| |
BGonline.org Forums
Do Tournament Directors make too much money?
Posted By: Marv Porten In Response To: Do Tournament Directors make too much money? (MFIC)
Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2009, at 6:10 p.m.
Some people have misinterpreted my initial post, and I'd like to clarify a couple of things. I have no problem with a tournament director making a nice profit. Is there anyone who disagrees with that? I used to organize events (not backgammon events), and I never did it for free. I suggested that $3000 to $5000 was a fair amount for the TD to receive for all of the time and effort it takes to produce a 3 or 4 day tournament. Others may disagree with that financial goal, but if so, please tell us what a fair amount would be. I didn't say that any particular TD was, in fact, making that amount (or more), nor did I say that I could run a backgammon tournament better than any of the existing TDs (I could not).
There was a lot of chatter on this forum about the fees and rakes charged by the director of the U.S. Open. My point is that although the fees and rakes are relatively high, it's an initial tournament, the director is incurring financial risks, and perhaps the fees and rakes could be reduced in future years if the first tournament is a success. If the fees and rakes are out-of-line at subsequent tournaments, presumably attendance will suffer. But let's give the director a break in regard to a new tournament.
I estimated the total expenses for the U.S. Open at $5000. That might be too low, and there are some variables that I didn't consider. The out-of-pocket expenses could be as high as $10000 (or more). The tournament director is putting up the money in advance, working 100 or 200 or 300 hours before, during, and after the tournament, and deserves fair compensation for the work.
I've played in many local one-day tournaments held in restaurants, where the directors got the playing area in exchange for encouraging the players to buy the restaurant food. The directors told the players what the deal was, and most of the players bought something. If there's transparency between the directors and the players, whether the object is to gamble in the casino, stay at the hotel, eat at the restaurant, etc., players will cooperate to the extent that they can. Rather than keep the financials of running a tournament a secret, if directors talked about expenses (and how expenses could be reduced), players would have a better understanding of these matters, complaints about fees and rakes could be avoided, and players would be more willing to cooperate.
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.