Region 12 contest cancelled ....

Scott,

Really nice e-mail. Thanks for the perspective.

Just to add another datapoint to the discussion, down in Houston the two
area clubs are hosting a (non-sanctioned) series of 3-day contests...one
club hosts Memorial Day weekend, the other Labor Day.

Greater Houston Soaring (my club) hosted the 1st one last Memorial Day.
We charged $30 entry fee (remember this was not sanctioned, so no sanction
fee to pay), and everyone just paid for their tows. For the entry fee,
you received two free meals (one BBQ, and the other hamburgers lovingly
grilled to perfection by some of our club members).

We had anywhere from 8-12 competitors (if I remember correctly, and it
varied a bit from day to day). I'm sure you can imagine with only $30
entry fee that the club didn't exactly have a windfall profit. In fact,
we probably ate the cost of one of the meals, plus the trophies. However,
depending on how you amortize towplane maintenance expenses, you might
make the argument that the extra tow revenue allowed us to break even. In
any case, with a $50 entry fee, we probably could have covered all the
expenses and turned a (modest) profit off the tow revenue.

If we wanted to break even, and pay the sanctioning fee, that's where the
extra $170 (gap between what we charged and the "typical" contest fee)
comes in.

This is not to argue with anyone here. Just to second Scott's assertion
that contests can be "big and expensive" where you need many competitors
to cover the fixed costs, or they can be "small and cheap" more like a
typical weekend at the club, but with just a bit of extra structure and
planning.

As far as results, at least 4 of our club members have bought new racing
ships since the contest (one was a syndicate of 3), one member who hadn't
flown much in years pulled his Cirrus out of the box and had a good enough
time that flew at the Region 10 South in Llano last month. I'm sure that
some of this would have happened even without our little contest, but the
enthusiasm that was generated had to have contributed to this positive
outcome. In addition, many members who don't normally get to experience a
contest did, and I'm sure this "planted a seed" for some that will
eventually grow.

One final note for the competitors. Since this was not a sanctioned
contest and was much more of a "low key" affair, we had some of the most
experienced pilots in the area there giving very detailed strategy
sessions and really working with the newbies (like me) to get them up to
speed for future contests.

Altogether, I think it was a very worthwhile thing. The club at least
didn't lose any money, new contest pilots gained experience and received
(practically free) instruction from some very experienced competitors, and
many club members got to experience what a contest is like and hopefully
will progress towards one day flying a contest themselves.

--Stefan



On Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:27:22 -0500, Scott Alexander
wrote:

On Sep 2, 4:32 pm, JJ Sinclair wrote:

" I'm afraid the good old days are gone forever."


It's sad to hear that JJ. But things can change on a dime, just like
weather forecasts, the stock market and even enthusiasm in our sport.


I was the key organizer for the Region 10 North contest last year. We
gave lots of thought into what it would take to host our first
contest. Financially speaking, IMHO, you only need 5 contestants to
enter a race to have it pay for itself and meet minimum entrant
requirements. Not speaking to you JJ, but speaking to other clubs
across the country, I'm shocked that more people don't see it this
way.

For instance, I'm a part of a group of 5 pilots who meets up typically
every other week. We call a task, race each other, and run the scores
through WinScore. We grid our gliders, have a safety briefing, then
chow down on a combo of BBQ fixings and a shmorgishborg potluck. As
the cumulus clouds are popping, we jam our throats with what's left
and fire up the towplane. It's no different than a typical day at a
contest and costs 1 tow for each person. When we're done, we sit
around the hanger, have a so-called winners speach over an ice cold
beverage and look forward to the next time. If we wanted to do it 6
days in a row, we'd have to scrounge up a thousand bucks to
technically call it a contest and have our scores factored in to the
glider pilot ranking.

For the Region 10 Contest we organized, a 200 dollar entry fee, and
pay for each tow option as defined in the contest handbook, we were at
break even with 5 contestants. 5 X 200 = 1,000 bucks. With that you
can pay your insurance, SSA sanctioning fee, welcome meal on the first
night, cost for a contest website and your basically set! Have the
towpilots volunteer, get some of the crew to run wings (they'll enjoy
feeling involved) and stay away from wasteful spending. T-shirts,
Banner's, extravagant winner gifts, trophies, etc can all be added to
the budget as more people pay the 200 dollar entry fee. It takes
getting creative, thinking outside the box and using all available
resources.

Our club did this and we profited handsomely, $6,000 take home from
slightly less than 20 competitors. When you add a few bucks to the
cost of meals, t-shirts, aeroretrieves, RV hookups, and all optional
extra's, it really really add's up. Again, we charged the standard
200 entry and 48/aerotow. 20 competitors times 200 dollar entry fee
is 4,000 dollars. Nobody is required to buy a t-shirt, nobody is
required to do an aeroretrieve. Granted it was our first contest, so
we really penny pinched because many other clubs had told us how these
contests can suck all your money away. Not with us. We even added an
extra free meal and paid for some unexpected costs. You don't need a
big tent, use an awing from someones RV, or an open hanger. You don't
need to rent portapotties for a small contest, use what you would
normally use.

The result from our well thought through contest? One club member,
bought his own racing glider afterwards in excitement. Other members
set new goals in their soaring adventures to attend races. And the
money earned was poured back into our club. The Memphis Soaring
Society has grown since then and I honestly believe this contest
contributed to that.


I hate to see a contest cancelled, when ours was just sooo
profitable. IMHO it just doesn't have to be that way. Low attendance
just means fun in a different way - less competition for a higher
chance of winning perhaps! The glass is half FULL.


Maybe I should write an article detailing exactly how we did this...


--
Stefan Murry

On Sep 3, 11:54*pm, "S. Murry" wrote:
Scott,

Really nice e-mail. *Thanks for the perspective.

Just to add another datapoint to the discussion, down in Houston the two *
area clubs are hosting a (non-sanctioned) series of 3-day contests...one *
club hosts Memorial Day weekend, the other Labor Day.

Greater Houston Soaring (my club) hosted the 1st one last Memorial Day. *
We charged $30 entry fee (remember this was not sanctioned, so no sanction *
fee to pay), and everyone just paid for their tows. *For the entry fee, *
you received two free meals (one BBQ, and the other hamburgers lovingly *
grilled to perfection by some of our club members).

We had anywhere from 8-12 competitors (if I remember correctly, and it *
varied a bit from day to day). *I'm sure you can imagine with only $30 *
entry fee that the club didn't exactly have a windfall profit. *In fact, *
we probably ate the cost of one of the meals, plus the trophies. *However, *
depending on how you amortize towplane maintenance expenses, you might *
make the argument that the extra tow revenue allowed us to break even. *In *
any case, with a $50 entry fee, we probably could have covered all the *
expenses and turned a (modest) profit off the tow revenue.

If we wanted to break even, and pay the sanctioning fee, that's where the *
extra $170 (gap between what we charged and the "typical" contest fee) *
comes in.

This is not to argue with anyone here. *Just to second Scott's assertion *
that contests can be "big and expensive" where you need many competitors *
to cover the fixed costs, or they can be "small and cheap" more like a *
typical weekend at the club, but with just a bit of extra structure and *
planning.

As far as results, at least 4 of our club members have bought new racing *
ships since the contest (one was a syndicate of 3), one member who hadn't *
flown much in years pulled his Cirrus out of the box and had a good enough *
time that flew at the Region 10 South in Llano last month. *I'm sure that *
some of this would have happened even without our little contest, but the *
enthusiasm that was generated had to have contributed to this positive *
outcome. *In addition, many members who don't normally get to experience a *
contest did, and I'm sure this "planted a seed" for some that will *
eventually grow.

One final note for the competitors. *Since this was not a sanctioned *
contest and was much more of a "low key" affair, we had some of the most *
experienced pilots in the area there giving very detailed strategy *
sessions and really working with the newbies (like me) to get them up to *
speed for future contests.

Altogether, I think it was a very worthwhile thing. *The club at least *
didn't lose any money, new contest pilots gained experience and received *
(practically free) instruction from some very experienced competitors, and *
many club members got to experience what a contest is like and hopefully *
will progress towards one day flying a contest themselves.

--Stefan

On Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:27:22 -0500, Scott Alexander *





wrote:
On Sep 2, 4:32 pm, JJ Sinclair wrote:

" I'm afraid the good old days are gone forever."

It's sad to hear that JJ. *But things can change on a dime, just like
weather forecasts, the stock market and even enthusiasm in our sport.

I was the key organizer for the Region 10 North contest last year. *We
gave lots of thought into what it would take to host our first
contest. *Financially speaking, IMHO, you only need 5 contestants to
enter a race to have it pay for itself and meet minimum entrant
requirements. *Not speaking to you JJ, but speaking to other clubs
across the country, I'm shocked that more people don't see it this
way.

For instance, I'm a part of a group of 5 pilots who meets up typically
every other week. *We call a task, race each other, and run the scores
through WinScore. *We grid our gliders, have a safety briefing, then
chow down on a combo of BBQ fixings and a shmorgishborg potluck. *As
the cumulus clouds are popping, we jam our throats with what's left
and fire up the towplane. *It's no different than a typical day at a
contest and costs 1 tow for each person. *When we're done, we sit
around the hanger, have a so-called winners speach over an ice cold
beverage and look forward to the next time. *If we wanted to do it 6
days in a row, we'd have to scrounge up a thousand bucks to
technically call it a contest and have our scores factored in to the
glider pilot ranking.

For the Region 10 Contest we organized, a 200 dollar entry fee, and
pay for each tow option as defined in the contest handbook, we were at
break even with 5 contestants. *5 X 200 = 1,000 bucks. *With that you
can pay your insurance, SSA sanctioning fee, welcome meal on the first
night, cost for a contest website and your basically set! *Have the
towpilots volunteer, get some of the crew to run wings (they'll enjoy
feeling involved) and stay away from wasteful spending. *T-shirts,
Banner's, extravagant winner gifts, trophies, etc can all be added to
the budget as more people pay the 200 dollar entry fee. *It takes
getting creative, thinking outside the box and using all available
resources.

Our club did this and we profited handsomely, $6,000 take home from
slightly less than 20 competitors. *When you add a few bucks to the
cost of meals, t-shirts, aeroretrieves, RV hookups, and all optional
extra's, it really really add's up. *Again, we charged the standard
200 entry and 48/aerotow. *20 competitors times 200 dollar entry fee
is 4,000 dollars. *Nobody is required to buy a t-shirt, nobody is
required to do an aeroretrieve. *Granted it was our first contest, so
we really penny pinched because many other clubs had told us how these
contests can suck all your money away. *Not with us. *We even added an
extra free meal and paid for some unexpected costs. *You don't need a
big tent, use an awing from someones RV, or an open hanger. *You don't
need to rent portapotties for a small contest, use what you would
normally use.

The result from our well thought through contest? *One club member,
bought his own racing glider afterwards in excitement. *Other members
set new goals in their soaring adventures to attend races. *And the
money earned was poured back into our club. *The Memphis Soaring
Society has grown since then and I honestly believe this contest
contributed to that.

I hate to see a contest cancelled, when ours was just sooo
profitable. *IMHO it just doesn't have to be that way. *Low attendance
just means fun in a different way - less competition for a higher
chance of winning perhaps! *The glass is half FULL.

Maybe I should write an article detailing exactly how we did this...

--
Stefan Murry- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'm with you guys (Stef & Scot) and that's what we do at Air Sailing.
We own 2 Pawnees and only charge $25-$35 a tow, have a club house with
showers, BBQ, etc. The soaring in July is consistently good year after
year.The big problem is when tow pilots, tow planes and contest
personnel must be brought in with ferry expences + lodging + paying
the CD and/or CM. Parowan is a good example, there is usually 1 tow
ship there, everything else must be brought in. I believe we has 13
this year and I know the contest lost money and the CD & CM didn't get
anything but lodging paid. Hard to expect managers to sign up for more
of that, isn't it?
Cheers,
JJ.

Well said Stefan.

Likewise, GTA contests cost 5 bucks.....not a typo, only five bucks!
The 5 bucks goes towards the website fee. This is a Georgia,
Tennessee, Alabama weekend race circuit. BYOB, no trophies, all
scored on winscore, safety briefing, weather briefing, sign an
insurance waiver, and have proof of your own insurance. etc. You pay
each tow which varies from site to site. If it's more than 10
gliders, and you only have 1 towplane? Then call a shorter task and
brief everyone to be ready for quick turnarounds with the towplane.

If contest costs get out of hand (like ferrying in a towplane from
over a thousand miles away, because he's your best friend!) then plan
on seeing less and less contests. Time to handover the checkbook to
the penny pinchers!