Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

Yes, the Season 3 honor items will still be available for purchase without a rating requirement after Season 4 starts.

There will be two sets of “non-set” items once Season 4 begins. The Season 4 honor items (boot/belt/bracer/etc) some of which will require a rating, and the Season 3 items (boot/belt/bracer/etc) which still won’t require any rating.

Just to sum up, when Season 4 begins:

Season 1 honor set: Removed

Season 2 arena set: Moved to honor, no rating requirement

Season 3 non-set honor items: Staying
Season 3 arena set: Arena rating and cost requirements lowered

Season 4 non-set honor items: Added with rating requirement
Season 4 arena set: Added to Arena with increased rating requirement

Quote from: Blizzard

2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament Phase 2 Has Begun

Phase 2 of the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament’s first qualification round has begun. Tournament participants have had ample time during the practice phase to hone their strategies, try various team compositions, and gain experience playing with their team. It’s now time for the real games to begin!

To track the progress of your team and competition, please visit the World of Warcraft Armory and select the Coliseum 1 battlegroup.
http://eu.wowarmory.com/arena-ladder.xml?b=Coliseum%201&ts=3

If you haven’t signed up yet, registration for the First Qualification Round is still possible until May 6, 2008!

For more information on the tournament please visit our Arena Tournament information page. Good luck to all competitors!
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/tournament/index.xml

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

With phase 2 beginning today, records have been reset and there is a penalty for adding players to a team. The practice phase has ended and now the fighting matters. You can still create a new team, you’ll just have to earn the point penalties back, so good luck in your matches if that’s the case!

When phase 3 begins the teams will be locked and no changes allowed.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

No. If you registered for the First Qualification Round you will play until the end of that round. You will only need to register again to continue playing after the First Qualifier is completed and the Second Qualifier is beginning.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

Yes – characters, ladders, and all the regular stats you see on the Armory should be available for the Tournament Realms now. If something is missing, let us know and we’ll try to resolve it.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

We have bugged this, but as for when it will be fixed, we have no ETA. I wouldn’t expect it to happen before the end of the First Qualification Round, not sure beyond that at this time either.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

The fee is for each qualification stage, but if you qualify (top 4) from the first one you’re not required to play the second one. You’d already be through to the regional and can sit back and watch the others battle it out in the second qualifier to meet you at the regional. Of course, if you do qualify from the first one you can still pay the entry fee from the second one to have access to the realm and keep your Arena skills honed, but you can’t qualify twice.

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

We don’t have any plans currently to remove the options of playing games outside of the rated 3v3 matches. While obviously you can’t win prizes for doing them, if you want to have some fun in 2v2 and 5v5 games, go for it!

Quote from: Blizzard

With the first round of qualification for the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament underway, we wanted to provide a schedule for the remainder of this qualifier and details on what each of the phases entails.

Phase 1 – The Practice Phase – Currently active and completes on April 22, 2008

• There is no penalty for changing your team and you are free to move teams around.
• At the end of this phase all arena team ratings will be reset to 1500 during maintenance.

Phase 2 – The Competition Phase – Active from April 22, 2008 to May 6, 2008

• Every team will be reset to a 1500 rating and official rankings begin.
• There will be a 150 team rating penalty for any player added to an arena team.
• At the end of this phase all arena teams will be locked down and players will not be able to switch characters from arena teams.
• Registration will also close at the end of this phase.

Phase 3 – The Final Phase – Active from May 6, 2008 to May 20, 2008

• Registration is closed for this phase of qualification.
• Players are no longer allowed to switch arena teams during this phase.
• At the end of the phase, the top 4 rated teams from the Battlegroup will be invited to the regional qualifier if they meet all eligibility requirements.
• Eligible teams must have played a minimum of 200 games during Phases 2 and 3 to be able to qualify to advance to the regional qualifier.
• Each team member must have participated in 30% of their team’s games to be eligible to qualify.

First Qualification Round Schedule for North America:

• Phase 1 ends and Phase 2 begins: April 22, 2008
• Phase 2 ends and Phase 3 begins: May 6, 2008
• Phase 3 and the first Qualifier ends: May 20, 2008

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

On the new dedicated Arena Tournament realms, players can create level 70 characters of any class or race, get free epic equipment, enchantments, gold, and can customize their character’s talent build as often as desired. On these realms, the cream of the crop of PVP players can compete for glory, battling it out to claim over $200,000 in prizes!

If you haven’t signed up, you still have a chance to register in the 2008 Arena Tournament! For more information, please check out the Arena Tournament page, the F.A.Q., or our new dedicated forum!

Arena Tournament Page: http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/tournament/
F.A.Q: http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/basics/arena/tournament/faq.xml
Arena Tournament Forum: http://forums.wow-europe.com/board.html?forumId=3901822&sid=1

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

I provided some information on dates and things here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=5784268590&pageNo=1&sid=1#1

If you wish to take part in the 2nd qualification round which will take place after the first one finished on May 20, you will need to re-register your account.

More information on the phases is coming soon.