2015 Pro Worlds full- Another registration fiasco?

[warobert]

PDGA doesnt care about having a real legit Worlds

All they seem to care about is finding suckers to waste money and resources on holding their NT and Worlds events

The proof is in their lack of action or reaction regarding the outcry

I agree. This isn't the first time that this has been an issue. I think this clearly demonstrates that getting the best disc golfers together to compete for a world title is not as high a priority for the PDGA as getting a big event organized and fill it up so they can "grow the sport". No sport that is serious about having a championship would handle registration for the, in theory, premiere event of the year in this way. Clearly the invite system is broken and the PDGA doesn't seem interested in fixing it.

 

[DavidSauls]

I agree. This isn't the first time that this has been an issue. I think this clearly demonstrates that getting the best disc golfers together to compete for a world title is not as high a priority for the PDGA as getting a big event organized and fill it up so they can "grow the sport". No sport that is serious about having a championship would handle registration for the, in theory, premiere event of the year in this way. Clearly the invite system is broken and the PDGA doesn't seem interested in fixing it.

Why would the PDGA benefit from more 930-rated players,and less 1000-rated players, at Worlds? If it fills, it's the same bottom-line to them and the hosts. It would fill just as well with a tiered system as a first-come one.

 

[TheOtherBill]

Since the entry fees total the same amount from a 930-rated player as a 1050-rated one, why would it really make any difference to the PDGA?

Not that Worlds is some kind of money-grab, but the system they have in place 'works' to obtain the goal of gathering as many pros as can fit on these courses to compete, so why go through the time and trouble to fix it?

If anything, the 930-rated pro is advantageous to the PDGA because they are more likely to go out during Worlds, spend more money and thereby give a better selling point for potential host citites than the idea that only the worlds highest rated pros will be playing there.

 

[optidiscic]

why not have both

simply have a 300-400 field include the pros and joes

everybody wins

 

[jrawk]

Since the entry fees total the same amount from a 930-rated player as a 1050-rated one, why would it really make any difference to the PDGA?

Optics.

How many people watch (or sponsors support) the Arena Football League superbowl compared to NFL superbowl? There's a reason.

 

[TheOtherBill]

Optics.

How many people watch (or sponsors support) the Arena Football League superbowl compared to NFL superbowl? There's a reason.

Since the 1000+ rated pros are going to be on the top cards anyway, and thereby on the webcast, the comparison doesn't really apply.

 

[ihatepickles]

The tiered approach based on ratings really seems like the best option I've seen discussed. Having 950 rated players locked in while Rico and Barsby (1025+) wait for a slot doesn't convey what Worlds should be about.

Poop on the PDGA and organizers for making these events a gold rush. Poop on the financial sponsors for not making this issue a priority, which frankly will do a lot more to motivate the PDGA than the DGCRowdies. I don't see how this is the participants fault, even allowing for the knowledge of the way the Memorial filled so quickly.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

A. Raise the Entry Fee. $100 or more. The extra $$ would only deter those who know that are donating... which is the point.
B. There should be no reserved age protected divisions. If the whole tournament is able to be filled with Open players that would be great. There already is a Masters only NT....

 

[TheOtherBill]

"Poop on the financial sponsors for not making this issue a priority"

Don't you think the local spectators are more likely to go to Dominos or buy Kicker amps than one of the touring pros? Do you think any spectators aren't going to show up becasue Barsby isn't there? Sponsors have no motivation to make any changes to this system, unless they are a direct sponsor of a player who did not get in.

 

[davetherocketguy]

So wait a minute here...You mean to tell me that pro worlds is just open registration and yet am worlds is by invitation?!

lol wut

Please tell me I am missing something here...

 

[art_vandelay]

Is it written down somewhere what the specific "goals" are for the event? Some sort of mission statement or something? If there is not there should be cause there seems to be a huge range or ideas about what the PDGA is trying to accomplish. Somebody is not communicating clearly.

 

[ihatepickles]

"Don't you think the local spectators are more likely to go to Dominos or buy Kicker amps than one of the touring pros? Do you think any spectators aren't going to show up becasue Barsby isn't there?

I think these are both straw man arguments and have nothing to do with what I said or really the question at hand. I don't believe the PDGA cares anything about the local impact of their Worlds event. I don't think the PDGA cares if spectators watch.

I think this registration debacle is a case of failing to understand the growth of the sport and the impact of technology during registration.

Sponsors have no motivation to make any changes to this system, unless they are a direct sponsor of a player who did not get in.

The sponsors have the best chip in the poker game to make this situation better. I disagree that the sponsors have no motivation, like the PDGA they are slow to understand what the customer wants.

We want top competition. We don't want a tiny pool of contenders cashing in on dead money.

 

[optidiscic]

wouldnt a 500-700 with another group of family friends and fans along be a little more intriguing to a sponsor

This would excite local business n tourist bureaus

Worlds should be a huge event and bring in the best and a good portion of those who want to experience it

Disc Golf grows in spite of the PDGA screwing things up

 

[jeverett]

So wait a minute here...You mean to tell me that pro worlds is just open registration and yet am worlds is by invitation?!

lol wut

Please tell me I am missing something here...

No, they're both by 'invitation' (i.e. points).. it's just that, due to the number of events/points required, the invitation lists for both events are much, much larger than the number of spots available.

 

[Hampstead]

So wait a minute here...You mean to tell me that pro worlds is just open registration and yet am worlds is by invitation?!

lol wut

Please tell me I am missing something here...

Pro Qualification Criteria:
1. Top Pro Points earners during 2014 PDGA Tour: Minimum Requirement: MPO 750 pts, MPM 300 pts, MPG 65 pts, FPO 25 pts (used to be 500, 250, 50, 10)
2. Older Divisions - all male Pro members eligible for the Senior Grandmaster or older divisions in 2015 and all female Pro members eligible for Master or older divisions in 2015, both who have completed any PDGA sanctioned tournament in a Professional division during the 2014 PDGA tour. (FPM used to require points)
Note: Only Pro members are invited to Pro Worlds. Only Pro points count towards Criteria #1.

 

[DavidSauls]

I suspect it's just a case of the PDGA having not caught up to the fairly recent trend of Worlds filling, and fast. Hopefully they'll address this before 2016 Worlds.

I don't think ratings is the right criteria, either. Points would be better, or some combination of ratings and points.

Just speculation on my part, though. Maybe someone knows better. I just don't believe the PDGA made a decision to make it a free-for-all, and potentially exclude top players. More like they just didn't make a decision.

 

[ejvogie]

No, they're both by 'invitation' (i.e. points).. it's just that, due to the number of events/points required, the invitation lists for both events are much, much larger than the number of spots available.

Then, IMO, they need to tighten up the number of invitees to more closely resemble the number of available spots for that year.

 

[Emoney]

The truth is the PDGA serves ams under the guise of being a pro organization

If they truly cared about doing things better they would have

and this is not trolling this is fact

The PDGA have to serve the Ams right now. They are what makes the money in every facet of disc golf. If they prioritized the pros and wants NT's with only touring pros, then they will have like 30 ppl in the tourney total. Even the 1000 rated local player is technically an AM. He only has a slight slight chance of beating a touring pro.

I don't care for a lot of these pros anyways. They think they should get everything for free while doing nothing to further the sport. This isn't a good time in disc golf to sit back and hope more sponsors show up. They need to be the most involved in the sport BUT they are sadly not, it's the AMs.

I think the people that made it priority to register on time are the people that want to be there or believe they can win. We can spoon feed these pros when they start acting like Professionals in every aspect. On and off the course. Until then, us AMs will dominate the sport and bring in the money and sponsors.

 

[sprintermatt]

930 rated players WILL spend more money at Worlds than 1000 rated players.

Agree or disagree?

 

[gcr_russell]

There is also an Am worlds. Not saying that Ams should not be allowed to play Pro worlds, but there is an event 100% catered to them on the same scale. It all comes down to tiered registration however that gets implemented. If there are still spots and people dont register in time than it is their fault, and no one can fault anyone for the lower rated guys getting in. I think it's a little silly that our highest profile event in the sport doesn't have any of these safeguards.