Course maintenance help, would u ever cancel

[discgolfbandit]

Having a big state championship event at my local course, and I'm the only player and only person who maintains the course the rest of the year.

I have set up a working bee two weeks prior to the big event, and have recieved zero interest in anyone helping out at all.

Myself and one other are doing all the leg work, I'm the TD, and we are doing the food and everything too.

Question is, would you ever pull the pin on an event if you recieved zero help from the player body. The governing state body asked us to host, and promised help as well.

Unsure I can pull of a b tier event with 3 people, including course maintenance :-(

 

[Improbably]

Myself and one other are doing all the leg work, I'm the TD, and we are doing the food and everything too.

So you're saying you have any help at all?

 

[discgolfbandit]

It's my wife and her friend, she lives 3 hours away.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Well **** man that's stressful.. I don't know about cancelling it is what it is. Try reaching out where you can on here and Facebook, I'm guessing you're probably tried.. But maybe start a thread with your location on it and see if anyone's around.. Talk to the government city parks and see if they can send a couple guys.. You are boosting tourism and income to your community. It's getting tight but you never know and if stuff doesn't get done the conditions are the same for everyone. If you have a local sports junior team they are usually good at hot dog fundraisers get them to handle the food and shed some load before you explode.

 

[Casey 1988]

Having a big state championship event at my local course, and I'm the only player and only person who maintains the course the rest of the year.

I have set up a working bee two weeks prior to the big event, and have recieved zero interest in anyone helping out at all.

Myself and one other are doing all the leg work, I'm the TD, and we are doing the food and everything too.

Question is, would you ever pull the pin on an event if you recieved zero help from the player body. The governing state body asked us to host, and promised help as well.

Unsure I can pull of a b tier event with 3 people, including course maintenance :-(

I have seen worse a pro as the only person running a PDGA B tier event and playing in the event as well. I say if you have a person playing in a PDGA event above C and they are the only person running the event that is something that should not happen. The event was badly run and slapped together at the last minute with the bran-new course only being player ready, only the night before about 6 hours from the start of the the event the concrete was fully dry for both the baskets and the tee pads. The Clash at the Corn Palace in 2007, Mitchell South Dakota was the event.

 

[biscoe]

Been there...done that. No I would not cancel. Try to separate the "must do" items from the "would be nice to do" items and prioritize accordingly.

 

[DavidSauls]

Been there...done that. No I would not cancel. Try to separate the "must do" items from the "would be nice to do" items and prioritize accordingly.

"Doing the food" is the first thing that comes to mind. I think I'd make it a "pack your lunch" event.

I wouldn't cancel, but it might be the last event I'd run there.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Having a big state championship event at my local course, and I'm the only player and only person who maintains the course the rest of the year.

I have set up a working bee two weeks prior to the big event, and have recieved zero interest in anyone helping out at all.

Myself and one other are doing all the leg work, I'm the TD, and we are doing the food and everything too.

Question is, would you ever pull the pin on an event if you recieved zero help from the player body. The governing state body asked us to host, and promised help as well.

Unsure I can pull of a b tier event with 3 people, including course maintenance :-(

First of all - it depends on the B-tier. I pulled one off with 74 players with my wife and daughter helping. It went flawlessly - almost - but it was pretty good IMHO. Personally, I would not pull the plug on any event once the date is set and all that. I'd just do the best you can with the time available. If the course gets stuff completed great, if not, oh well. And as others have said just prioritize. Figure out what is most important to you as TD and get that stuff done first. For me on that particlar event it was:

- Mark OB as needed
- Mark putting circles
- Clear drainage ditches to get rid of ponding
- Clear brush for playability
- Clear thickets for player comfort

So the last two items kinda got done but not as much as I wanted to. If players complain tell them, "I didn't get the help needed to complete all that. I did the best I could." End of conversation. Don't cancel the work day you never know who might show up at the last minute. And just a word of advice, if people do show for your working bee be grateful for their time and express it. Do not ever complain to them about how few showed up. I find that positivity on events like that goes a long long way toward future endeavors such as this.

And I agree with DavidSauls, if no help shows up and people whine about the quality of the event never run an event there again. That just means the disc golf community doesn't appreciate your time and efforts. Don't take it personally - it happens. I'm fortunate enough that while I don't always get a lot of help the locals make up for it by being very grateful to me. Sometimes I feel like I have the greatest DG community in the world and I never take it for granted.

-Dave

 

[brutalbrutus]

If you just need help clearing sticks, weeds and the like, maybe you can see if a local boy scout troop needs some community service merit badges? ...or maybe if the local government needs fresh ideas for how people work off community service?...

The latter was used at Osage Grove in the morning before they installed the baskets on opening day. They had a dozen or so juveniles out there raking up sticks and clearing fairways to work off their punishment.

 

[lines]

Around my parts we like to make our maintenance days fun. We will make an event post on our FB club page and bump it daily. We post the hours that we plan on working (I.e. 10-2). We usually schedule a dubs round after. Our club board will allocate some money for pizza. We also try to find a local brewery to donate some beverages as well.

 

[Steve West]

...
Question is, would you ever pull the pin on an event if you recieved zero help from the player body. The governing state body asked us to host, and promised help as well.

If the governing body didn't hold up their end of the deal, you don't need to deliver the event. Let there be consequences. Otherwise, why should they ever help?

 

[blazerico]

If course isn't playable, then don't have an event. Or have it anyway and let everyone search for discs, complain a lot and take forever to finish their rounds. definitely do not provide food. you don't need that stress.

 

[biscoe]

where is this?

 

[discgolfbandit]

Foods already listed and a part of what we offer.

No one plays locally so no one's interested in helping. Our working bees are fun, usually a big fire or two, drinks, make a weekend of it.

People just see the course as being ready, when it's fat from it.

 

[JC17393]

Foods already listed and a part of what we offer.

No one plays locally so no one's interested in helping. Our working bees are fun, usually a big fire or two, drinks, make a weekend of it.

People just see the course as being ready, when it's fat from it.

Sometimes you have to accept the public's view, especially if you're the one doing the work. Being too close to things, you may have standards that are way higher than anyone else's for the course. I've been there. I am always there, really.

I can't set foot on my course without seeing 4-5 new things that I think need doing that go on my endless to-do list, but 999 out of a 1000 players would never notice whether they got done or not. It's unending. I hosted my annual B-tier a couple weeks ago and I was scrambling (as usual) to have the course in peak condition in the weeks leading up to it.

But the weather wasn't cooperating...if it wasn't raining, it was unseasonably cold and cloudy so the ground wasn't drying out, so it was difficult to mow the fields. I mowed everything I could but on tournament day, there were a bunch of fairways with shaggy grass and weeds that was squishy and wet to walk on. I felt terrible about how the course wasn't up to my standards for the big event. But on the day of the event and in the days that followed, all I heard was how great the course looked. I realized (again) that no one else sees the course with my eyes.

As others have suggested, figure out what needs to be done, prioritize those tasks, and do them in order. If there's stuff you don't get to, you don't get to it. As long as the most important stuff is done and the course is generally playable, your players will enjoy themselves and be happy.

And then when it's over, consider walking away unless you can recruit more reliable help to put the event together.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

Foods already listed and a part of what we offer.

No one plays locally so no one's interested in helping. Our working bees are fun, usually a big fire or two, drinks, make a weekend of it.

People just see the course as being ready, when it's fat from it.

So where is this or you again?

 

[DavidSauls]

Australia, perhaps?

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

. . .

Unsure I can pull of a b tier event with 3 people, including course maintenance :-(

Whatever you decide, keep in mind that the disc golfers who will be playing are going to blame/credit you for their experience at the tournament, including for canceling the event. I'd be a lot less critical of a TD who canceled an event and refunded my fee well in advance (actually I'd have no criticism of this) than I would be of a TD who ran an event in which I had a poor experience because of conditions at the event or how it was run.

 

[1978]

First of all - it depends on the B-tier. I pulled one off with 74 players with my wife and daughter helping. It went flawlessly - almost - but it was pretty good IMHO. Personally, I would not pull the plug on any event once the date is set and all that. I'd just do the best you can with the time available. If the course gets stuff completed great, if not, oh well. And as others have said just prioritize. Figure out what is most important to you as TD and get that stuff done first. For me on that particlar event it was:

- Mark OB as needed
- Mark putting circles
- Clear drainage ditches to get rid of ponding
- Clear brush for playability
- Clear thickets for player comfort

So the last two items kinda got done but not as much as I wanted to. If players complain tell them, "I didn't get the help needed to complete all that. I did the best I could." End of conversation. Don't cancel the work day you never know who might show up at the last minute. And just a word of advice, if people do show for your working bee be grateful for their time and express it. Do not ever complain to them about how few showed up. I find that positivity on events like that goes a long long way toward future endeavors such as this.

And I agree with DavidSauls, if no help shows up and people whine about the quality of the event never run an event there again. That just means the disc golf community doesn't appreciate your time and efforts. Don't take it personally - it happens. I'm fortunate enough that while I don't always get a lot of help the locals make up for it by being very grateful to me. Sometimes I feel like I have the greatest DG community in the world and I never take it for granted.

-Dave

Nix the circles.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Nix the circles.

I'll pass on that. I, as a player, like having them. The players who come to my tourneys seem to like them so for my tourneys they stay. In other areas where that sort of thing is not appreciated I can certainly see not spending time on circles.