2020 North American Continentals Update

by Michael Shea, Chief Ambassador

22nd January 2020

Greetings fellow Star Trek players.

As you may remember, based in large part the success of last year’s event, Atlanta has once again been selected as your host of North American Continentals! I and our playgroup are honored and look forward to hosting players of First Edition, Second Edition, and Tribbles. Based on feedback from last year’s participants, we’re going to hold events over four days this year, from Thursday, June 18^th, through Sunday June 21^st.

The host site for the event this year will be our local supporting comic and gaming shop, Dr. No’s. Some of you who traveled to Atlanta for Nationals in 2018 as well as numerous Regional events over the last few years may remember them, and we’re delighted to once again be back holding major events at this location.

While we’re still working out details of the scheduling, Trek veterans Robyn Honeycutt (robin1234) and Ryan Sutton (rsutton41) will be running First Edition events. I will be running Second Edition events, with the help of fellow local TDs Will Raiman (willraiman) and Greg Hodgin (tomalak). There will also, of course, be a Tribbles Continentals event, but a TD for that event has not yet been selected.

Dr. No’s is located at 3372 Canton Rd #104, Marietta, GA 30066. It is conveniently located off of I-75 North, about a twenty-minute or so drive north of Atlanta. For those traveling, the Hampton Inn Kennesaw, the Embassy Suites, the Baymont Inn, and the Springhill Suites as well as numerous other hotels and motels are all within a ten-minute drive of the venue and are all very reasonably priced accommodations. If you're planning on flying in to Atlanta, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport - the world's busiest - is an easy and inexpensive travel hub serving a host of regional and national carriers. If you do plan on flying in to see us and you need help making travel arrangements to and from the airport, please let me know.

For those traveling with kids, Andretti Indoor Karting and Games is a popular entertainment venue not more than 7 miles from Dr. No's. There are also numerous family-friendly and affordable restaurants in the area, not to mention Atlanta's numerous famous attractions, including the World of Coca-Cola, The Georgia Aquarium, The High Museum of Art, The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, The Carter Center, CNN Center, Zoo Atlanta, and others. When you and your families aren't playing Trek, there's plenty to do in Atlanta!

Having traveled myself to play Trek from time-to-time, and being on a graduate student budget, I am well aware that coming to Atlanta may be an expensive undertaking for some of you. To try to make these events as affordable as possible, we will be collecting only a $5 fee for each event-played (both main and side events). All of the money collected from these fees will be used to cover the table fees charged to us by the host venue. All other expenses related to the event, including the fee to reserve the space as well as the cost of prize support, including trophies, will be covered. And, while I remain humbled and grateful for the generous financial support for 2019 NA Continentals from the Continuing Committee and magnanimous donors like John Corbett, Jonathan Carter, Mike Gillespie, Rick Kinney, and a couple of others who asked to remain anonymous (seriously: thanks everyone!) I will not be seeking any financial help for the event this year.

Stay tuned for a finalized schedule, expected late this week or early next. I sincerely hope many of you can make this event, and all players are welcome! I promise, we will do everything we can to make sure you have a good time playing Trek. If you have any questions about attractions in Atlanta, lodging, or travel arrangements I hope you will not hesitate to ask.

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