Will, it's the same date as HOA Nashville, which is a fantastic line-up so I'm not sure the date is an issue. But it is a new event so you raise a valid question, Evan. The event website link above explains some, but overall it's a bit of an unknown at this time. I imagine directors may have more context. It appears CODA Concerts is the company behind this and per their website they've been producing choir events for ~20 years, but this appears to be their first venture into the show choir realm.
Not completely related here, but since this thread doesn't yet have much discussion (and since I have time ) - I'll add that Summit Nationals is joined this year by Show Choir Select and Winter Park Ski-Music Festival as new/debut national/destination competitions this season. Winter Park seems similar to Summit in that both have previously held concert choir tours, but are now expanding to show choir. All 3 of these new events have very well known show choir industry professionals working with them, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.
The national/destination show choir business is a tough one though. Summit, Select, and Winter Park join Show Choir Nationals, Heart of America, FAME, and Show Choir Canada in a crowded grouping as this year's "national"/destination-type competitions. There's been a lot of attempts over the years at national/destination competitions and the ones listed previously are currently considered active/new; some that are now defunct or were cancelled before they debuted include: Showstoppers, Finale Nationals (2011, 2003), Grand River National (2007-2015), McKendree Midwest Nationals (2015-2017), World Choir Games (2012), Olympia Show Choir Championships (2012- Center Grove was to be the host choir before it was ultimately cancelled), and the Rocky Mountain Nationals (2017). Those are the most recent ones I could think of. I know I've seen other national competitions names around the forums while adding historical results to our database such as: Terpsichore, North American Music Festivals, American Music Festivals, MusicFest Orlando, Young Americans, and Festivals of Music. That's a quick crash course in national/destination comps. I'm looking forward to learning more about Summit, Select, and Winter Park.
) - I'll add that Summit Nationals is joined this year by Show Choir Select and Winter Park Ski-Music Festival as new/debut national/destination competitions this season. Winter Park seems similar to Summit in that both have previously held concert choir tours, but are now expanding to show choir. All 3 of these new events have very well known show choir industry professionals working with them, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. 
And man, the Finale 2011 thread is worth a read if you have an evening to spare
