PDGA Tournament Option

[Harrishabitat]

The myth that DG is free has already done loads of damage

Amen! :hfive:

 

[Steve West]

I don't think you would get the "tournament experience" if the entry fee was zero. I think you would see players sign up but not show up, drop out as soon as they started playing badly, not caring about rules, etc. I think players need to have a stake in the game, even if it is just to make sure they get the full entertainment value for their fee.

 

[Harrishabitat]

I don't think you would get the "tournament experience" if the entry fee was zero. I think you would see players sign up but not show up, drop out as soon as they started playing badly, not caring about rules, etc. I think players need to have a stake in the game, even if it is just to make sure they get the full entertainment value for their fee.

Very well said... it's kinda like the difference between free poker and poker where you have to pay an entry fee... which by the way I've never got a players pack from poker tournaments I've entered...but I digress

 

[Stardoggy]

Very well said... it's kinda like the difference between free poker and poker where you have to pay an entry fee... which by the way I've never got a players pack from poker tournaments I've entered...but I digress

And they generally only pay out the top 10%.

 

[DG_Before_Breakfast]

The myth that DG is free has already done loads of damage

Organized DG is, but most people that play DG don't do that. So it is still really cheap recreation for most of us. Mostly the Discs, and then I pay to park at my home course, $40/year. Plus a few things I spend money on just because I'm supporting the club or DG in general.

 

[Thumber]

Organized DG is, but most people that play DG don't do that. So it is still really cheap recreation for most of us. Mostly the Discs, and then I pay to park at my home course, $40/year. Plus a few things I spend money on just because I'm supporting the club or DG in general.

I have met many a casual DGr who wouldn't give 5 cents to their local club or become a member. These are the "DG is great because its free" types that are freeloading on the backs of hard working clubs. They seem to think that DG courses just magically sprout up after a good rain and maintain themselves.

I am a big proponent of P2P and organized play.

DG is a relatively cheap sport to participate in, especially compared to hockey, but it certainly isn't free

 

[dust4tears]

good point

 

[juju]

I play these tournaments all the time. It's called rec golf.

 

[Stardoggy]

I have met many a casual DGr who wouldn't give 5 cents to their local club or become a member. These are the "DG is great because its free" types that are freeloading on the backs of hard working clubs. They seem to think that DG courses just magically sprout up after a good rain and maintain themselves.

I am a big proponent of P2P and organized play.

DG is a relatively cheap sport to participate in, especially compared to hockey, but it certainly isn't free

Basket seeds. Just plant, wait, and chuck.

We'll be millionaires!!

 

[keith johnson]

Quote:
Originally Posted by biscoe
every time i read one of these threads it makes me want to stop running am events.

You and Keith should get together and run a tourney: you do the pros and he'll do the ams

It would be an Event of unsurpassed greatness!

 

[wkelly42]

I play MAYBE three tournaments a year, and only one of those is sanctioned. I never win (in fact, I'm usually dead last in the sanctioned event), never have a hope of winning anything, but I play because it's fun and it's different from my usual solo rounds. The bonus to me is the player pack -- even if it's one lousy disc I'll never throw, I can throw it up online somewhere and get a little money out of it. I have never understood why people would gripe about getting a players pack when you can sell the stuff you don't want and get some of your entry fee back.

 

[mashnut]

I have met many a casual DGr who wouldn't give 5 cents to their local club or become a member. These are the "DG is great because its free" types that are freeloading on the backs of hard working clubs. They seem to think that DG courses just magically sprout up after a good rain and maintain themselves.

I am a big proponent of P2P and organized play.

DG is a relatively cheap sport to participate in, especially compared to hockey, but it certainly isn't free

You can't worry about the casuals who aren't contributing, if you do it's just going to frustrate you. I never expect any of those guys to contribute. I help build courses because I find it rewarding and want to have better courses around me, not because of any sense of obligation it sounds like you think people should have.

 

[Stable]

I really appreciate all the passionate responses here. In the future I will be asking people with TD experience about where exactly an AM's entry fees go. I still feel dissatisfied with my prior PDGA experiences and simply just need to step away from organized disc golf entirely. I don't have any urge to put money into this sport anymore and I should just leave it at that. I will keep my eye on FB for any workdays at my local clubs and contribute to helping build/work on courses when I can.

 

[DavidSauls]

I play MAYBE three tournaments a year, and only one of those is sanctioned. I never win (in fact, I'm usually dead last in the sanctioned event), never have a hope of winning anything, but I play because it's fun and it's different from my usual solo rounds. The bonus to me is the player pack -- even if it's one lousy disc I'll never throw, I can throw it up online somewhere and get a little money out of it. I have never understood why people would gripe about getting a players pack when you can sell the stuff you don't want and get some of your entry fee back.

I don't know about griping about getting a players pack, but here's why I'd prefer dispensing with them (options aren't player's choice, but alternative ways a tournament can be set up):

Option 1---$40 entry fee, $15 players pack
Option 2---$25 entry fee, no players pack

True, with Option 1, if you don't want to keep the players pack you can sell it, with the result that you do extra work and end up somewhere close to Option 2. Personally, I don't care to bother with selling discs.

On the other hand, with Option 2, you can then spend the $15 you saved on entry fees and buy a disc, if you want something to keep from the tournament. But you don't have to.

That's why some of us, are least one of us, don't care about players packs. I'm not griping about receiving them but, if I had my preference, it would be for tournaments to run under Option 2.

 

[ScottyLove]

Option 1---$40 entry fee, $15 players pack
Option 2---$25 entry fee, no players pack

Here's why Option 1 works in my part of the country... because $2 to PDGA, and $1 to the Tour come out of the $40 and thus the $37 goes into the payout. What about the cost of the player pack you ask? That's exactly where our money raised goes to purchase. So the player pack is a gift of sorts from the club.

In Option 2, we'd be playing for $22 into the payout.

I know many TDs take the some $$ out of the entry fee to cover costs of the player pack, but that just now the way we do it... so when I hear of other tournaments taking some out of the fee, I guess I'd get upset as well. Folks running this type of even are just plain lazy if you ask me.

 

[DavidSauls]

Here's why Option 1 works in my part of the country... because $2 to PDGA, and $1 to the Tour come out of the $40 and thus the $37 goes into the payout. What about the cost of the player pack you ask? That's exactly where our money raised goes to purchase. So the player pack is a gift of sorts from the club.

In Option 2, we'd be playing for $22 into the payout.

I know many TDs take the some $$ out of the entry fee to cover costs of the player pack, but that just now the way we do it... so when I hear of other tournaments taking some out of the fee, I guess I'd get upset as well. Folks running this type of even are just plain lazy if you ask me.

But in Option 2, you could take that money you raised for the player packs in Option 1, and add it to the payout instead. It doesn't change my calculations at all. You'd have the same payouts under either Option, and I'd get my preferred entry without a players pack.

 

[DavidSauls]

I know many TDs take the some $$ out of the entry fee to cover costs of the player pack, but that just now the way we do it... so when I hear of other tournaments taking some out of the fee, I guess I'd get upset as well. Folks running this type of even are just plain lazy if you ask me.

In such a situation, the Ams, as a group, get their entire entry fee back in merchandise, either in players packs or payouts. They essentially play for free, while someone else does all the work.

You're saying that they should not just get their entire entries back and play for free, but they should get more than their entries back and, as a group, essentially be paid for showing up at tournaments---and if they don't, the TD is lazy.

I think it's fine that you're willing to work hard to pay off the Ams for coming.....but it's hardly an obligation. And I know many TDs who pay out "only" 100%, in combined players pack and payouts; I see their efforts and would never categorize them as "lazy".

 

[DavidSauls]

But in Option 2, you could take that money you raised for the player packs in Option 1, and add it to the payout instead. It doesn't change my calculations at all. You'd have the same payouts under either Option, and I'd get my preferred entry without a players pack.

I may not have said that very clearly.

In your part of the country, you're raising an extra $15 per person, and using it to pay for players packs. I see the options as exactly the same:

Option 1 - $40 entry plus $15 raised, give $15 players pack, $40 goes to payout (less fees).

Options 2 - $25 entry plus $15 raised, no players pack, $40 goes to payout (less fees).

I still prefer you use Option 2, for the same reasons I gave in my part of the country.

 

[Allurex]

I don't know about griping about getting a players pack, but here's why I'd prefer dispensing with them (options aren't player's choice, but alternative ways a tournament can be set up):

Option 1---$40 entry fee, $15 players pack
Option 2---$25 entry fee, no players pack

True, with Option 1, if you don't want to keep the players pack you can sell it, with the result that you do extra work and end up somewhere close to Option 2. Personally, I don't care to bother with selling discs.

On the other hand, with Option 2, you can then spend the $15 you saved on entry fees and buy a disc, if you want something to keep from the tournament. But you don't have to.

That's why some of us, are least one of us, don't care about players packs. I'm not griping about receiving them but, if I had my preference, it would be for tournaments to run under Option 2.

Here's what I think the issue is with this. Myself, and some other players (obviously some are in this thread) don't really want another disc in a players pack, for all the reasons you mentioned. I've got enough discs, and it's just more work for me if I want to sell/trade it.

Having said that, I suspect that I am in the minority in that opinion. Many players play tournaments to have fun, get a free disc, and possibly cash in an Amateur division and win more discs.

 

[DavidSauls]

The evidence seems to be that you're completely right.

I'm not saying that TDs shouldn't give players packs. Merely that, personally, I'd prefer that they didn't, and reduced the entry fee accordingly.