WTC 2020 update - Team USA

You've probably heard by now, but team applications for the 2020 WTC are now OPEN! (Take a look at yesterday's article from the WTC committee if you haven't already.)

Now that the WTC process is officially underway, let's talk about Team USA! The United States has made impressive showings in the last several Guild Ball WTC competitions, but we've never taken the trophy home. Will 2020 be our year?!

Changes in staffing

Alex Botts, the previous Team USA committee chair, recently retired from competitive Guild Ball. He has also stepped down from his chairperson role to work on his pinochle game and spend more time with his grandchildren. As part of the Longshanks World Takeover, I will be assuming Alex's former committee chairperson duties.

We've had some difficulty finding enthusiastic committee members in the last few years, so this year I'm going to manage Team USA by myself. The 2019 team and several other interested parties have signed off, so this is less a hostile takeover and more a peaceful transition of power. If you have any issues with this, you can lodge a formal complaint and/or offer to take over next year.

So you think you've got what it takes...

I believe that there's no better way to directly compare the competitive skill and experience of Guild Ball players, so this year's team selection process will be entirely by Longshanks ranking. The WTC committee requires team captains to apply and pay their team's deposit on April 1st, so we will be using March 30th as our score cut-off date.

This date will allow CaptainCon, the Bourbon Trail Open, and Adepticon to all be included in player ratings. Spring is a big season in American Guild Ball, so we're trying to take advantage of that. The ranking of top players in the United States will be collected on March 30th and I will work down that list, inviting the top-ranked players who have also submitted their names for consideration.

If you are invited, you will be contacted by email, Discord message, Facebook, or whatever other method you indicate and offered a place on the team. You will have a limited time to accept your invitation and pay your share of the team's deposit to lock in your place.

If you do not, your spot will be forfeit and the next-highest ranked player will be invited. The acceptance deadlines will be firm, so please be prompt in your response! I'll make another post closer to the deadline with more details about the invitation and acceptance process.

If you would like to be considered for Team USA, please submit your name, Longshanks ID number, and the best method(s) of contacting you using this link:

Submit your name for Team USA 2020