I agree that sitting around and talking about which tournament is 'more' prestigious than another is plain ridiculous. Our kids would say that the more impressive is the one they just won or came close to winning. So, yes, as far as they are concerned every tournament is equally prestigious. Having made this comment, however, I do not think that all tournaments are made equal. Some tournaments have B teams play against AA teams, and I believe that this is not a good thing.
When the talent level at a tournament is relatively equal, teams reaching the final will have to run a far more difficult gauntlet before reaching the finals than they would in mixed skill level events. When rec league teams wind up haveing to play club teams at Beach Lax, it is usually down right unfair and results in an easy win for the club squad. In an AA bracket at Summer Exposure you can be sure that each win will be earned. This would not be the same thing if, say, Crabs when to Beach Lax and dominated some rec or club B team on the way to a title.
Food for thoughtz
The most prestigious tournament trophy is the one with the best teams in the country participating. It is the hardest one to win. There are only a couple tournaments a year that are able to draw the majority of the country's top teams. NLF, Millon Great 8, and Young Guns were definitely 3 of the top ones last year. We'll see who can draw them together this year.
