Let me introduce myself. I'm Mike, Red 32. I'm the Squadron Member that's running the Junior Leagues in the California Bay Area. I noticed that you have several articles from some of the Juniors that participated in my League.
I guess I kind of wanted to write you and give you some background information on what this "Junior League" is all about, how it got started, how I run it, and some other useful tidbits that you don't normally see from the trenches...
I posted an article with Decipher in '97 about the Junior League. Here's the webpage: http://www.decipher.com/insidedecipher/archives/1997/bayjuniors.html.
Here's how it all began.
In the summer of '97 I was in contact with Kyle Heuer, then Red 7, soon to be Star Trek CCG's Traveler, and now Star Wars CCG's Rogue Leader (KyleH@decipher.com). He told me about a project that he'd been working on with the Santa Barbara, CA juniors to try to get them more involved with the game. He'd fashioned a "Junior League", where kids 14 and younger could come and play, on a consistant basis, and compete for big prizes. The player who won the most tournaments won a substantial prize package.
This was ironic because I was looking to start something new and fresh in my area. Then, I decided to start a Junior League of my own. I had already hosted a few Star Wars CCG training seminars, so I knew there was a lot of kids willing to participate in Junior only tournaments... In fact, many of them were intimidated by regular Sanctioned tournament because of the still competition that frequents them. Many of the Juniors were beginner players and new next to nothing about the game... Much less, knew enough to compete on such a level.
I began discussing the possibilities of holding a Junior League with a local card shop, 1st and 10 Sports Cards. The owner, Dan Nielsen, was very interested. Star Wars CCG sales were going up rapidly because of the amount of tournaments being played in the area now, and he wanted to get the kids involved. We decided on what the prize package should be and agreed on how many tournaments would constitiute a League 'Season'.
A good friend of mine from Ventura, CA, Paul Egedi, had devised a tournament point structure he wanted to use for a "Pro-Tour" type of event. Although, the "Pro-Tour" is still in development, I began using his point system. I also wanted to have the flavor of many pro sports venues... Players working toward a playoff situation and then competing for the grand prize. Simply winning massive amounts of tournaments, while a good display of skill, was too simple and one dimensional.
By September, all was in order. Here's how it looked:
Participant would compete in twelve Sanctioned Junior Tournaments. By playing they would acquire League Points.
On the thirteenth week, players who've accumulated 48 League Points and participated in at lease 6 League Tournaments are invited to a Season playoff tournament. Players who've participated in all but one League tournament receive honorary invitations to the season playoff. In each tournament players payed an entrance fee of $8.00 and received a chicken lunch (Kenny Rodger's Roasters) and a booster pack. Decipher provided the usual tournament prize support at the end.
After the playoffs, huge prizes were distributed among all the players. The crowned league champion received a bag full of goodies that included Cloud City Boosters, Dagobah Boosters, Starter Decks and a First Anthology.
This new Junior League became a huge success... Spawning a second season, with even more participants! The record attendance was during Season 2 with a total of 34 players!!!
Little has changed from Season 1. Players now only play 11 tournaments, with a 12 Playoff tournament. Kenny Rodgers Roasters is gone, and, now, we play in a local pizza joint. The added expense has raised fees to $10.00. But, the tournaments and the League itself generates a lot of excitement!
The League season champions are:
Season 1: Dan Mochizuki
Season 2: Eric Shannon
Season 3: Jeff Miller
Season 4 is all set to go, slated to begin on January 17th. This will be a kind of "Changing of the Guard" Season as this will be the last season for many of the regular Juniors. They will be too old to play in future seasons... Thus, becoming Junior League Alumni.
I'm hoping to make Junior League Season 4 bigger and brighter than ver before... With more prizes and more challenges. For instance: I will add prizes for unique (but successful) deck designs, most tournament attendance and most tournament wins. I may even be able to have special guest appearances from popular Decipher staff!!!
If you're a Junior, welcome to a great game. You'll have lots of fun and meet lots of friends! The Junior League is a shining example of this.
Mike - Red 32