Withdrawing due to weather

[gammaxgoblin]

As I come to the end of this first season playing competitively I have learned that I have zero interest in playing in the rain. I mean a shower or two over the course of the round is fine, but playing two full rounds in constant rain is, for me, ruins any enjoyment I could have. As I understand it, if I withdraw because of weather I am just fucked with regard to losing my registration fee. I watch the forecast near obsessively leading up to a tournament so I know what I will need to have with me so this isnt like Im just doing this carelessly. Is there any recourse I have, according to the pdga policy, that I am unaware of which give me, the player, any leg to stand on with not feeling like "if I don't play, Ive wasted money?"

 

[da Crippler]

Nope, It's all on you, as it should be. Everyone in my area watches the forecast until the last minute before they sign up. You probably should have done that if you have an aversion to playing in wet conditions.

 

[glassila]

In areas where tournaments do not fill up as da Crippler said, you can wait until a few days beforehand or even the last minute to see what the weather will do.

This is not an option in a lot of areas as the tournaments fill up quickly.

In regards to your original question, if the event gets played then I highly doubt if a TD or tournament that would give you any sort of reimbursement.

 

[gammaxgoblin]

In areas where tournaments do not fill up as da Crippler said, you can wait until a few days beforehand or even the last minute to see what the weather will do.

This is not an option in a lot of areas as the tournaments fill up quickly.

In regards to your original question, if the event gets played then I highly doubt if a TD or tournament that would give you any sort of reimbursement.

Nope, It's all on you, as it should be. Everyone in my area watches the forecast until the last minute before they sign up. You probably should have done that if you have an aversion to playing in wet conditions.

Thank you both for the responses. That is a takeaway from this first season, I signed up for a lot of tournaments far in advance...ya know very excited and going overboard =) The downside is being at the mercy of the weather. It does seem to be a good idea to determine if there are any tournaments/courses that I enjoy so much that the weather doesn't factor. The fear at the beginning of the season was not being able to get in but locally tournaments did not fill up this year like they did last year, based on others feedback. Next year, if it plays out like it did this year and the factors that caused this are the same, I will wait and watch how quickly tournaments fill up and determine if I can wait and then do so and make the choice to register based on recent forecasts.


I mean $40 here and there aren't going to make or break me, thankfully, I just want to not feel like money is wasted is all. Waiting to register based on forecast seems to be the best idea. Any other ideas or strategies to avoid this or is waiting pretty much the solution here?

 

[BillFleming]

Always, always, check with the TD. The TD has the final say....if they have someone on the wait list, or that they know has tried to get in, they will sometimes refund you money if they can get someone else to take your spot. If the tournament isn't full, you are pretty much out of luck....but still contact the TD.

 

[ru4por]

We all get it. Rain, wind, heat, cold, snow, ice, hurricanes, earthquakes.....all fracture the fun factor of tournament play. But, I'm a mudder, let's go.

I think that putting your name down and holding a spot in the tournament is a commitment. In this area, nearly every tournament has players that are more than willing to play, regardless of any circumstance. You would simply be taking a spot, from a player who will show up and fulfill their commitment. I prefer to consider myself a walk up registration, if I am not willing to hold up my end of that commitment.

Not to mention the unnecessary grief you are probably placing the tournament director, potential cardmates and divisional numbers, under.

I honestly see withdrawling, post promising and paying, an emergency situation only.

 

[gammaxgoblin]

We all get it. Rain, wind, heat, cold, snow, ice, hurricanes, earthquakes.....all fracture the fun factor of tournament play. But, I'm a mudder, let's go.

I think that putting your name down and holding a spot in the tournament is a commitment. In this area, nearly every tournament has players that are more than willing to play, regardless of any circumstance. You would simply be taking a spot, from a player who will show up and fulfill their commitment. I prefer to consider myself a walk up registration, if I am not willing to hold up my end of that commitment.

Not to mention the unnecessary grief you are probably placing the tournament director, potential cardmates and divisional numbers, under.

I honestly see withdrawling, post promising and paying, an emergency situation only.

I get what you are saying. Rd 2 recently was on a card of 3 and a guy bailed 5 holes in....screwed the 2 of us left and created problem for TD. We ended up moving to the card behind us, fortunately they were a card of 3 as well. These comments are helpful thank you.

 

[DavidSauls]

From a TD perspective, we hate the rain, too. Probably even more than players do.

But in a full tournament, the TD has already committed and spent most of the entry fee on fixed costs, players packs, etc. And I know I also anxiously watch the weather forecast, with the knowledge that I can't bail out as TD for a cost of only $40. I'm stuck with showing up. (We hosted a tournament last April where it was 38 degrees, rained 2 1/2 inches, with howling winds. More than half the players didn't finish the day. But we were still here).

As a player, I hate the rain too. But I've bought a lot of tickets over the years for things that couldn't be refunded for rain -- football games, theme parks, vacations, etc. It just goes with the risk of reserving a spot in advance for an outdoor activity.

 

[biscoe]

From my perspective running events I don't care why you drop but I do care when. Day of drops whether on the opening day or second day are a PITA. I tend towards more liberal than the PDGA policy on refunds so if you drop more than 24 hours in advance I usually refund you whether the spot gets filled or not. This may occasionally differ for larger events where there is a bunch of money tied up in PDGA mandated player's packages.

 

[Dcinmd]

We all get it. Rain, wind, heat, cold, snow, ice, hurricanes, earthquakes.....all fracture the fun factor of tournament play. But, I'm a mudder, let's go.

I think that putting your name down and holding a spot in the tournament is a commitment. In this area, nearly every tournament has players that are more than willing to play, regardless of any circumstance. You would simply be taking a spot, from a player who will show up and fulfill their commitment. I prefer to consider myself a walk up registration, if I am not willing to hold up my end of that commitment.

Not to mention the unnecessary grief you are probably placing the tournament director, potential cardmates and divisional numbers, under.

I honestly see withdrawling, post promising and paying, an emergency situation only.

Our club cancelled one day of a two day tournament for the tropical storm on Saturday. It was amusing after they posted a "rain or shine" policy earlier in the week when asked if they cancelled due to rain.

 

[ru4por]

Our club cancelled one day of a two day tournament for the tropical storm on Saturday. It was amusing after they posted a "rain or shine" policy earlier in the week when asked if they cancelled due to rain.

Player safety is the guide, right. Living in Michigan I have played in several tournaments that should have probably been cancelled. A foot of snow, severe rain.... The winter stuff can present a real safety issue, for getting to the event. Rarely have I seen one called though...some will play in anything.

 

[biscoe]

Our club cancelled one day of a two day tournament for the tropical storm on Saturday. It was amusing after they posted a "rain or shine" policy earlier in the week when asked if they cancelled due to rain.

Cancellation was due to wind not rain.

 

[VictorB]

cancelling at the last minute is totally worth the cost of losing a registration fee if it's weather related, imo. I've pulled out of tournaments because I felt like the conditions weren't safe. Losing a registration fee is a lot cheaper than a trip to the hospital, I consider it a preventative cost

 

[Dcinmd]

Cancellation was due to wind not rain.

We where told it was due to the Governor declaring a "state of emergency" not wind.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I totally see how rain is worse for TD's than it is for players, because now they have additional stuff to address, as well as dealing with no shows and last minute shuffling players around to fill positions/divisions, etc. All while making dure conditions are safe.

But I look at it as money I've already spent, so it's gone. I now have the choice of:
a) playing in the rain.
b) doing something else.

Personally, I'd rather do something else.

As soon as I know I'm not playing, I'd tell the TD to fill that spot with someone from the wait-list. If they're able they refund the registration fee, that's just a bonus.

 

[biscoe]

Rain doesn't stress me at all as a TD. I am not the one who has to get wet. What is stressful is potential dangerous conditions from either lightning or wind.

 

[Countchunkula]

Player safety is the guide, right. Living in Michigan I have played in several tournaments that should have probably been cancelled. A foot of snow, severe rain.... The winter stuff can present a real safety issue, for getting to the event. Rarely have I seen one called though...some will play in anything.

A few years ago, my son (5 or so at the time) played soccer in the first snow of the year. At had rained the night prior and there were puddles all over the field. Absolutely miserable conditions and we were lucky no one got frostbite.

Learning to tough it out is a valuable lesson, but me and every adult there were fools for letting the kids play that day.

 

[DavidSauls]

Rain doesn't stress me at all as a TD. I am not the one who has to get wet. What is stressful is potential dangerous conditions from either lightning or wind.

Our first gripe about rain, as TDs, is that we want the players to have the best possible experience. A rainy event doesn't fit that image.

At our course rain is a PITA. It presents parking problems, which one of us has to go out in the rain and handle. It presents safety issues, on steep slopes and tee pads. Paper scorecards become illegible (I know, most of the world has gone digital, but at our alternative-format events that doesn't work, nor if paper cards are one of the multiple options provided). Staff can retreat inside but we don't have an indoor area for disc sales, awards, sign-in, etc., and the covered but exposed areas are cramped. With enough rain, creeks rise and what were shallow OB areas, become disc-stealing torrents (and hard to cross, where there aren't bridges).

We had a stretch of 20 or 30 events without a drop of rain during the rounds. Karma caught up to us with a cold torrent last April.

 

[Dcinmd]

Rain doesn't stress me at all as a TD. I am not the one who has to get wet. What is stressful is potential dangerous conditions from either lightning or wind.

Does rain stress you out when the bridges get washed out?

That was a big concern over the weekend. Without the bridges the course is pretty much unplayable.

 

[biscoe]

Player safety is the guide, right. Living in Michigan I have played in several tournaments that should have probably been cancelled. A foot of snow, severe rain.... The winter stuff can present a real safety issue, for getting to the event. Rarely have I seen one called though...some will play in anything.

As you know the old way was to play in anything but lightning. Part of the reason for that was that prior to the interwebs/socials there was no good way to go about cancelling an event or a part of it and actually get the word to the players. We played in conditions years ago under which I would not even consider running or playing in an event today.