We’re just over 2 weeks away from the first pull! Here’s where we stand:

The following teams are NOT yet cleared to play:

• Dinner $$ = Teams the requested dinner tickets and have yet to pay.
• Roster issue = No cleared chaperone and/or not enough cleared players.
• Tourney $$ = The tourney fee has yet to arrive.
• You can check your team’s status right here.
  • Beacon (Girls) (NY) [No – Dinner $$]
  • Lincoln-Sudbury (Boys) (MA) [No – Dinner $$]
  • Northampton JV (Boys) (MA) [No – Dinner $$]
  • Northampton V (Girls) (MA) [No – Dinner $$]
  • Northampton V (Boys) (MA) [No – Dinner $$]
  • Acton-Boxborough (Boys) (MA) [No – Roster issue]
  • Amherst JVA (Boys) (MA) [No – Roster issue]
  • Mamaroneck (Boys) (NY) [No – Roster issue]
  • Montpelier JV (Girls) (VT) [No – Roster issue]
  • Montpelier V (Girls) (VT) [No – Roster issue]
  • Forest City (Boys) (ME) [No – Roster issue, Dinner $$]
  • Forest City (Girls) (ME) [No – Roster issue, Dinner $$]
  • Lexington JV (Boys) (MA) [No – Tourney $$]
  • Lexington V (Boys) (MA) [No – Tourney $$]
  • Somerville (Girls) (MA) [No – Tourney $$]

The first rankings and pools are now online. These are just the first draft! Please email Josh ASAP with questions, comments, and concerns! Keep in mind:

• Rankings will be finalized on Monday, May 14th at 6pm EST.
  • The faster you send in comments regarding ranking, the higher the likelihood they will be folded in.
• The initial rankings were mainly based on last year’s tournament results as well as a few of the known results from this spring.
• Geographic diversity is prioritized for pool play, so some rankings have been tweaked a little bit to diversify some pools.
• The rankings will certainly evolve over the next week as information it sent in and more games are played.

The following teams submitted the $50 housing fee by this evening’s deadline and are therefore guaranteed housing. Teams will now be put on a waitlist for housing in the order their payments arrive in Easthampton.

• Beacon (Girls)
• Cape Elizabeth (Boys)
• Columbia V (Girls)
• Concord-Carlisle (Boys)
• Concord-Carlisle (Girls)
• Cumberland (Boys)
• Cumberland (Girls)
• Falmouth (Girls)
• Falmouth A (Boys)
• Falmouth B (Boys)
• Ingraham (Girls)
• Lincoln-Sudbury (Girls)
• Montpelier (Boys)
• Montreal Arsenic (Boys)
• Montreal Arsenic (Girls)
• Montreal Titane (Girls)
• Montreal Titane (Boys)
• Needham (Boys)
• Needham (Girls)
• Scarsdale (Boys)
• Vermont Commons (Boys)
• WWPN (Girls)
• WWPS (Girls)

With the dinner and housing payment deadline coming up this Friday, May 4th, some teams need to send funds to us fast. If that’s the case, PayPal is an option.

Housing is $50 per team and dinner costs $12.50 per person.

If you’d like to send us funds via PayPal, please:

1. Make sure you send us enough to also cover any PayPal fees you may incur.
2. Send the funds to sheldon@steadysales.com.
3. Make sure to include a detailed description of what you’re paying for, and which team you’re with, when you make the payment.
4. Forward the PayPal payment receipt to BOTH Josh (josh@pvinvite.org) and Sheldon (sheldon@steadysales.com).

Please remember that after May 4th we will not be selling dinner tickets, and housing will no longer be guaranteed. 

The following is the current tournament schedule outline. It is NOT set in stone!

Please read it over and let Josh know, ASAP, if you see any issues.

Things to note:

• We are working to minimize the number of fields in an effort increase overall field quality and the space between fields. With this in mind we are planning on running 17 fields.
• There are 24 girls teams and 44 boys teams spanning a wide range of competitive levels.
• We’re working to maximize the frequency of close games.
• With this schedule 36 teams get 6 games and 32 teams get 7 games. [220 total games will be played.]
• We are working to minimize:
  • Teams having back to back games with no bye in between.
  • Teams playing each other more than once.
• Any girls team can end up winning either the A or B divisions.
• Any boys teams that starts in the A or B divisions can end up winning either the A or B divisions.
• All rounds will be 70 minutes from start to hard cap. There will be 20 minutes from hard cap to the start of the next round. (There are very few instances of teams playing in back to back rounds.)
• All games will be to 13. No win by 2.
• On both Saturday and Sunday, 34 teams will start their first game at 8am and 34 will start their first game at 9:30am.
• On Saturday, the hard cap on the last game of the day will be at 4:40pm for 34 teams and at 6:30pm for 32 teams.
• On Sunday, the hard cap on the last game of the day will be at 3:10pm for 34 teams and 4:40pm for 34 teams.

The plan:

Girls – Saturday: The top 8 teams will be split into 2 snaked power pools of 4 [A-division]. Seeds 9 through 24 will be split into 4 snaked pools of 4 [B-division]. After pool play, the top-two finishers in each of the 4 B-division pools will play a crossover game against a team from the power pools. If a power pool team wins their crossover game, they and their opponent stay seeded as they were immediately after pool play. If the power pool team loses, they switch seeding with their opponent.

Girls – Sunday: The top 8 teams play for 1st through 8th in the A-division champs bracket. The top two teams from each of the 4 B-division pools play for 9th through 16th in the B-division champs bracket. The bottom two teams from each of the 4 B-division pools play for 17th through 24th in the consolation bracket.

Boys – Saturday: The top 8 teams will be split into 2 snaked power pools of 4 [A-division]. Seeds 9 through 40 will be split into 8 snaked pools of 4 [B-division]. Seeds 41 through 44 will be in a pool together [C-division]. After pool play, the winners of the 8 B-division pools will play a crossover game against a team from the power pools. If a power pool team wins their cross over game, they and their opponent stay seeded as they were immediately after pool play. If the power pool team loses, they switch seeding with their opponent.

Boys – Sunday: The top 8 teams play for 1st through 8th in the A-division champs bracket. The top-ranked team from each of the 8 B-division pools play for 9th through 16th in the B-division champs bracket. The second-ranked team from each of the 8 B-division pools play for 17th through 24th place in the consolation bracket. The third-ranked team from each of the 8 B-division pools play for 25th through 32nd place in the consolation bracket. The fourth-ranked teams from each of the 8 B-division pools are mixed together with the 4 teams from the C-division pool to form three pools of 4. These three pools of 4 play for 33rd through 44th place. (3-way ties for 33rd, 36th, 39th, and 42nd will result.)

Here’s what everything looks like gridded out:

Key

• GA-1 = “Girls A pool 1”
• G1-8 = “Girls champs bracket for 1st through 8th place”

We’re only 18 days away from tourney time! Here’s where we stand:

1. Dinner and housing checks are due in Easthampton by this Friday, 5/4. Housing costs $50 per team and dinner costs $12.50 per person. Checks should be made out to “Ultimate Good” and sent to Josh Seamon, PVI2018, 3 Payson Ave #1, Easthampton, MA 01027. Dinner tickets will not be sold after 5/4. Only teams that pay the housing fee by 5/4 are guaranteed housing. 
2. The following teams are not yet cleared to play:
   1. Lexington JV (Boys) (MA) [No – $$]
   2. Lexington V (Boys) (MA) [No – $$]
   3. Somerville (Girls) (MA) [No – $$]
   4. Acton-Boxborough (Boys) (MA) [No – Roster issue]
   5. Amherst JVA (Boys) (MA) [No – Roster issue]
   6. Amherst JVB (Boys) (MA) [No – Roster issue]
   7. Brooklyn Tech (Boys) (NY) [No – Roster issue]
   8. Forest City (Boys) (ME) [No – Roster issue]
   9. Forest City (Girls) (ME) [No – Roster issue]
   10. Mamaroneck (Boys) (NY) [No – Roster issue]
   11. Montpelier JV (Girls) (VT) [No – Roster issue]
   12. Montpelier V (Girls) (VT) [No – Roster issue]
3. Everyone should take a minute to check their team’s info on the Team Status page. Please let Josh know if you see any issues by emailing him at josh@pvinvite.org.

The rostering deadline is tomorrow (4/27) and the following teams are NOT cleared to play.

Not sure of what you’re missing? Check the Team Status spreadsheet.

Everything you need to get done is outlined on the Paperwork page.

Acton-Boxborough (Boys) (MA)
Amherst JVA (Boys) (MA)
Amherst JVB (Boys) (MA)
Andover (Boys) (MA)
Brooklyn Tech (Boys) (NY)
Burlington JV (Boys) (VT)
Burlington V (Boys) (VT)
Cumberland (Boys) (ME)
Forest City (Boys) (ME)
Lexington JV (Boys) (MA)
Lexington V (Boys) (MA)
Mamaroneck (Boys) (NY)
Montreal Arsenic (Boys) (QC)
Montreal Titane (Boys) (QC)
Needham (Boys) (MA)
Newton North (Boys) (MA)
Northampton JV (Boys) (MA)
Ottawa Blaze (Boys) (ON)
Ottawa Ignite (Boys) (ON)
Ottawa Scorch (Boys) (ON)
Cumberland (Girls) (ME)
Forest City (Girls) (ME)
Montpelier JV (Girls) (VT)
Montpelier V (Girls) (VT)
Montreal Arsenic (Girls) (QC)
Montreal Titane (Girls) (QC)
Northampton V (Girls) (MA)
Ottawa Wicked East (Girls) (ON)
Ottawa Wicked West (Girls) (ON)
Somerville (Girls) (MA)

There are some very important deadlines coming up:

1. The roster deadline is coming up this Friday, April 27th! All of your paperwork needs to be completed by 6pm EST that day. 
2. The teams that are so far cleared to play are listed below. If your team is not listed below, it means that there is at least one very important item left for you to complete.
3. Please look over the Team Status spreadsheet and let me know immediately if you see any errors.
4. Dinner payments ($12.50 per person) are due by May 4th.
5. The fee for housing is $50 per team and is due by May 4th.

Checks should be made out to “Ultimate Good” and sent to Josh Seamon, PVI2018, 3 Payson Ave #1, Easthampton, MA 01027. Make sure that your team’s name and division is in the memo field, along with what the check is for. If you payment has not arrived by May 4th, you will not be able to get dinner tickets or be supplied with housing.

In order to help streamline communications during the Pioneer Valley Invitational, we will be sending out important updates via text message. In order to receive the updates, you will need to sign up by texting @pvi2018 to 81010. 

You can leave the channel any time by texting @leave @pvi2018 to 81010.

Anyone who would like to receive tournament updates is encouraged to sign up.

All teams are encouraged to have at least one person sign up to receive updates via text.

Teams that are cleared to play as of 3pm on Monday, April 23rd:

Amherst V (Boys) (MA)
Cape Elizabeth (Boys) (ME)
Columbia JVB (Boys) (NJ)
Concord-Carlisle (Boys) (MA)
Falmouth (Girls) (ME)
Falmouth A (Boys) (ME)
Falmouth B (Boys) (ME)
Four Rivers JV (Boys) (MA)
Four Rivers JV (Girls) (MA)
Four Rivers V (Boys) (MA)
Hartsbrook (Boys) (MA)
Lincoln-Sudbury (Girls) (MA)
Lincoln-Sudbury (Boys) (MA)
Longmeadow A (Boys) (MA)
Longmeadow A (Girls) (MA)
Masconomet (Boys) (MA)
Middletown (Boys) (CT)
Montpelier (Boys) (VT)
Needham (Girls) (MA)
Newton North (Girls) (MA)
Vermont Commons (Boys) (VT)
Watchung Hills (Girls) (NJ)
Westfield A (Boys) (NJ)
Westfield B (Boys) (NJ)
WWPN (Girls) (NJ)

In order to help streamline communications during the Pioneer Valley Invitational, we will be sending out important updates via text message. In order to receive the updates, you will need to sign up by texting @pvi2018 to 81010. 

You can leave the channel any time by texting @leave @pvi2018 to 81010.

Anyone who would like to receive tournament updates is encouraged to sign up.

All teams are encouraged to have at least one person sign up to receive updates via text.

See you in less than a month!

We are only 30 days away from the 5th annual Pioneer Valley Invitational!

I’m currently super worried about these teams:

Amherst JVB Boys (No roster started)
Northampton JV Boys (No roster started)
Northampton V Boys (No roster started)
PVPA Boys (No roster started)
Watchung Hills Boys (No roster started)
Lexington JV Boys (Missing tourney fee)
Lexington V Boys (Missing tourney fee)
Somerville Girls (Missing tourney fee)

Please fix what’s wrong and help me be less worried.

Here are the super important items you need to focus on at this point:

1. The roster deadline is coming up in 9 days on Friday, April 27th! All of your paperwork needs to be completed by 6pm EST that day. 
2. Please look over the Team Status spreadsheet and let me know immediately if you see any errors.
3. Dinner payments ($12.50 per person) are due by May 4th.
4. The fee for housing is $50 per team and is due by May 4th.

Checks should be made out to “Ultimate Good” and sent to Josh Seamon, PVI2018, 3 Payson Ave #1, Easthampton, MA 01027. Make sure that your team’s name and division is in the memo field, along with what the check is for. If you payment has not arrived by May 4th, you will not be able to get dinner tickets or be supplied with housing.

The tournament is now completely full with 24 girls teams and 44 boys teams!

If you’d like to get on the waiting list, please email me (josh@pvinvite.org) ASAP.

All teams should take a quick minutes to look over the Team Status spreadsheet. Things to keep in mind:

1. Email me immediately if you see something wrong with the data on that sheet.
2. All rosters must be 100% complete by April 27th. DO NOT WAIT to get this done. Own the tasks on the Paperwork page.
3. Dinner payments ($12.50 per person) are due by May 4th.
4. The fee for housing is $50 per team and is due by May 4th.

Checks should be made out to “Ultimate Good” and sent to Josh Seamon, PVI2018, 3 Payson Ave #1, Easthampton, MA 01027. Make sure that your team’s name and division is in the memo field, along with what the check is for. If you payment has not arrived by May 4th, you will not be able to get dinner tickets or be supplied with housing.