In which we head east

We actually ended up fine in the Pup LD divisions, and my initial fear that nobody would get enough entries to satisfy proved unwarranted. We’re now in the stage of people dropping at the last minute with plague or dengue fever or whatever. This won’t be too many, and we’ll have about 80 JV and 175 V. Quite healthy, after all is said and done. 

Traditionally there’s been a lot of angst over whether a strong second-year should go V or JV. Good opinions are held on both sides. For me, it was always a matter of keeping an eye on the long game. Realistically, the odds of getting a bid at a popular quarters tournament for a sophomore are slim. It’s been done, but it’s rare enough to raise eyebrows. So while the strong second-year would theoretically get the strongest competition in V, in aid of polishing skills, the likelihood is virtually 100% that that’s all they’ll do. Whereas if you’re strong in JVLD, you can go all the way. In an activity where most people have very strong memories for the competition, winning or making it to late rounds at Yale JV gives an up-and-comer a leg up in rep. Nothing wrong with that, from the long game perspective.

The weather promise is still for positively balmy. That’s a good thing. CP will be down in Texas, helping run Monteverdi, so he’ll be at the computer if the server goes down like it did last year. Aaargh! Sheryl gave me a “Closed” sign I’ll put on the tab room door if it looks like all hell is about to break loose.

And so it’s off tomorrow at lunchtime to Pupville. I’ll see you there, or not, as the case may be.