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Stacey shamelessly seeks shirts when she visits with any sort of pro team. She has the whole GOHA collection now.... |
• Monday, August 23, 2010 |
GOHA has been around for 11 seasons, and is the premier hockey federation on SL. Several teams playing in several arenas, with TV coverage and cheerleaders... and yours truly is one of the cheerleaders. 'Tough to beat that, Hoss.
I recommend GOHA to not only anyone looking to play hockey on SL, but to anyone who just wants to try out a sport.
On to the chatting...
[18:06] Stacey Cardalines: Mr. Belvedere, I presume....
[18:06] Jack Belvedere: hey :D
[18:06] Stacey Cardalines: are you skating or anything?
[18:06] Jack Belvedere: nope just standing around watching a game, is it a good time for you?
[18:06] Stacey Cardalines: sure
[18:07] Stacey Cardalines: i only bneed a bit of info
[18:07] Stacey Cardalines: concurrently watching the Patriots on TV
[18:08] Jack Belvedere: ok :)
[18:08] Stacey Cardalines: when does the season start?
[18:09] Jack Belvedere: Right now we are in Exhibition Season for season 11. We play exhibition games through the end of August, so the teams can get familiar with each other. Then we will start regular season the week after Labor Day
[18:09] Stacey Cardalines: k
[18:09] Stacey Cardalines: how many teams?
[18:09] Jack Belvedere: We have 8 teams in the north american division, and 4 teams in the European division. :D
[18:10] Jack Belvedere: the league started with two teams and one division so it's come a long way
[18:10] Stacey Cardalines: sounds like it
[18:10] Stacey Cardalines: you just had one arena everyone shared recently, no?
[18:11] Jack Belvedere: Yes, since Season 1 we have used one arena, at Jericho Hill. Then a few seasons back, we joined JH to our friends' sim, Treesong, so that we could have spectators on a separate sim (helps a bit with lag). However starting this season, we now have 3 rinks we play at :D
[18:11] Stacey Cardalines: cool
[18:11] Stacey Cardalines: kayden gave me the links
[18:12] Stacey Cardalines: she works very hard and shows great patience... bet ya already know that
[18:12] Jack Belvedere: Yes, she is doing a lot with the Puckettes and very involved with GOHA items too, it is fantastic
[18:13] Stacey Cardalines: i'm just now getting the HUD down
[18:13] Jack Belvedere: she is very committed to it
[18:13] Stacey Cardalines: totally
[18:13] Stacey Cardalines: has a nice group of Puckettes, too
[18:13] Jack Belvedere: I tell her soemtimes it is hard running things in here but to stick with it, and she and i will talk sometimes about common issues that come up
[18:14] Stacey Cardalines: sweet
[18:14] Stacey Cardalines: tough to run things solo
[18:14] Jack Belvedere: yeah it is :) In GOHA we finally got wise and made it a team effort, which really helps everyone
[18:15] Jack Belvedere: We do things like, if a team wants to make a trade, the captains and managers all vote to approve or disapprove it. Rules, we vote on, everything is discussed with as much league member imput as is feasible.
[18:15] Jack Belvedere: There are some thing i just "make the call" on but i enjoy discussing things as a group
[18:16] Stacey Cardalines: best to let people have a say
[18:16] Stacey Cardalines: i admire that you let girls play... not all leagues do
[18:16] Jack Belvedere: really?
[18:16] Stacey Cardalines: some
[18:16] Stacey Cardalines: not sexist, either... just trying to look as close to the pros as possible
[18:17] Jack Belvedere: the girls are fantastic, many have been our best scorers, or in some cases like Han Okelli, a pure asset to the league due to good attitude and character
[18:17] Stacey Cardalines: yeah, when i was at games last year, one of the Puckettes was dominating
[18:18] Stacey Cardalines: i played a few times, in practice... nails hurt in this league
[18:18] Jack Belvedere: LOL
[18:18] Stacey Cardalines: i'd have to lose the nails to play, and ... well... i'm French
[18:19] Stacey Cardalines: so i can be a Puckette instead
[18:19] Jack Belvedere: Well, as far as looking like the pro's, we focus there on the actual game play but player-wise, anyone and everyone is welcome regardless of gender
[18:19] Stacey Cardalines: i am actually a great fan of your gear
[18:19] Stacey Cardalines: i collected the jerseys a few seasons ago
[18:19] Stacey Cardalines: and the stick is great too
[18:20] Stacey Cardalines: i skate out of context now and then
18:20] Jack Belvedere: ty!! That credit goes to Merrik Caproni and Kacey Rossini. They are currently working on brand new ones, too, using more sculpted prim and detail
[18:21] Stacey Cardalines: i know Kacey a bit... she's cool
[18:21] Stacey Cardalines: i was Miss January in your calendar last year
[18:21] Jack Belvedere: she is so laid back and funny, and she's been around here forever
[18:21] Jack Belvedere: nice :D i have that in my garage hehehe
[18:21] Stacey Cardalines: i'm the one with the other girl and the faux Stanley Cup
[18:21] Stacey Cardalines: we laid nude on ice for GOHA
[18:22] Jack Belvedere: the puckettes are great, this year Kayden decided to do some different things with them, increase exposure and independence, and it seems to really be working great. She stays real involved with GOHA, too
[18:22] Stacey Cardalines: the HUD is new
[18:22] Stacey Cardalines: we used to just click on the head cheerleader last year
[18:23] Stacey Cardalines: now we have a big-time, SLCS hud
[18:23] Jack Belvedere: i haven't seen it but she had described to me, it sounded great
[18:23] Stacey Cardalines: she did the right thing
[18:23] Stacey Cardalines: the Puckettes will be way improved now
[18:24] Jack Belvedere: and hopefully they will be able to get in with many sports
[18:24] Jack Belvedere: We both joined a group of other sports managers and all try to help each other with exposure, events, etc
[18:24] Stacey Cardalines: what's it called? i could be useful there
[18:25] Jack Belvedere: personally i would love to see a giant area in SL all for sports :D The group is called Virtual Sports Bureau, if you IM Terrell Merryman he could give you a group invite and information
[18:26] Stacey Cardalines: maybe those Lindens could go all USSR and provide a massive, free complex
[18:26] Stacey Cardalines: i know T Merry
[18:26] Stacey Cardalines: i met him at the SFL
[18:26] Stacey Cardalines: Terry Merry
[18:27] Jack Belvedere: well what we're hoping, this CPP is supposed to eventually branch out into other winter sports areas, when people are approved for it. It takes awhile to go through. But we left the road open to the west, because eventually, more winter sports are possibly going to go there. It would be cool to see ANY sport in my opinion :D The organizations just have to meet criteria as a large active community
[18:28] Stacey Cardalines: my wrestling group has 1000 members...lol...
[18:28] Jack Belvedere: nice!!! which one is that?
[18:28] Stacey Cardalines: i don't know what we're called... but the complex is Divas'
[18:29] Stacey Cardalines: i covered it, then stuck around... better tips than stripping, and I don;t have to flirt at all
[18:29] Jack Belvedere: we have had some events with a wrestling group, DCWF, one time they came and held matches on the ice here :D
[18:29] Stacey Cardalines: i've been there a few times
[18:30] Stacey Cardalines: i know vendetta very well
[18:30] Stacey Cardalines: i think she's in that one
[18:30] Stacey Cardalines: nanny, too
[18:30] Jack Belvedere: nice
[18:30] Stacey Cardalines: reminds me.... can you have hockey fights at GOHA?
[18:31] Jack Belvedere: We used to have fighting built into the script, but removed it due to the delay factor :D But it keeps itching at me to maybe get it back in there on a more limited basis. It's just so..fun lol
[18:31] Jack Belvedere: So we may do it again
[18:31] Stacey Cardalines: i would wholeheartedly recommend it
[18:31] Stacey Cardalines: find a way to regulate it
[18:32] Stacey Cardalines: designate one goon per team
[18:32] Jack Belvedere: yeahhhh :D
[18:32] Stacey Cardalines: i live near Jay Miller IRL... maybe i'll get him on SL
[18:33] Jack Belvedere: oh nice lol
[18:33] Stacey Cardalines: do you take new players once the season has started?
[18:34] Jack Belvedere: yeah. We have the Farm division where we do a lot of 1-on-1 training and have them play 6 games there, so they get used to the controls and gameplay, and then we place them on existing teams
[18:34] Stacey Cardalines: good idea
[18:34] Jack Belvedere: Katia Ixtab is Farm manager and then she has a group of GOHA vets who assist with the Farm games several times a week
[18:35] Stacey Cardalines: how would an interested reader of mine join up?
[18:36] Jack Belvedere: They can contact me any time and I'll give them a hand. We have a kiosk at each GOHA location that will give them the free equipment, instructions on playing, landmarks, and contact names. The Farm games are currently on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 430pm, and a great time to stop by and pick everything up. They can also run to the website http://www.globalonlinehockeyassociation.com and get all the info needed. There's always people around the rinks who can help out too
[18:36] Stacey Cardalines: sweet
[18:37] Stacey Cardalines: yours is the easiest sport for a rookie to pick up, IMHO
[18:37] Stacey Cardalines: i was able to play a little bit, even when I was a noob
[18:37] Jack Belvedere: then another good opportunity is coming up at the end of August, the new Chamonix City is having an official Grand Opening August 28th and 29th. We have a TON of activities, Puckettes too, and Blondin Linden is going to be releasing a blog on it. We even have some bands lined up including The Follow to play Sat night at 7pm
[18:38] Jack Belvedere: the sims will be full of GOHA vets to help out new folks arriving
[18:38] Stacey Cardalines: well organized
[18:38] Jack Belvedere: I plan on getting real comfortable in my chair here for the whole weekend lol
[18:38] Stacey Cardalines: get the supplies the day before, like you're waiting for a snowstorm
[18:39] Jack Belvedere: yeah I need one of those dormitory fridges in here lol
[18:39] Stacey Cardalines: always handy
[18:39] Stacey Cardalines: you guys are on Treet TV, no?
[18:40] Jack Belvedere: Yes :) We are shown during regular season on Sundays at 2pm. We love Treet, we've been with them since early seasons, when they were still SLCN
[18:40] Stacey Cardalines: nice
[18:40] Jack Belvedere: Kert Upshaw does our announcing and a great job, too
[18:41] Stacey Cardalines: cool...audio
[18:41] Stacey Cardalines: let's see....
[18:41] Stacey Cardalines: how long does the season run?
[18:42] Jack Belvedere: generally about 3 months plus another two weeks of exhibition before, and 2-4 weeks of playoffs
[18:42] Jack Belvedere: so 4 months total
[18:42] Stacey Cardalines: early start, august..... when someone says "august," you think "ice hockey"
[18:42] Stacey Cardalines: so you have a winter jan-april season, or plan on it?
[18:43] Jack Belvedere: yeah :) Sometimes we talk about having a full NHL style season, but we think it would just be too long in here. So we do a Fall/Winter season, and Spring season. In the summer, we have a more relaxed schedule. This past April we started "Summer Season" which is people making up their own teams and schedules to play. This worked real well for helping juggle busy summer RL schedules. Then we had special events like movie night, dances, etc
[18:44] Jack Belvedere: but for the winter and spring seasons it is full-on competition and regular play
[18:44] Stacey Cardalines: nice
[18:44] Stacey Cardalines: that's so cool, you should see to it that each team owner gets a jersey to me
[18:45] Jack Belvedere: you bet!!!
[18:45] Jack Belvedere: i can do that :D
[18:45] Stacey Cardalines: it pays for itself in publicity
[18:45] Stacey Cardalines: i'm going to try to cover a lot of games...we have a separate SFL guy, so i'll be able to free lance
[18:46] Stacey Cardalines: may as well dress the part
[18:46] Jack Belvedere: nice! That's Romeo's league right?
[18:46] Stacey Cardalines: yup
[18:46] Jack Belvedere: been talking to him a lot, he seems like a great guy
[18:46] Stacey Cardalines: i did the same interview with him a month ago
[18:46] Jack Belvedere: He is very determined to do this and do it right, I have really enjoyed talking with him
[18:47] Stacey Cardalines: they'll succeed... they're doing most everything right
[18:48] Jack Belvedere: My biggest advice to him so far, or to anyone wanting to do something like this, is get a "code of conduct" running right away. It saves a lot of headaches with behavior issues, helps everyone get on the same page as far as conduct and league goals :D
[18:48] Stacey Cardalines: i'll just cut/paste this IM, so that will be in the paper
Come check out Brooks Arena, at Blueliner:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cross%20Check/136/108/61
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