The Run Towards The End of the Season Big Events!

Now that the Ninja Carolina League Fall/Winter season is over, what’s next?

Taking It To The Next Level

We’ve loved being a part of the Ninja Carolina League.  It’s a place where Beginners can get some experience competing at an appropriate level for their new skills, as well as a place where the more advanced Carolina athletes that have been competing for a while can have fellowship together on courses appropriate to their level. But when those advanced athletes want to see how they stack up against and meet other ninjas their age from around the country, the bigger national/international leagues may be of interest.  And as the Fall/Winter season just completed, it’s time to focus on competing, and hopefully qualifying for the next level of challenge.

As mentioned in my recent article, the Ninja Sport Championship series is where the best of the best compete.  The adults (13+) have just two qualifiers left to identify the last 8 men and 10 women who will fill out the top 32 men and women to compete at their finals on March 22-23 at our South Apex location.  The NSC Youth Season is just getting started and they’ll also be working towards the top 24 boys and girls in the 8-9, 10-11, and 12-13 age groups.  We’re excited to host an NSC Youth Qualifier in Fuquay on May 31-June 1, and the Southeast Sectionals at our Apex location on August 2-3.  But, if you don’t make it to those finals (Jungle Gym in Florida on August 30-31), there are other options to compete with other national and international athletes with significantly less challenging qualification criteria.

There are three national/international leagues which all have large “finals” in the summer, with various qualification paths to get there.  Each have starting points in North Carolina.  Each of these finals are – in many ways – more like a “jamboree” with many from around the world (often hundreds in each division) competing together.  Even if an athlete has no illusions about finishing at the top, it can be a great summer vacation as you meet other ninja families from around the world, as well as cheer on your fellow teammates and see how far you’ve come or how much farther you have to go to get to the top.

UNAA

The Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association (UNAA) is one of the two oldest leagues and the one with which Rock Solid is associated.  There are Area Qualifiers that have already been held and more are coming including the technical course in Stage 1 of Ninja Kids for Safe Kids for 11U, 13U, and 15U athletes.  Our Fuquay location is also holding an Area Qualifier for all ages on April 5-6.  There are also upcoming Area qualifiers at Warrior Tech Raleigh (Feb 22-23) as well as others in Virginia, South Carolina and around the country.  The top 3 or 50% of people who have not yet qualified in any Area Qualifier can move on to Regional Qualifiers.  NOTE: Because of the “not yet qualified” rule, as the season goes on, it is easier to qualify for Regionals as many athletes who have already qualified compete multiple times for both the experience and the possibility of getting a better pick of waves if they make it to finals.

All athletes who are Area Qualified can then compete at one or more Regional Qualifiers.  There is typically one Regional Qualifier per state, and you can compete at any of them. The top 3 or 20% who have not yet qualified will qualify for World Finals in Dallas, TX this year at the Obstacle Sports Expo, July 10-13.  We’ll be hosting North Carolina’s Regional Qualifier this year at our Fuquay location on May 3-4.  There will be other “Regionals” in Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina nearby as well as others throughout the nation.  Again, qualification is more likely as athletes compete later in the Regionals schedule or in lower attended Regionals.

FINA

The Federation of International Ninja Athletes (FINA) is the relative newcomer of the national/international leagues and has been accessible in North Carolina for the first time this year, although they are in their 6th season.  They also have Qualifiers and Sectionals (equivalent to Regionals in other leagues) to work your way to their Finals which are also held simultaneously at the Obstacle Sports Expo in Dallas, TX on July 10-12.  FINA holds several different types of events one can qualify in, and their qualifying criteria is multi-faceted.  So, if you are interested in competing at UNAA Wolrd Finals, you might also want to consider going to Warrior Zone in Winterville, NC on February 22-23 to work your way to more events at Obstacle Sports Expo.

WNL

Lastly, the World Ninja League (WNL) Tier 1 has a different set of qualifying criteria, but you can also benefit from competing later in the season as we are now.  The top 3 that haven’t qualfied at a previous competition also qualify for their regionals.  Since the WNL tends to have many people competing in multiple events chasing points for a better run order at finals, it is typically not too difficult to qualify for Regionals at any event they hold in the southeast.  If an athlete has a poor performance at one, they can just find another event until they get in.  Traditionally, the vast majority of athletes that show up for their Regionals move on to finals based on the formula they use.  Their finals will be in Greensboro, NC on June 20-23.

What Are You Waiting For?

If you’ve had some success locally, now is the time to sign up to take it to the next level.  If you want to know more, just ask one of your coaches.