Droplet attended The One in Orlando this past season with two of her teams. One had obtained a summit bid but did not go, the other did not.
Where do I begin? First of all, the summit is crazy enough and to add having to race across town to compete at another competition was kind of a nightmare. When we arrived at the competition, we were sharing a space with a MASSIVE body building competition/convention of some kind. Our competition floor was literally at the end of the building. You had to walk through the throngs of fitness competitors, arm wrestlers, and people peddling protein powders and whatnot just to get to the entrance of the comp. There was no other way in.
In Orlando there was only one other competitor in our one division (small youth 3) and none in the other (large youth 5). The other team was not terribly competitive (and we were not really world beaters either) and it made for a lackluster experience. The internet final thing was interesting I suppose.. Both teams won that (youth 5 was again uncontested) and we were sent some little jackets that were cute enough.
The rings we got for winning in FL were ridiculously poor quality. The smaller sizes had little stones in them that fell out before we got back to NC and the metal is not necessarily built to withstand the test of time. My 10 year old was thrilled to have them though. They look almost exactly like the worlds rings.
On the whole, if someone asked me to attend again, I might be inclined to lay down on the cheer floor and pitch a royal screaming fit. I am definitely not a fan.
