Quick Question about Tournaments

[Hoffmoney]

Okay, I'm going to play in my first ever tournament this upcoming weekend and was wondering if the prizes/players packs were different between the intermediate and advanced amateur divisions. Or better worded: Does paying the extra money for the advanced level get me a better players pack and prizes if I place?

 

[scarpfish]

Everything will depend on how the TD sets things up. Usually, but not always, players packs (when they are offered) are the same for all Am divisions and the same amount is deducted from your gross entry fee to provide for them. If the Advanced entry fee is higher that usually means that there will be more money from each entry fee left for prizes.

That being said, how much swag people who place get will not only be determined by entry fee, but by how many people enter that division. The winner of an Intermediate division with 20 people might get more stuff than the winner of an Advanced divsion with only 10, even if the Advanced entry fee was higher.

 

[PWaggoner]

Players pack around my way are the same for ams (sometimes pro women too). Payouts are higher around here too for advanced even with a field of 10 advanced vs 20 int.

Tds around here do not want people staying back because they are constantly cashing INT. Bump up and play advanced and if you cash it'll usually be higher then 1st place int. more people in the division seems like they payout more spots

 

[PWaggoner]

Also good luck!

 

[DavidSauls]

Yeah, what they said....I've never seen players packs vary between Am divisions. Not saying it doesn't happen anywhere, but I've never seen it. If there's a difference in entry fees, expect a difference in payouts.

 

[Jenga54]

Is it common to have "Trophy Only" for Am side?

I want to play my first tourney so that I can get a rating... there's one for $20 this weekend and it looks like there will be 20+ participants in Int. and Adv. divisions. Tourney info says "Trophies will be given to the first place winners of each division" and no other info.

Sooo, does that mean that the sign up money goes to buying the trophy and the rest goes to the organizer? I'm all in favor of the TD making some money, but I guess I don't understand taking 2nd place and saying, yeah that was fun, I'll pay a lot of money to play with other people.

 

[Pbmercil]

Is it common to have "Trophy Only" for Am side?

I want to play my first tourney so that I can get a rating... there's one for $20 this weekend and it looks like there will be 20+ participants in Int. and Adv. divisions. Tourney info says "Trophies will be given to the first place winners of each division" and no other info.

Sooo, does that mean that the sign up money goes to buying the trophy and the rest goes to the organizer? I'm all in favor of the TD making some money, but I guess I don't understand taking 2nd place and saying, yeah that was fun, I'll pay a lot of money to play with other people.

Trophy Only is becoming more and more popular as an Ams format. All the trophy only events I've played have had awesome players packs in leiu of payout, and often with other goodies thrown in (lunch, snacks, Gatorade, ect). Not saying that's what this TD is doing, but its been my experience.

 

[keith johnson]

Is it common to have "Trophy Only" for Am side?

I want to play my first tourney so that I can get a rating... there's one for $20 this weekend and it looks like there will be 20+ participants in Int. and Adv. divisions. Tourney info says "Trophies will be given to the first place winners of each division" and no other info.

Sooo, does that mean that the sign up money goes to buying the trophy and the rest goes to the organizer? I'm all in favor of the TD making some money, but I guess I don't understand taking 2nd place and saying, yeah that was fun, I'll pay a lot of money to play with other people.

Easiest way to get the best AND most accurate answer is to ASK the TD of the event you are talking about what is included in the entry fee....anything else is just guesswork from any other poster.

 

[Jenga54]

Yup, just to close the loop on this I PMd the TD and there is an available fly mart for funny money on ams side.

Really just poor promotion / information / communication on the part of the TD. When I run tourneys I try my darndest to tell the potential players what a good deal they are getting and all the cool stuff they can win. anyway this community is awesome, thx for the responses!

 

[corin_brown]

Is it common to have "Trophy Only" for Am side?

I want to play my first tourney so that I can get a rating... there's one for $20 this weekend and it looks like there will be 20+ participants in Int. and Adv. divisions. Tourney info says "Trophies will be given to the first place winners of each division" and no other info.

Sooo, does that mean that the sign up money goes to buying the trophy and the rest goes to the organizer? I'm all in favor of the TD making some money, but I guess I don't understand taking 2nd place and saying, yeah that was fun, I'll pay a lot of money to play with other people.

$20 to play in a PDGA sanctioned event is a lot of money? If that's the case, I wish the PDGA sanctioned events in my area were as expensive as yours were.

Seriously, I play MA3 and the PDGA tournaments in SoCal are never cheaper than $35, more like $50, sometimes higher. But there's always a players pack with at least a nice $15 disc, usually more, frequently lunch. And I always get a ticket to a huge raffle - last tournament I played they gave away a new 42" HD TV. So, in your case, for only $20, I think it's not completely outrageous to only be playing for a trophy. Although, I would be shocked if you don't receive some kind of player's pack too.

Personally, I like winning a trophy and I like receiving a nice non-dri-fit shirt with a cool design but in the end, I couldn't care less about any of player's pack nonsense. I pay my $ to play PDGA tournaments for the competition & the action - that's it. And, as far as I'm concerned, I've gotten my money's worth of that x1000. One of the best values I've found ever.

 

[Jenga54]

$20 to play in a PDGA sanctioned event is a lot of money? If that's the case, I wish the PDGA sanctioned events in my area were as expensive as yours were.

Seriously, I play MA3 and the PDGA tournaments in SoCal are never cheaper than $35, more like $50, sometimes higher. But there's always a players pack with at least a nice $15 disc, usually more. So, in your case, I think it's not completely outrageous to only be playing for a trophy. Although, I would be shocked if you don't receive some kind of player's pack too.

Personally, I like winning a trophy and I like receiving a nice non-dri-fit shirt with a cool design but in the end, couldn't care less about any of player's pack nonsense. I pay my $ to play PDGA tournaments for the competition & the action - that's it. And, as far as I'm concerned, I've gotten my money's worth of that x1000. One of the best values I've found ever.

This is the cheapest one by about $15 - the others are $35+ or so for AMs. It's not "a lot" of money for a tourney with prizes, but it is "a lot" of money for a $10 trophy to the winner and everyone else goes home with nothing.

This one has no player pack, so no guarantees at all for the entry. That's ok too for a lower price entry round.


This being my first event, I've only known the enjoyment of causal rounds with friends and some small town "tournaments" that are year end league tag matches. Those aren't $20 per round and I get the same "nothing" at the end.

Maybe I will find it like a movie ticket, where the experience alone makes the signup fee worth it. In my mind I also could care less about a player pack (or a trophy I can put on the counter to prove to my wife I'm awesome), there's no way the TD is gonna pick something I like, I would prefer to have a fly mart to choose my winnings, if I do well enough to earn them.

 

[corin_brown]

Maybe I will find it like a movie ticket, where the experience alone makes the signup fee worth it.

That's how I look at it. The juice & action I get from competing, even at MA3, is like nothing I've felt since playing sports in college. I guess I've been missing the competition. It's an awesome, awesome way to spend a Saturday or Sunday. And for ~$50, there's no better recreational value I've found.

 

[Jenga54]

Yup - after leaving the college club ultimate team, i found it's way easier to pick up DG and play when I want vs. finding 20 other people to play ultimate with. bring on some pressure and competition!