USA Nationals 2017 Plans, Schedule & Estimates
Below are some details on the US Nationals for this year. If you would like to know more, or be kept informed of plans for the trip then send me your email address and that way we will keep spam down to a minimum!
Jamaican Touch is likely to be taking a sabbatical for a couple of years but we are planning one more trip to the US Nationals, and are looking forward to checking out the new venue – the state of the art SoCal Sports Complex, Oceanside, California, which will be held from the 12th to the 14th of October.
Again this year most of the booking responsibilities will lie with the individual, but with things like rooms it will work best if we do this in groups. Administrative assistance can be provided, but not financial! As with everything, the sooner you book things the better deals we can get, and if I don’t know what you are planning then I can not help!
There are some financial estimates and indications below, but first some deadlines:
Visa applications: If you haven’t got a US visa already then you should be putting in for it as soon as possible. We can provide trip details and invitational letters, but I won’t be around to attend any interviews. There are not enough people to do a group application, so you will need to sort it out yourself.
Commitment: It would be great if you could confirm your intentions (either way) as soon as possible, but this is not essential. We’ll be booking our rooms around the end of May or early June, so let me know before then if you want to take advantage of block bookings. This will require payment at the time. Otherwise you have until the squad is full (unlikely) or early September to commit – just know that costs will be higher if you start booking then.
Costs:
Flights (11th – 16th October) from Kingston.
Flights to SAN are about 12 hours (two stops) and available for about $750 on American Airlines, slightly cheaper but much longer on Jet Blue. Then a 45 minute drive to Oceanside.
Flights to LAX are about 10 hours (one stop in MIA) and available for under $600 on American Airlines, Then a 1 hr 30 minute drive to Oceanside.
There are options available from Mo Bay as well, some under $500 to San Diego if you don’t mind long lay overs on the way (14 hours in Dallas).
There are multiple accommodation options this year, unlike previous years at Disney. The cheapest options (that may be available if we book quickly enough) have rooms at $90 for 4 people sharing. We have to stay in these places during the tournament (at least 3 nights) but other cheap options can be found in San Diego or LA, depending on where you fly or want to go. All together budget about $200 for accommodation.
OJ has been generous in the past regarding these costs for us, but you should budget at least $50 per person, but it could be more.
Vests will be available to use for free, or you will have the option of buying them. Not sure of prices or Polo shirts yet, but this will be flexible. Again budget about $50 to be safe.
As always we will keep food costs to a minimum by using a kitty to buy from grocery stores. There will be greater options available at the grounds this year, again significantly cheaper than at Disney. Somewhere between $150 and $200 should cover the trip, but bring some extra if you want to eat out or drink more.
