Over this past weekend we hosted our largest tournament of the year: Amerikick Internationals. Every year we perform the huge undertaking necessary to make this tournament the best it can possibly be.
For the weeks leading up to this event we’re sweating over the tiniest details of staffing, ruling, setup, accommodations, special events, new features, equipment… Everything you can think of. We have an exact count as to how many puzzle mat pieces we have to use in the venue down to colors of each mat piece and the small imperfections of every individual one so we know if a piece has run its course and needs replacement.
Mind you all this is simply preparation, the execution is a whole other mass density of work crammed into just 4 short days at the end of August. Our staff works tirelessly Thursday – Sunday from when the sun rises to long after when it sets. From the physical labor of moving thousands of pounds of equipment exactly where they need to be to the mental work of computing ring assignments and judging competitors and running the registration desk to even the emotional work of putting on a smiling face to each and every person that we are fortunate enough to have show up. (Don’t get us wrong, we love all of our competitors and families, but it is very easy to get cranky with a lot of work and a lack of sleep!)
Now why do we do all this? For money? No. For our students to hopefully win gold? Not quite. To keep us looking young? Hell no.
We work ourselves to the bone to make this tournament happen because we love the sport and we want our students to thrive in it. After all, great athletes don’t train in isolation, great athletes train against other great athletes. Iron sharpens iron.
We put this tournament together to give all of our students the opportunity to become the great athletes they want to be, and while earning a gold medal on that grand stage certainly feels good, its about the pursuit of it that is the real glory. Having friends and peers all working together to measure themselves and their growth is the true prize. The dream of every great athlete is to wake up and make yourself better than you were yesterday and competition is the way that you measure that.
Competition breeds success.
So thank you to everyone who got off the couch and came out to compete. Thank you to everyone who put in the blood, sweat, and tears to prepare for your few minutes of performance on those mats. Thank you to every friend and family member who pushed and supported someone to get out there and try.
And thank you all for one of our best tournaments ever.
Here’s to next year!
