All-Star Nca 2015

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First trip to NCA too. Lots of thoughts about the whole experience:
1. Loved the arena (never had an issue getting in). Saw lots of great cheering!!
2. Liked the halls but really disliked the priority viewing area being on the side. What the heck? My CP hated it. She said that all the women in the front row were just staring. No one clapped or smiled. She said it was the worst performance experience ever.
3. Stay to Play---awful! We were at the airport. Buses couldn't get to us, waited forever. Finally spent $74 on Uber Saturday night to get to my room by midnight. It was a disaster!
4. Dallas Convention Center---a disgrace. For what we spent to send our kids and for admission we have every right to expect soap, toilet paper, and paper towels in the bathroom. They were filthy!
4. That central hallway was crazy crowded and food lines were super long!!

It was not all bad though. I saw some amazing teams. In particular I was super impressed with every team I saw from Twist and Shout---so clean and so awesome. Loved the energy of the Stars Vipers teams. And finally a huge shout out to the Memphis Pride program for letting our team ride their bus to the convention center when ours could not make it to the hotel. You guys are awesome!!!


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Is there a suggestion box? While I love the Varsity Ap, the convention center did not have any signal for either Verizon or Sprint, so it was almost impossible to bring it up. Free Wifi would have been nice since printed copies were not available, especially when there was no way to print day 2 ahead of time.
Never, ever thought I would every say I was happy to have T-Mobile!!! It appeared that we were the only ones with adequate service in the arena all weekend!!! LOL
 
This was CP's and our first NCA nationals experience. I'm sure I made a ton of rookie mistakes and hope to correct them next year! Initially I felt lucky to live in the area and not have to spend on a hotel until we had to strap ice skates onto the car to get to the center for our super early call time on Saturday. Yikes! May consider springing for that stay to play heist next year for a close room, as you just never know about Texas weather.

Took CP to the arena on Sunday night to see the teams. She and I were thrilled to watch the amazing level of talent and she left there loving her sport even more. I was totally shocked, however, at how disgusting the floors in the stands were. I expected a crowd but not the endless squashed food, trash, and spilled mystery liquids on the floor. Yuck! Still worth it, though, for the excited look on CP's face. Some heat in our exhibit hall would have been nice--it was as cold as a meat locker for our super early performance time and I also would prefer the viewing area in the front and not far off to the side.

Minor gripes aside, we're glad to have that first NCA nationals under CP's belt (and ours)! CP didn't leave with a jacket but she left with some great memories with her team and third place, which we're darn proud of, especially for her first year of AS cheer. Congratulations to all of the talented athletes who competed, win or no win.
 
I'm sad to hear that about the convention center. The concourse is always busy but the staff has always been on top of things. It was Cheer America in Houston that was a nightmare![emoji15]


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NCA 2015 thoughts:

1. Still didn't book a Stay-to-Play, stayed at the Aloft, left it up to the programs to put some reservation number down for the kids, paid less than expected, loved being across the street from the CC!
2. Dallas weather/traffic on Friday...nightmare. God is good for even getting us there on time.
3. Uber. Freaking. Rocks.
4. Missed Large Senior day 1, had to take Sacha to the hospital for a peritonsillar abcess. That was nasty.
5. Saw SO many fb parents and loved it!!
6. Pecan Lodge BBQ. Yaaasss. The brisket was the real MVP.
7. Crazy proud of Fame Vengeance for their zero routine Day 1, 1st time ever competing at NCA, SSX for their gorgeous hit day 2, and Supers (who got robbed because they're not doing Triple Crown. Yes, I'm living in the saltiness of Salt Lake City.)
8. Disappointed in the filming aspect of placements for teams. CBS and ESPN, that was dumb.
9. @cupieqt on a stick...good times :)
10. Sacha had FUN! And that's most important!

ETA- Not gonna lie, it was awesome meeting two of the boys from BSB, even though they saw more of me snoring this weekend than I saw of them...
 
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NCA 2015 thoughts:

1. Still didn't book a Stay-to-Play, stayed at the Aloft, left it up to the programs to put some reservation number down for the kids, paid less than expected, loved being across the street from the CC!
2. Dallas weather/traffic on Friday...nightmare. God is good for even getting us there on time.
3. Uber. Freaking. Rocks.
4. Missed Large Senior day 1, had to take Sacha to the hospital for a peritonsillar abcess. That was nasty.
5. Saw SO many fb parents and loved it!!
6. Pecan Lodge BBQ. Yaaasss. The brisket was the real MVP.
7. Crazy proud of Fame Vengeance for their zero routine Day 1, 1st time ever competing at NCA, SSX for their gorgeous hit day 2, and Supers (who got robbed because they're not doing Triple Crown. Yes, I'm living in the saltiness of Salt Lake City.)
8. Disappointed in the filming aspect of placements for teams. CBS and ESPN, that was dumb.
9. @cupieqt on a stick...good times :)
10. Sacha had FUN! And that's most important!
Your cupieqt on a stick tweets were amazing all weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed them, so thank you for that!
 
Is there a convention center in the Dallas area that would be a better suited for NCA? I've never been to NCA (or Texas for that matter) so I'm just curious. I understand no convention center is perfect but DFW seems like a big area that should have lots of options.
 
NCA 2015 thoughts:

1. Still didn't book a Stay-to-Play, stayed at the Aloft, left it up to the programs to put some reservation number down for the kids, paid less than expected, loved being across the street from the CC!
Does your team require that all athletes stay together??? This was our first year going so we all had to be together- that was the beginning of the end for us!!! LOL...girls were bused to practice and comp both days. Except for Sunday each of those trips took 2 hours each way due to road conditions. So angry still at NCA/Connections/Mother Nature for all of this...can you tell?? LOL
 
Does your team require that all athletes stay together??? This was our first year going so we all had to be together- that was the beginning of the end for us!!! LOL...girls were bused to practice and comp both days. Except for Sunday each of those trips took 2 hours each way due to road conditions. So angry still at NCA/Connections/Mother Nature for all of this...can you tell?? LOL

No, and that's why I had the refugee children from 3 programs in my room. It was WAY easier to stay close!
 
Is there a convention center in the Dallas area that would be a better suited for NCA? I've never been to NCA (or Texas for that matter) so I'm just curious. I understand no convention center is perfect but DFW seems like a big area that should have lots of options.

The Dallas Convention Center (actually KBH CC) has 1,000,000 square feet of floor space which I think puts it in the top 10 in the country in terms of size. There isn't another place in Dallas that could support the event by itself. It is a perfect venue for an event of 1000 teams or fewer, but 1300+ teams and the unusual weather caused some issues.
 
The Dallas Convention Center (actually KBH CC) has 1,000,000 square feet of floor space which I think puts it in the top 10 in the country in terms of size. There isn't another place in Dallas that could support the event by itself. It is a perfect venue for an event of 1000 teams or fewer, but 1300+ teams and the unusual weather caused some issues.

Thanks! This was exactly the answer I was looking for.
 
All of what @mommycheer said! The Convention Center management should be ashamed of themselves for the unsanitary conditions - there was trash everywhere you looked. I do agree that we all have a right to clean up after ourselves, but the trash cans were full by noon Saturday, so what are you supposed to do with your trash if there is nowhere to put it. It was disgusting and unacceptable.
I was extremely concerned that arena crowding would be an issue and I voiced my concerns. I did not have any trouble getting in to the arena this year, so I commend NCA for fixing the problem. I don't know if the lesser crowds was weather related or the new scheduling of putting large coed early, but it was a far more enjoyable experience this year!
Teams put on a show - even if they didn't hit perfect, the quality of teams across levels and divisions was so impressive! Outside of social media, sportsmanship was on display from many teams and I was a proud parent of not only my kids, but of many of athletes who I don't even know. Most represented their programs so very well! I met some of my favorite fierceboarders this weekend and that was a treat for me! I am frustrated and disheartened by many things about competitive cheer, but the quality of performance and the good hearts these kids have make it a little easier to keep writing the checks.
 
The convention center doesn't get the economic impact of NCA. Time to update the arena, bathrooms, add a awards hall. Cheersport has it figured out. I live in Dallas and now dread NCA
 
The convention center doesn't get the economic impact of NCA. Time to update the arena, bathrooms, add a awards hall. Cheersport has it figured out. I live in Dallas and now dread NCA
Am I the only one who thinks NCA is better than Cheersport?

The walking is a lot easier since u can walk between different halls and at cheersport you have to walk ALL the way around.
Seating is better, in every NCA hall they have bleacher seating as well as floor seats.

The arena holds more than the cheersport halls do and standing on chairs at cheersport to maybe get a glimpse of a team is ridiculous.

Awards being done right after divisions complete is perfect too. I like them done in the same place as they performed.


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