Out of time constraints, I'm not going to do that this year. My tickets are purchased and I'm gearing up for a major road trip south. On Monday I'm coordinating a stopping point in Nashville, Tennessee, where hopefully I stop on Thursday night to rest before making the rest of the trip on Friday.
Championship weekend is always different. The Region Tournaments always seem so packed with derby starting early in the morning and going until late. The final tournament's one-loss-and-done format shortens the bout days considerably.
Eight teams will play Friday to determine who advances on against the No. 1 seeds, who begin the tournament with a bye. Four games for Friday means that the event starts in the afternoon and should wrap up in time for everyone to grab a beer afterward.
Saturday, is arguably the busiest day as the No. 1 seeds finally see play during the tournament, and the lower seeds hope to sneak out a win against the dominant teams in WFTDA. After the first four games, we play two more to determine the placing in the tournament and decide which teams will play for 3rd place and which teams will play for 1st place.
Sunday, the shortest day of them all, we'll only see the medal games. And since they are in the mid-afternoon that allows everyone to tour the host city or recover from their hangovers from the night before. When the games finish up around 4:30 p.m., the medal ceremony will take place with plenty of time for people to celebrate afterward.
I'm likely to head back north once the final game is over. If I can put a ton of road behind me on Sunday, that means less time I have to spend traveling on Monday.
Here's how the brackets look in text format placed in chronological order.
FridayBracket 1 - 2 p.m. Denver versus Charm
Bracket 3 - 4 p.m. Minnesota versus Kansas
Bracket 4 - 6 p.m. Philly versus Bay Area
Bracket 2 - 8 p.m. Atlanta versus Naptown
SaturdayBracket 8 - 10 a.m. Texas versus Winner of Bracket 4
Bracket 7 - Noon Oly versus winner of Bracket 3
Bracket 5 - 2 p.m. Windy City versus winner of Bracket 1
Bracket 6 - 4 p.m. Gotham versus winner of Bracket 2
Bracket 9 - 6:30 p.m. Winners of Bracket 5 and Bracket 6
Bracket 10 - 8:30 p.m. Winners of Bracket 7 and Bracket 8
Sunday
Bracket 11 - 1 p.m. Loser of Bracket 9 versus Loser of Bracket 10 for 3rd/4th place
Bracket 12 - 3 p.m. Winner of Bracket 9 versus Winner of Bracket 10
Bracket 11 - 1 p.m. Loser of Bracket 9 versus Loser of Bracket 10 for 3rd/4th place
Bracket 12 - 3 p.m. Winner of Bracket 9 versus Winner of Bracket 10
