All-Star Are Worlds At Large Bids Passed Down?

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Who is deciding that a particular team “has no business there”? I don’t think Worlds is hurt by particular teams simply being in attendance. If so, I think the negatives of a small group of event producers completely controlling access to the event outweigh the small (perceived) benefit of the event being considered “exclusive” just to attend. Nothing is taken away from the winners, medalists, or even finalists if some crappy team performs and gets eliminated the first round. Who are they hurting?

A number of years ago, I attended worlds for figure skating. And let me tell you, the bottom half of that event was nowhere near the caliber of the top. However, the guy from Mexico, with half the skill set as the guy who won that year, earned his spot, qualified under the rules and showed up. Did that make the winner any less legitimate or the medal any less prestigious? Nope.

If Janky All Stars gets a bid from Craptastic Nationals, feels like paying to show up and scoring half the points of everyone else, it absolutely doesn't make winning "less than".

Plus, isn't the whole exclusive best of the best thing taken care of by The Majors or here by Canadian Finals?
 
I have seen the reality of what “bid-chasing”/qualification has done to our industry and I do not believe it is an overall positive for anyone other than Varsity (and USASF/IASF’s annual budget). Are there times when it benefits specific teams or gyms in the very short term? Possibly. I would even argue that the whole push towards winning now has probably (short term) benefitted our particular program far more than most. However, I still don’t believe the concept of “earning” a spot into particular competitions is a net long-term positive for gyms or athletes.

That being said, I don’t see a realistic way out of the phenomenon either.
 
I think that doing away with at large bids but keeping the partials and full paids, should teams want to try and chose those down would be the way to go. Everyone can just register if they want, everyone still makes money, and honestly, people aren't going to stop competing prior to worlds because they don't need a bid.

We've talked extensively about this at our gym. Theres an event this weekend with 1 partial and 3 at large bids with 7 bid eligible teams attending. 4 of those 7 already have an at large. Which guarantees the other 3 attending a bid regardless of performance, potentially someone upgrading to a partial, or having 1 of those at large bids disappear if someone doesn't upgrade. It's asinine.
 
How much does it cost to send an athlete to world? How much does a paid bid cover for the athlete's expenses?
 
How much does it cost to send an athlete to world? How much does a paid bid cover for the athlete's expenses?

Depends on flights, where you stay, etc. Cost can be anywhere from 650+ for hotel + fees, etc. Flight is additional. You also have food and other incidental costs. You are likely looking at well over $1000 with everything (flight, hotel, fees, food, etc).

"Paid Bid" used to mean EP covered the cost directly - now they just give you $625 per athlete to gym and they use that to cover (most) of your expenses. This amount has stayed constant even though the cost to attend has increased significantly.
 
I am pretty sure my gym has provided $650/athlete for every paid bid my kids' teams have received (this will be year 7). Our gym does not require the team to stay together, so we stay off site - my in-laws have a time share so we are able to use a 3 BR condo located 10 minutes from WWOS for $99 a week (we normally stay Thur night - Tue). We have also stayed on property a couple of times which was significantly more even for the budget Disney hotels. Having a condo allows us to eat in more. Our flights are always between $180-$220 per person RT. So for my CP, going to Worlds on a paid bid and getting the commuter registration pass + travel + meals costs her nothing, and the expense for my husband and I are fairly minimal. For us it's always the least expensive travel competition we go to all year.
 
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