To answer George's question regarding how can RC's (and indirectly, the UPA) be more proactive, I have a few undeveloped ideas. I think the biggest thing they can do is not only remove any financial risks assumed by the tournament directors, but also help them profit.
I think long gone are the days of players resenting other players making a buck off of ultimate -- given the service provided is of a high quality. Look no further than Rob of UltiVillage for evidence of that fact. The guy is obviously turning a profit, else he'd have given it up long ago. Either that, or he's got a sugar mama and is the hardest working volunteer in ultimate.
I have no idea how much Rob is making, nor do I care, nor has any real resentment toward the profit he's making amassed. Why? Because he's providing an extremely valued product. We players value PT, probably more than video footage, which is why I've never really heard much backlash against steep tournament fees (at least not for a couple years). Even Potlatch, the world's biggest and most expensive (from a registration fee perspective) tournament, no longer has "why is the registration fee so expensive?" on their FAQ page. I guess it's not asked very frequently anymore.
Of course, they do publish their $5k+ deficit budget, so maybe that's why no one's asking.
Regardless of the profiting, let's face it, tournament fees are the smallest of the tournament expenses for individuals. I typically spend $20+ on travel, $40+ on food, and $20+ on lodging. Yes, I've spent less than that at tournaments. At some point, every ultimate player has put 7 people and all their gear in one minivan, only to meet another car at the hotel to share one room that by Sunday morning makes you wish you were in a gas station restroom because you need relief from the odor. But now, I'm employed and prefer to sleep without feet next to my head and on a soft surface. As such, being that my club team is 14+ players, it's rare to see my share of the tournament fee more than $20.
With that in mind, after having a conversation with Greg Williams over the weekend, I know he's lost a lot of money over the years putting on tournaments. And I know he's not alone. It's a lot of work and a lot of risk. The UPA needs to assuage that risk to promote the likelihood that a TD will step up and run a good tournament AND not lose any of his or her personal money. Frankly, it's ridiculous for the UPA to ask a person to put dozens of hours into a thankless job that will also potentially leave his or her wallet hundreds of dollars lighter.
How does the UPA do that? I don't know exactly, as I've not seen every budget of every UPA tournament and I've only personally directed one tournament (it wasn't UPA sponsored). Maybe they already do this, but if the UPA were willing to assume some of the financial risk of every UPA Championship Series tournament (in exchange for capitalizing on a percentage of their profits), I'm sure individuals would be more willing to step up. The UPA Event Hosting outline doesn't explicitly address who pays and who profits.
It was not long ago that tournament fees were regularly just $100, but those were the kinds of tournaments run on "ultimate time." The transition to better run and more expensive events happened quickly. Maybe the trend needs to continue.
Bottom line, TDs need not be afraid of making more money and UPA should not only encourage them to make a buck, but help them do it (by promoting the event and supporting the TD's decision to do so). For tournaments such as Regionals, with literally 1000 players, an extra $5 per player goes a long way toward the TDs' pocketbooks, without affecting the individual player's budget. This is especially true in the Central Region this year. A centrally located regional tournament could save hundreds of individuals literally hundreds of dollars each. I know I'd gladly rather choose to personally pay a TD $200 for a tournament within driving distance, than spend $400 on a plane ticket and rental car. Now multiply that by 10 teams of 20 players each.
Is there a TD out there willing to put in a good bid in Chicago and get paid $40,000?
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2 comments:
Best Post Ever
JB,
Thanks for stealing my idea about the money.....
Seriously, good post.
A couple of things:
-It is pretty important that we are clear about the difference between a RC and a TD. The UPA recommends that the TD should be responsible for all of the logistics(this means water, toliets, lining fields, food, etc, etc)....the RC should focus on the competition aspects of the event.
-My opinion (not representing the UPA here) is that RC's should request bids and that TD's should submit bids. The TD should basically have the whole package together when they submit their bid....including how much they are going to make. We are still largely at a stage where the UPA coordinator takes on some of the responsibilities that a TD should have.
-My opinion(again, not representing the UPA) is that as UPA Series events involves a "captive audience" that we need to keep tabs on the cost since folks HAVE TO participate. What I mean by this is that we essentially have it backwards right now. While it great that Potlatch prints their budget...there is, as you say, basically no reason for them to do so...anymore than either Ultivillage or Discraft should. However, we need to be careful in UPA Series events that the potential for extortion is not abused. I do think that a bid process in which TD's are bidding on similar packages could help to keep the costs down(as a TD overcompensating themselves might make their location too expensive), but still offer the chance for the TD's to make enough money to make it worthwhile.
-I do think that it might be a good idea to have published budgets for UPA Series events, but I think we need to define how much money is "OK" for a TD to earn. Culturally, we have no idea what we are comfortable with.
-G
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