Entry fees

[Jadranko Radovanovic]

Competition entry fees are very different.

You pay for:

Monaco Cone (Munich): 8 Euro 1 discipline
Paris: AM 25/35 Euro Pro 75/85 Euro 3 disciplines
Silverstone: (non Members 20£) 29.50 Euro 4 disciplines
Grueningen: (20 CHF) 13 Euro 2 disciplines
Koeln: 20 Euro 2 disciplines
Antibes: Am ?? Pro ??
World's: (Am 100 $ Pro 150 $) Am 83 Euro Pro 124 Euro 3 disciplines
(if the prizes aren't correct, please correct it.)

What do you think about the entry fees ?
Are they OK or too high ?
How important is the prize money ?


Jadranko

[Jani Soderhall]

Amateur/Open class:

Paris 2004: 6.25 or 8.3 euro/discipline (4 events, incl slide)
Grueningen: 6.5 euro/discipline
Silverstone: 7.3 euro/discipline
Monaco Cone: 8 euro/discipline
Koeln: 10 euro/discipline
Worlds 2003: 27.6 euro/discipline.

Pro class:

Grueningen: 6.5 euro/discipline
Paris 2004: 25 euro/discipline
Worlds 2003: 41 euro/discipline


Now to my own thoughts. I think that 10 euro is a suitable entry fee for open or amateur races. That's not a lot of money for a whole day of fun. Organisation of an event takes a lot of sweat. If the choice was between no event or paying 10 euros I hope all of us would prefer to pay the price. We all spend a lot more money travelling to the events, or even eating just meal out!

The registration fee in Pro class should be higher than in the am/open class. Although I had to pay $100 to sign up in the US about a year ago (and it was a surprise to me at the time) I was pleased to see that skaters are prepared to pay to participate in the events that make this sport happen. Exactly what is the right level it's hard to say but it seems the American slalomers have all accepted the $100 fee normally used in US races.

To compensate the Pros in Paris we give away more than we receive in Pro entry fees. Bad idea for the organizers budget. Cool for the skaters.

PS. Jadranko,
If I remember correctly I paid 10 euros/day in Gruningen last year. Maybe it was cheaper to pay in Swiss francs?

/Jani

[Chris Eggers]

I think that depends.....

it should be up to the organizers (it is anyway) and it largely depends on their expenses and if they want to offer prize money. I am sure that Paris has higher costs than Grüningen for example.
Morro Bay was very high for the standards I was used to and it still is.

I think the fees should be kept as low as possible, but we, the racers will always be willing to pay them in adequate height if the event is done right.

[Jack Smith]

Chris,

At Morro in 2003 we offered three events for the entry fee, plus a pre-race party/bay cruise.

The events were all on different streets, one event was 35 miles away. The city of Morro Bay charges fees to use their streets as does the venue for the slalom cross. We also had to pay for a police officer both days at Morro Bay. Porta-potties were also required at both locations. Fencing was required in Morro. Insurance for both venues. A big ol' rental truck to move the gear around. As you can see things add up quickly.

Someday I hope to secure a sponsor who will put up enough dough that there would be no entry fee, and maybe even appearance money for the top guys.

Hope to see you soon.

[Andy Bittner]

This is a very interesting conversation, as so many fair and reasonable points of view are being given.

Having been present and working with Jack in the days leading up to the '02 Worlds, it's clear to me that it costs (at least in the US) significant money to mount events of that scale, and I've always thought that his entry fees were adn are very fair and reasonable.

At the same time, there is also a need and desire for affordable, sport-building, amateur racing and, more and more these days, this can be found as well. One of the most regular, consistently-available racing opportunities in the world at this time is the DC Winter and Summer Outlaw Series', which cost participants exactly 0.0 dollars/euros per event, and the organizers very little more than that.

In my opinion, the whole energy that drives this conversation here is the fact that WE are IT. I don't mean just us here on slalomskateboarder.com, but "US"... the (probably) less than 500 people, worldwide, who might actually refer to themselves as "slalom skateboarders" (or something equivalent) and who constitute a sport called "slalom skateboarding" (or something equivalent). Our whole sport can still fit in one hotel ballroom, and for the most part, this and a few other websites are that room.

So, as long as we have the whole sport standing in one room, we're going to hear the voices of guys who are more interested in friendly competition, "just skating with their buddies" and don't think that should cost much, if anything. We will also hear the voices of guys who consider themselves the top athletes in the sport, many of whom have larger interests in the sport than mere self-entertainment, and who can afford, are willing to pay for and may even prefer that events like the World Championships should have things like organized social events, PA systems, quick scoring accessibility, haybales, spectator control, etc.

Imagine if baseball, a huge sport here in the US, was as small as slalom skateboarding. Here in the US, there are fans of the game for whom the most rewarding experience in the sport is buying a keg of beer, dragging it down to the local schoolyard and playing an alcohol-fueled game of slow-pitch softball with their buddies; and for whom the annual cost of their love for the game should only minimally exceed the total cost of the beer and some basic equipment. At the same time, there are fans of the game, for whom the most rewarding experience in the sport is sitting on the first base line to watch a World Series game and who are ready, willing and able to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for each time they have the opportunity to do so.

Ultimately, nobody's right and nobody's wrong. Race organizers should have the right to generate enough income from an event to, at least, cover the costs of that event. Race organizers should attempt to defray the cost of the event to the participant through sponsors, donors, anonymous supporters, etc, but ultimately we, the skaters, are the ones who either want or don't want large scale events, and if we do, we should be willing to pay our share for the pleasure, at least until the sport either becomes large enough to have large sponsors within the sport or until it represents a lucrative enough market to be of interest and potential value to sponsors outside of the immediate sporting community. If you don't want to pay to be involved in such events, don't go and don't pay.

[Pat Chewning]

Small local races should have low fees.

For those big races where people travel from long distances, the fees can be higher. In comparison to airline tickets, hotel, car rental, and meals, the entry fee at the World Championships was nothing.

I find it amazing that the folks organizing the big Paris event can do so much with small entry fees. Maybe they don't require insurance, fencing, barricades, and other "protection" costs?

A similar pricing approach goes for ski lift tickets. The small areas that attract the locals have low prices. The large destination resorts have high prices, which turn out to be inconsequential once you consider paying for travel and lodging expenses.

-- Pat

[Pat Chewning]

Racing on the street might cost more than racing in a park or other "protected" area.

A park would already be separated from traffic.
A park would already have bathrooms.
A park might be free for recreational uses.

My impression (might be wrong) is that the Paris event is in a park?

-- Pat

[Chris Eggers]

Jack, I know that, and I paid it, I paid even more to get there and stay. I would pay it again if I had it, but it is still a lot of money for me. That is what I wanted to say.
I know Morro is an extra effort.

I also hope that someday, we, the racers will not have to pay to show our sport in the great way it was shown in Morro.
We have to show our skills and not have to pay for it. The companies who make the money with advertising will have to pay for it. I also hope that it will be like this someday....

[Jani Soderhall]

I find it amazing that the folks organizing the big Paris event can do so much with small entry fees. Maybe they don't require insurance, fencing, barricades, and other "protection" costs?
-- Pat

Insurance, yes, but only valid for French skaters
Fencing/barricades, yes. Cost: 1500 euros.
Toilets, free
Park yes kind of.

The largest investment though is probably the organizers time spent. Let's not attempt to include that in the budget for any event, because then there wouldn't be any events other than the "let's get together this weekend" type of events. They're important but they won't make the sport stick around for long. We need high profile events and it's normal that they'll cost a little bit more for the participants.

With the number of participants we have at slalom events at this time, nobody can make a profit from a slalom event if we only count the entry fees. Not Paris, not Morro Bay and probably nobody else.

We're all doing this because we think this sport is pretty cool and we all have fun doing it.

Support your race organizers and come participate, whether it's a local race close to you or on the other side of the Atlantic!

/Jani

[Joe Iacovelli]

I paid 55 Euro for 3 events, 3 lunches, and a tee shirt at Paris. A very good deal I think.

$100+ to race elsewhere? Still a bargain and a privelege. Granted, I'm 40 years old with a good job and a very cool wife, but what does it cost to participate in other sports? Golf is $50-$150 everytime you play and that doesn't include contest or tournement play.

Just trying to keep things in perspective,

Joe Iacovelli

[Dave Gale]

And that comes from a man who can fill his Midget's tank for 22.00!
I'm tinkin' 'bout reducing fee's for Euro's by 50% for the Mountain State Slalom Skate. We're talkin' 20-25 U.S.D's

[Rick Stanziale]

West Virginia and Georgia - pay one fee, enter both races (right Dave?)

[Dave Gale]

Rick,
you know it!!! M.S.S.S is going in on the DEAL 66 speaks of!

[Pat Chewning]

Cascade Slalom Association races in Portland, Seattle, Salem, etc do not charge a fee. These are local races supported by local vendors (Roe, Insect, Daddies Board Shop)