The Day Has Arrived...

As I write, I currently sit in the Valley Room at the Mission Valley Resort in San Diego. Today is a very special day for BattleGroundSanDiego.co as we are hosting our inaugural event. I breath a light sigh of relief as the event begins in 90 minutes and I think back to what it took to get to this point.

The website launch was a great success in my view. We didn't try to be everything to everyone. We focused on the inaugural event itself and the schedule for the future events. Our goal was to create an online forum and community where Southern Californians with a passion for the World of Warcraft TCG could find a detailed description of what exactly the BattleGroundSanDiego Tournament Circuit was. Again, we focused upon simplicity. The sole goal was a tournament circuit that was both consistent and enjoyable. Let's face it, after all we are playing a card game not shaping the events of a political revolution. I hope that we were successful in doing this.

I spoke with members of the TCG community on what it was they were looking for. Why they would be interested. What would get them out. I spoke with all the major card shops in the region. Artifex and Game Empire in San Diego, Sky High Comics in San Marcos, just to name a few. I read intently and participated in the forums of WOWTCG.com and a few others. It was a labor of love to try to get the information that really mattered. Primarily, what are you looking for, and what will it take to get you to come out?

Early on I decided that if I wanted this to be a successful circuit that I would need to find a Head Judge who could allow me to focus intently upon the management of the circuit. Not only did this allow me to remove myself from tournament rulings, a must for an above the board league of any kind, but it also provided me with a sounding board to bounce ideas and thoughts off of. I chose Jeff Nelson. Jeff is a constant in the TCG gaming community in Orange County California. If there is an event going on, you will probably find him at it. He has been a great help.

I attempted to make contact with UDE regarding their suggestions. I became a vendor for their products and look forward to meeting with them, hopefully soon, to discuss my venture and my attempt to grow this great community.

I contacted several locations in San Diego to acquire meeting room space for the event. I had decided that if the event was to be able to grow, I would need to select a location not located within a card shop. The only reason for this was the shear space that would be required once the events began to roll. I am very intent upon partnering with as many of the shops as possible and hope to prove myself more of a partner than competition. If this community is to grow, then it will take more than just myself to see it through.

In the end I chose the Mission Valley Resort for the location. The Valley room is ideal. The lighting is excellent, parking abundant and with the venue being over 1200 square feet in size, is more than enough space for additional growth.

So here we are. approximately 1 hour prior to start and the first combatants are beginning to arrive.

Hopefully the next post will be describing a very successful event with the tournament champion being named.