Harrishabitat
PDGA Numbers 60630 AND 34207
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2009
- Messages
- 678
The myth that DG is free has already done loads of damage
Amen! :hfive:
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The myth that DG is free has already done loads of damage
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
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.
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 and Keith should get together and run a tourney: you do the pros and he'll do the ams
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
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.
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 $$ out of the entry fee to cover costs of the player pack, but that just now the way we do it... so when I hear of other tournaments taking some out of the fee, I guess I'd get upset as well. Folks running this type of even are just plain lazy if you ask me.
I know many TDs take the some $$ 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.
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.