It's just in indianapolis because we are really the Largest city that has more then 10 or 15 competitive show choirs. In the top 20 US Cities list from Wik,I can't think of one city that says show choir more than Indianapolis can you?
New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Orlando already have FAME Events. It wouldn't make sense to turn around and go back to a place people just competed at weeks earlier. None of the other cities are anywhere near a show choir hub.
It's just in indianapolis because we are really the Largest city that has more then 10 or 15 competitive show choirs. In the top 20 US Cities list from Wik,I can't think of one city that says show choir more than Indianapolis can you?
1 New York
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 Houston
5 Phoenix
6 Philadelphia
7 San Antonio
8 San Diego
9 Dallas
10 San Jose
11 Detroit
12 San Francisco
13 Jacksonville
14 Indianapolis
15 Austin
16 Columbus
17 Fort Worth
18 Charlotte
19 Memphis
20 Boston
For me, this sounds like a really cool idea...but impossible to pull off being a true national championship. If you look at the list it's missing three of the show choirs that automaticaly come up when you say, "best in the country". There's no Clinton, JBHS, or Burbank. Not to mention, no Waubonsie Valley or any of the powerhouse Iowa schools (minus Ankeny). I think it's a really cool idea and a great experience for the kids, but it's not a "true" national championship.
Hmmmm. Makes you wonder if some of the bigger schools have signed up and asked the FAME people to keep their names off the list. Look at the number of schools at each event....none of them have the same amounts and NY has only has like 8. And perhaps that's why the attending groups haven't been posted on here. Conspiracy theories... I for one hope that Burbank, Burroughs, Clinton, etc. do end up in the running.
As for the second part of your post, it was discussed a bit last year, and the idea of a "national championship" is in itself pretty much impossible to pull off
The idea of a National Championship competition has to start somewhere. As the main show choir association, FAME is attempting to do this. Granted, it is the first year of trying it out, this will grow into something that actually works after a few years of working the kinks out (if people/groups let it work out). Of course the first year isn't going to be perfect!
In 2011, FAME will determine a true national champion based on the system it has set-up. There will always be people and groups that will say otherwise, claiming that this system is flawed. To these people, I say...come up with a better one. Just like the BCS in college football or the March Madness tournament in college basketball, it has countless flaws, but people have accepted it over the years to be the system that names an Undisputed national champion.
FAME has set-up a system of qualifying events leading to an expense paid trip to a true national championship. The regional events were geographically chosen to assist groups in making one of them financially feasible. I really do have to second guess any group that knocks this new test-system down because not all groups can go.
If a group wants to be part of this system, then make it happen. Attend local competitions during the first part of the year, then go to the regional event as your last competition. If the group finishes in the top three there, all you have to pay for is transportation to the national championship. If you don't finish in the top three, then nothing is lost; Your group still got to attend a fun competition that featured groups from outside the local competitions.
This system will work, groups just have to buy into it.
Is the list on the FAME website all the groups attending the qualifiers or are there more groups not yet updated on the website?
There are two groups, both from Shepherd Hill, going to FAME NY that weren't on the list. It was confirmed on the FAME NY topic by a student from Shepherd Hill.
On the FAME website it says tickets to the FAME Indianapolis are $60. If you order them off Ticketmaster they tack on an extra $7.50. But for the FAME qualifiers tickets are still $40.
Worth every penny. Not overpriced by any stretch of the imagination. Keeps out the riff-raff.
I wonder how much the tickets for the national championship will be? If spectator tickets for the current Fame events are $40 or so, will the national championship tickets be $100?
On the FAME website it says tickets to the FAME Indianapolis are $60. If you order them off Ticketmaster they tack on an extra $7.50. But for the FAME qualifiers tickets are still $40.
FAME Show Choir National Finals 2011
If you order them off Ticketmaster they tack on an extra $7.50. But for the FAME qualifiers tickets are still $40.