Hi Teams and Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a nice break away from your computers – I’m sure it was needed.

There is a lot of very important information about how we are going forward in this note and it’s important that you read it all. We are assuming that by sending this note, everyone has been notified so please share it within your team(s).

Here’s what’s in this note:

Event cancellation and policies
Event Registration
Dean’s List Nominations and Interview only event

Event Cancellations and policies

Most of NorCal is still under Stay at Home orders and although they are scheduled to expire this week, we expect them to be extended. It’s a very dynamic situation and it’s hard to make plans with things in such flux. “Pivot” has been a favored word and it will likely still apply to the rest of our season. After some discussion, here’s the plan we will work under going forward into the rest of our season.

Each event on our calendar will be evaluated as a go/no go no later than the Wednesday prior to the opening of play. (For example, for the Santa Clara event scheduled on 1/16, play would open on 1/10 so on Wednesday, 1/6, we will decide if the event will go on or if it will be cancelled.) Events may cancel for two reasons. The minimum number of teams registered must be at least 12 or it will be cancelled. Also, if there is a Stay at Home order or Shelter in Place order for the majority of our teams or area, the event may be cancelled. We don’t want to encourage any teams to break mandates just to compete.

In the case of a cancellation, we will email the contact that registered for the event as well as Lead Coach 1 & 2 when the decision is made. The play that was cancelled for each team will be reset and they will immediately be able to register for any open slot in any other event that’s eligible for registration. We will “hold” payments for events in hopes that you are able to compete at a different time. Full refunds will be issued as needed.

If an individual team cancels out of an event or changes from one event into another event, our change and cancellation policies will still be in force. (Available on our website.) We will likely open a waitlist for events later in the season as we anticipate later events being full. As needed, we’ll publish those reminders later.

Unfortunately, our schedule is fairly full and we don’t anticipate being able to reschedule any cancelled events. Teams in a cancelled event should plan to register for openings in other events.

I’d like to add a note here to our tournament directors. We appreciate all the support from these teams and mentors/coaches!! While a Remote Event is easier to host than an in person event, it’s certainly more challenging during a pandemic when your efforts may all get wiped out at the last minute. We sincerely thank you for your efforts to keep NorCal open and your patience as we work through this season.

Event Registration

February event registration opens on Thursday (Jan 7th) at 7:00pm. The first round (opening on the 7th) is for teams who haven’t yet registered for an event (1st play). 2nd play registration opens on Monday, Jan 11th. You can check your team’s eligibility for registration from your team’s status page which can be found from the Team List. The link for registration is also found on that same status page for all eligible teams. If you have questions about your eligibility, please let me know.

Reminder that registration will be closing 10-11 days before the event date – roughly about the same time as our “go/no-go” decision. This is needed to allow time for team communication with submitted documents and the week-long play period before the judging.

Dean’s List Nominations and Interview only event

As we have for the past several years, we will be hosting a Dean’s List Interview Only Event on Sunday, April 11th. This means that nominations are due by March 15th, 2021. Please don’t wait until the last minute – allow time for technical difficulties! Nominations are made through the Dashboard from Lead Coach 1 and 2. Here’s the link to information about the Dean’s List award and the nomination guide. PLEASE be sure to look at the criteria for the award and nominate students accordingly. Be sure to answer the questions answered!

As always, let me know if you have questions. Stay safe!

Dianne & Mark