I found the Spring VGC tourney in Athens to be a much more well organized event than the Fall VGC Regional in Orlando, and I'm not just saying that because I happen to live in Athens. (While it was nice not to have to travel this weekend, travel can also be nice if you fit in Disney with the kids.) My son and I play both cards and video; my daughter plays video alone. During the card tourney in Orlando, when my wife tried to take a picture of the back of my head from a distance, a judge/organzer shooshed her away, which was understandable and fine. The next day, though, it was mass chaos while the kids were playing the video game, with other kids and parents hanging over the shoulders of the competitors and no judge/organizer to shoosh anyone away. I don't mean to disparage the good people and volunteers who helped in Florida; they're great people and were only learning the importance of buffer zones around the young competitors. The competitor area was much better controlled in Athens, which I think is really the result of the TGC staff (now both TGC & VGC) becoming more familiar with the VGC needs. What I mean is that it's not so much that Orlando wasn't as organized as it should have been (VGC-wise) as it is nice to see that there's learning going on and that the Spring tourney was better than the Fall. I expect there to be continued improvement in the new organizational pattern. Maybe we'll get a VGC Regionals knock-out stage after a top cut next year!
The people I met in Athens while playing were all super nice, with the exception of one individual who asked me how I breed during a match, seemingly wanting to have a friendly conversation about techniques. After our match, he then called a judge over for a hack check, claiming that my in-game breeding methods were illegal. That was not a pleasant experience, as I, like many on this board, have spent 100s of hours capturing/breeding/training legitimate competitive Pokemon. The person was not nice about the challenge either, even after a judge told him that my Pokemon were perfectly fine. I expect others on this board have experienced similar challenges. My family (me in particular) have benefitted greatly from the information shared on the Smogon site, though as is clear to the left, I haven't posted messages. We catch/breed/train all of our Pokemon. I was fortunate enough to stand in line next to Alaka at a Georgia Regional a couple years ago, and he told me about the Smogon site. I suspect there are many, like me, who appreciate what the Smogon community offers to encourage participation in Pokemon gaming. I started as a PokeDad, just having fun with my kids in the card and video game. Of course, I remain a PokeDad, with a fun hobby I share with the kids. We're a little better at the game now! Thank you!
