FWGIT, Regionals and Nationals!

Hello Warrior Nation!

I’m way behind on communications, so buckle up and read through the ENTIRE post!

FWGIT – Jan. 31 & Feb. 1

The next tournament coming up is the Fort Wayne Guard Invitational Tournament (FWGIT). You’ll probably want to grab a hotel for Friday Night at least.

You should plan on having games on January 31st and February 1st. We won’t know exact game times for another week or so, but games can be as early as 8:00am on Friday, Jan. 31.

Game locations are listed below so you can get a centrally located hotel:

Regionals and Nationals Tournaments:

Regionals and Nationals PLAYER Registration – ‘early bird’ deadline ends January 15th.

• In case you haven’t heard, the Warriors participate in the Midwest Regional and National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championship (NCHBC) every year.
  • The Midwest Regionals tournament is February 20-22 here in Indianapolis.
  • The Nationals tournament is March 9-14 in Springfield, MO.
  • Every team is registered!  We paid TEAM fees back in September.
• Every PLAYER must also register for the Midwest Regionals AND Nationals tourneys.
  • (There is one registration process for both the Midwest Regional and National tournaments)
  • **Even if you only plan to attend the Midwest Regionals tournament, you must register!
  • Registration is $20 for Regionals, and $30 for Nationals. ($50 total if you attend both)
    • To receive the early bird discount above, you must register by Wednesday, Jan 15th.
    • After Jan 15, player registration fee increases by $10 each. (That’s $70 for both)
  • CLICK HERE to register your players.  (see notes below)
    • Team name is ‘Indy NW Warriors’
    • We DO NOT participate in a ‘District’ tournament.
      • (We participate in the Indiana State championship – not related to NCHBC)
    • Choose MIDWEST Regional
    • If you’re not sure whether you are attending Nationals in Springfield, you can choose ‘NOT signing up for Nationals’ and do it later.
    • Please read through the eligibility guidelines to ensure your players are eligible
      • If one of your players is ineligible, let your coach know asap and we can submit an exemption request.
  • One more time: CLICK HERE to register your players!

If you have any other questions or do NOT plan to attend Nationals, let your coach know!

Nationals Lodging:

• Warriors reserve a block of rooms at the Comfort Inn – South in Springfield, MO on Glenstone Avenue.
  • Call and reserve your room today. There is NO cancellation fee if cancelled by 4pm on arrival day!!
  • Rooms will be released to the public and the discounted rate will expire on Feb 12th
  • Address:  3776 S Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65804
  • Phone:  (417) 889-8188
• There are vacation rentals and Airbnb rentals available in the area too, so you don’t HAVE to stay at the hotel.
• Reasons to choose Comfort Inn are:
  • The Lobby – great place to gather, daily devotions, card games, and fun before/after games, lots of Warriors will be there.
  • Indoor Pool is crazy fun as well as Basketball Legends on the hotel computer.
  • Location – Many places to eat around the hotel, and it’s centrally located.
  • Decent room rate – Hotels charge extra for this week because of the demand

Other Nationals Info:

Check out the NCHBC website HERE.  There is a 3 point shooting contest, dunk contest and more. Some of the activities (like the 3 point contest) start Sunday night 3/9/25.

For the most up-to-date tourney info, like brackets, follow the NCHBC Facebook page here. Info is posted there first!

If you haven’t registered your player, early bird registration is still available. Register HERE!

What/Where:

• “Nationals” is a full week of family, fellowship, food, fun and of course basketball. (too bad basketball doesn’t start with “F”)  Totally worth a week of vacation time!
• The NCHBC tournament is held in Springfield, Missouri which is a ~7 hour drive from Indianapolis.
• All Warrior teams will be participating in Nationals this year. (Woohoo!)  So at any given time that week, there is most likely a Warrior team playing on a court somewhere in Springfield.

Dates:

• Nationals this year is March 9-15th. That is Sunday thru Saturday. Pre-game activities begin Sunday, and games begin Monday for most ages.
• Usually, only 10U Boys and Lady Warriors begin games on Tuesday. We won’t know for sure until March.
• The final games will be on Friday. Some families choose to return home on Friday afternoon/evening and some families stay until Saturday morning. Staying Friday night is really fun since there are no games the next morning.

Food:

• The Comfort Inn provides a HOT continental breakfast, if you stay there.
• There are tons of food options in the area, and Warrior families have been known to fix crock-pot meals in their rooms!  (shhhhhh!!!!)
• Warriors typically pick one night to have supper at Lambert’s, home of the family style dinners and the THROWED ROLLS!  If you’ve never eaten there, it is a must-do. The kids LOVE catching dinner rolls.
• Other must-do’s are HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Buckingham Smokehouse BBQ, Braum’s Ice Cream, Freddy’s, and Andy’s Custard.
• Branson is just under an hour away, so there’s LOTS to do before and after games.

Games:

• Most games will begin on Monday morning. Exceptions are usually 10U and Lady Warriors which usually begin on Tuesday.
• Plan on at least one game every day for each age level in your family.
• Each day, games run from 8am – 9pm, and each team will play one, or at most two games in a day. The brackets will not be available until one week before the tournament begins.
• However, earliest possible start times for each age group are released a couple weeks before the tournament.
• Multiple court locations – games are played at about 5 different venues in Springfield. Most, if not all, are only a few minutes from the hotel. We will share all locations when available.
• Lots of transportation help is available with so many Warrior families there.

Misc:

• Communication – We will rely heavily on the GroupMe app for communication. At least two threads will be created just for Nationals for the Warrior Program, with everyone on them. (One serious thread, and one just for fun)
• There will be a 10-15 min devotional each day in the Comfort Inn South hotel lobby. Exact time of the day will depend on game times, and will be shared via GroupMe the night before.
• Bring swim clothes! There is a pool at Comfort Inn!
• No gate fees!  There are no admission fees for any of the Nationals games!

Hope that helps!

GO WARRIORS!!!