2016 AAU National Club Championship
Link to event information:
http://image.aausports.org/dnn/athletics/2016/2016-Clubs-Event-Info.pdf
Link to Event Schedule:
http://image.aausports.org/dnn/athletics/2016/16-Club-Schedule.pdf
2016 AAU National Club Championship July 12-16, Orlando, FL
This summer, 620 Running will again be attending the AAU National Club Championship in Orlando. Several members of our team attended this event last year. It was a great experience, and I feel like everyone involved had an awesome time. The girls really want to go back, and Katherine is excited about spending a couple of days at Universal Theme Park. We hope your family can work this trip into your summer schedule. Here are some of the details / selling points:
- There is no "qualifier" for this event, so we can make travel arrangements in advance and take advantage of lower pricing.
- The event is held on Disney World property at the ESPN Wide World of Sports track and field facility. Most of our athletes’ events (3000m, 1500m, 800m) are run early in the morning, which leaves the rest of the day to enjoy Orlando attractions.
-Flight - Allegiant Air currently has round trip tickets Austin to Orlando (direct non-stop) for under $170. We booked today, flying out July 10 (Sun) and returning July 17 (Sun). They only have one flight coming and going. If you haven't used Allegiant before, they do things a bit differently. They offer a bare-bones price, then ask you to pay extra for almost everything. For example, one upcharge is for the right to select your specific seat. Our family has never paid this fee, yet we have always been seated together. However, we realize that it is not guaranteed. In all, we booked 4 seats, 2 pre-paid bags for $747.
- Lodging - It's Orlando, so you can spend as little or as much as you desire on lodging. Here is where we stayed last year and will be staying again this summer:
Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort
This property has a traditional full-service hotel (Wyndham Grand - Bonnet Creek), but also has timeshare condos with bedrooms (1-4), full kitchen, and living area. Booking the condos is a bit different, so I will share my cursory understanding of the process:
Timeshare owners accumulate Wyndham Points to spend on their lodging. When owners do not travel as much as they once planned, they accumulate points that can expire. In an effort to get some value for these points, owners will list a rental at a Wyndham Resort on a site like: vrbo, ebay, homeaway, craigslist, flipkey, etc. You arrange a rental agreement with the timeshare points owner, they rent the unit you want for the dates that you desire and then transfer the reservation into your name as a "guest" of theirs. This requires a bit more research and a certain level of trust in the "owner" that you are renting from. Several of our families rented the timeshare units and one family chose the hotel. The great thing is we were all together on the same property. If you decide to attend this event and want to stay at this property, I would encourage you to not wait to book your lodging. This property is in high demand during that time and units will be difficult to get. Here is a link to today’s Homeaway’s listings for this property:
AAU has negotiated rates at the following two Disney properties as well, which are very close to the Bonnet Creek Property and ESPN Sports Complex:
Disney Caribbean Beach Resort - $121 / night
Disney Pop Century Resort - $92 / night
I wanted to get this info out as early as possible since I know that families plan their summers well in advance.
I will be responsible for registering our athletes for the meet.
Please let me know if you have any questions. We hope everyone can join us in Orlando!