holiday Inn
5650 Calle Real Goleta, CA 93117-2378 Phone: (805)964-6241 |
| Best Western Inn
5620 Calle Real Goleta, CA 93117-2319 Phone: (805)967-3200 |
Pacifica Suites
5490 Hollister Ave Santa Barbara, CA 93111-2316 Phone: (805)683-6722 |
South Coast Inn
5620 Calle Real Goleta, CA 93117-2319 Phone: (805)967-3200 |
Here are some things
to keep in mind while you are there at the Alderaan Regional:
1) Deck Lists- You know they're
required. You can make it easy on everyone at the event, especially
us directors if you would be so kind as to fill them out in advance.
Below is a link to the PDF version of the decklist... You'll need
to make two copies of it, one for your Dark Side deck, the other for your
Light Side deck.
Click
here for your very own Deck List sheet...
2) Death Star 2- This new
expansion, due to release on July 19th, will be perfectly legel in play
during the Alderaan Regional Championship.
3) If you win the Alderaan Regional-
As you know, winning the Regional Championship will earn you a free ride
to DecipherCon this year. But, in order to make sure you get that
free ride, you must follow these instructions closely!
The winner of the Alderaan Regional must have
his/her travel arrangements made with Garris Travel within one week of
their victory. That means you must have their flight arrangements made
by Aug. 4th.
If you have won a Regional Championship get
in contact with Garris Travel at the following numbers:
(757)623-8000
(800)969-6692
Speak with Tracy Bustra who is in charge of
the Decipher account.
If you don't have your travel arrangements
made within the specified time frame, you may lose your free trip to the
World Championships!
If any other pressing matter arise, I will
keep you informed and update this page as needed.
I'd like to thank
Cat Ceder, Rogue 14 for working his butt off to make this event a success.
Cat, you're a machine.
I'd also like to thank Comics Plus in Lompoc,
CA and Ralph's Comic Corner in Ventura, CA for providing the neccessary
fund to get the room at GVCC. These shops will be on hand during
the event to sell Star Wars and Young Jedi CCG at your convenience.
Be sure to check them out!
Good Luck!
SEE YOU AT THE REGIONAL!
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