Your First ATA Nationals: What to Expect

It's the night before Nationals. A pressed uniform hangs on the hotel chair. Outside the window is a city you've never seen, and down the street, a convention center the size of a small airport.

(Somebody has already asked what time you're leaving. Four times.)

Here's the short version. ATA Nationals is a Class AA tournament, held twice a season: Fall Nationals in Pittsburgh on October 7 to 10, 2026, and Spring Nationals in Fort Worth on March 17 to 20, 2027. Find the ring on ATA's public ring assignments page, know which day each event runs, and get to the building 30 to 45 minutes before the posted time. A first place is worth 15 points.

The rest is just finding your way around the terminal.

Nationals is an airport, not a regional

A regional is a bus station. One big room. One schedule. Everyone bows in together.

Nationals is an airport. It runs for four days, and on the two competition days, rings run at the same time across a huge hall, with everyone headed somewhere different.

Nobody flies every day, though. Most athletes compete on one or two days. The job is simple: find the flight, get to the gate, and don't panic in the food court.

Rule 1: The ring assignments page is the departures board

ATA posts Nationals ring assignments on a public page on its website before the event. You don't need a MyATA login for this one. If it still says "Coming Soon", check back later in the week.

It's a long page. Don't scroll. Search:

• On a computer, press Ctrl+F and type the athlete's name.
• On a phone, type the name into the browser's search bar, then tap it under "On This Page".

Traditional and Creative & Xtreme have separate lists, so an athlete entered in both should turn up in both.

Each division has a code beside it. Once you know the pattern, it reads like a flight number. ATA's own example is TM 23 1829 A:

• TM: black belt men
• 23: 2nd and 3rd degrees
• 1829: ages 18 to 29
• A: the A group

Two things send you to the airline counter, which at Nationals is the Help Desk:

• You used Online Late Registration. Then the athlete won't be on the page at all. Pick up the ring assignment at the Help Desk, which opens on Thursday.
• The division looks wrong. Wrong age, rank or division? The Help Desk can fix it on site. Do it before the ring starts. Afterward is a mess.

Rule 2: Know which day you fly

This one catches people. Traditional events and Creative & Xtreme events run on different days. Here's the 2026 Fall Nationals schedule, the parts that matter to competitors:

So an athlete entered in Traditional forms and Xtreme forms is really taking two flights, on two different days.

Spring Nationals posts its own schedule. Check the event schedule before you book the hotel.

Rule 3: Get to the gate early

At Nationals, ATA posts an approximate time for each division. Plan around these, from ATA's own rules and FAQs:

• 30 to 45 minutes early to the building. That's what the 2026-27 rules ask of color belts, counted from the posted competition time.
• 10 to 15 minutes early to the ring. The ring is the gate, so be there before it starts. At Nationals, athletes usually go straight to their ring. A separate staging area is rare, and is mostly kept for Special Abilities rings.
• Black belts 15 and older go to the black belt meeting before the opening ceremony.

Then there's the boarding pass. Nobody gets in without a wristband on their wrist:

• Competitors in uniform get in free. Out of uniform, they need a spectator wristband like everyone else.
• Spectators buy a wristband on the event page, or by scanning the QR code at the event. No cash is accepted.

Rule 4: Miss boarding, and you can still catch part of the trip

Traffic happens. So does parking in a strange city. If an athlete reaches the ring late, the 2026-27 rules decide what's still open, and it follows the order the ring runs in:

• Forms still running: the athlete can join, and performs next. There's no extra time to warm up.
• Weapons underway: forms closes once the first weapons competitor is called (or tie runoffs begin). The athlete can still join weapons, and again goes next.
• Sparring or combat started: the athlete gets in only if the first round has an open bye. Nobody redraws the bracket for a late arrival.

If the whole ring is finished, the National Tournament Director decides whether there's another ring to join.

Late isn't out. It's just fewer events.

What a place is worth

Nationals is Class AA, so a place is worth more than at a regional:

• 1st place: 15 points
• 2nd place: 10 points
• 3rd place: 8 points

Those are full points however many athletes are in the ring. Only the best two Class AA results in a season count toward the total, and Fall Nationals, Spring Nationals and the Pan American Championships are all Class AA. Recreational divisions earn no points, here or anywhere else. Our guide to how ATA points work shows how it all adds up.

One catch for adult black belts: register ahead. Registering on site at Nationals costs an adult black belt an extra $50, and cuts the points earned in half.

Pack like you're checking a bag

• A clean, pressed uniform with the ATA patch. (White belts don't need the patch.)
• The black uniform too, if the athlete is in Creative or Xtreme. It isn't allowed in Traditional events, and the white one works for both.
• Sparring gear in good repair. Torn, taped or worn-out gear isn't allowed.
• A weapon for every weapons event.
• White or black sports shoes for the hall. Other colors, flip-flops and sandals don't go with the uniform.
• No jewelry once the uniform is on. That includes watches and earrings.
• The ring number, written down somewhere besides your phone. (Convention center signal remains a mystery.)

Somebody will still ask what time you're leaving. This time, you'll know.

This guide follows the 2026 Fall Nationals schedule and the 2026-27 ATA tournament rules. ATA's event page and the Help Desk have the final word on the day. And if a result hasn't posted a week later, here's how to check it.