And so we bid a fond farewell

If we had more schools, all our problems would go away…

Districts was Saturday, and to be honest, running it as a red light district had its benefits. For one thing, none of the events aside from LD went into extra innings because by round 3 we were at finals, and there you were. And we had plenty of judges, so everything was adjudicated at a great level. Yes, we didn’t get two people into every event but we did get one person. As Catholic Charlie said, that’s probably better than hitching a ride with another district. Seeing that we’ll never have the requisite number of active schools, this may just be the eternal future. So it shall be written, so it shall be done.

There were a couple of problems with the Goy. Kaz and CC know how to draw a bye like most people know how to breathe. And there’s a window in the program that shows who is or isn’t eligible, and it agreed with us. But when it came to actually assigning the byes, the software lost its way. We also had to call in on an issue with advancing the wrong people, but that only turned out to be a setting. One double-entered kid qualing in two places threw one whole division for a loop, but it’s clear from the data who the qualifier ought to be, even if the Goy kept it blank (both the qualifier and the alternate). I did have some problems entering Congress data online yesterday, but Rippin’ has told me all is fixed so I’ll try it again tonight. To tell you the truth, for the most part the Goy worked fine, although no better or worse than cards when you have pros like Kaz and Charlie. Whatever. I packed everything up and mailed it in today. And that’s that.

Given the cost and the rewards of NFL, I’ve pretty much decided that next year we will be withdrawing from the organization. We’re not getting enough for our money—which over the space of a year could support our attending an invitational—and given that most of this money has come out of my own pocket, ‘nuff said. I somehow doubt that Rippin’ will cry too much over the loss. I gather that the champagne was flowing back on the day I retired as the World’s Worst District Chair, and it was only through mischance that I ended up back in the position. Losing me completely, and the team, will no doubt send skyrockets up over Wisconsin. As the VCA knows, I have not gone into detail this time around about our woes. Enough is enough. Suffice it to say that it’s over, and there you are.

Onward.