Am I in the wrong here???

[nate22]

So for the second straight year I decided to host the ace race in my hometown...mainly due to the fact I enjoy the event and no one else was bothering.

However, I did not want to order 25 packs off discraft (sent to Australia = $$$) so I enquired with the other TDs and ended up buying the leftover 9 packs from Perth. I then decided to offer up half packs to have a cap of 18 players, and mulligans can be taken with a standard disc.

So I feel this makes it completely unsanctioned as a discraft event, there is no prizes, there is no ace race winner mini disc, nothing, just mulligan $ will go towards some basic prizes, but mainly its meant to be FUN.

I scheduled it for a week after the event down south, so as not to conflict with thier official event, and it allowed me the option of having players who play both to use thier discs at both event, extending the numbers I can fit in...4 members played down south (originally I was too but had to pull out).

For this reason, I decided in the spirit of fairness and for the love of hucking new plastic, to allo the rest of the players thier discs at precisely the same time the other event began...so everyone at my event will have had the discs a week.

This has now led to one of the 4 attacking me verbally online, calling me selfish, and not playing by the rules and that my actions were completely wrong. He has stated he will not attend the event as well. The member has also demanded access to next years ace race disc as soon as it becomes available so as to ensure no one has an advantage over him etc etc.

I TD'd last year and played by the rules 100%, I had them here for 2 weeks but one never left my hand until I tee'd off (me and the other TD played a round the day before so one of us could be at base camp during each of the 2 rounds to set up, pack up etc, and even that was questioned!). I gave them out 10 minutes before play...and it was a fully sanctioned ace race event on discrafts calender.

So am I evil here, have I done wrong by the event? The attacks have left me stressed out and barely interested in putting the event on...but the show must go on, sigh.

Opions wlecomed and needed :-(

 

[Staghorn]

Discraft may see you as being in the wrong here, as it is their event but not being played as they have laid it out. If you want to have a casual event, you might consider calling it something else and having participants take one throw with a disc from their own bag and leave Discrafts name out of it.

As far as your attacker's demand for next years disc... Ppfhhh. He's in the wrong there.

 

[thrembo]

Sounds like you did ok to me. Some people only have one setting: Bitch! The only way you should be able to get the discs early is to buy them from someone who has already played in the event and wishes to sell/trade the discs that they got.

If this dude doesn't want to play next year, sounds like you will be better off without him. Soldier on, and remember that you can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

[nate22]

well its still the ace race discs, its just an unsanctioned event...we did consider just an ace event with regular discs (his suggestion!) but I managed to help another club by purchasing thier excess packs...considering I was stuck with 8 after the event last year, I think it helped them a lot.

 

[rd.bittle]

I think you did the best you could with your resources. All you can do is all you can do. Its all for the love of the game.

 

[kutz167]

I feel like you were in the right... Sometimes it isn't possible to please everyone... Anyways, unless you're an open player, I doubt playing a round or two with the discs will make that much difference in the number of aces you get during the event.

 

[JRW III]

As a TD, no matter what you do, you will never please everyone. Just do your best.

As described in your post, the player has little to no justification to complain. He got the same time witht he disc as the others. What he lost was an advantage he thought he would have. The Discraft Ace races are meant for everyone to be playing with a new disc that no one has thrown, so the advantage he thought he had is not the intent of the Ace Race. Just ignore him and move on.

I can understand why you set up the Ace Race the way you did, but if you want to have an Ace Race with the Discraft Ace Race disc and package, I would recommend following the Discraft rules 100%. If this means you can not have a Discraft Ace Race, then don't have a Discraft Ace Race. Discraft puts out a lot of marketing and tournament information, and when you deviate from it, you are asking for problems as a TD. If you follow it 100%, then you have the support of the rules, i.e. if a player complains, you can just tell them that it is Discrafts rule.

 

[nate22]

I followed it all last year, but people are hard to motivate over here at times (heck I still have 1/3 unsold this year) so I could not justify plonking down close to $800, that I dont have, on 25 packs...that I could sell for very little profit and come up short, especially if the disc was another failure (no one wanted the Zeppers after). I took this option, and I have learnt from it...and would definatly demand an even split 'co-host', with ZERO player crossover and equal prizes etc.

Most annoyingly, he claimed I was being selfish...but like you said JRW, the only person who is acting selfish is HIM, he missed out on HIS advantage, and is having a hissy fit about it. Quite simply, when asked to provide the disc up front at next years event, I simply stated 'Ask the person stupid enough to TD it'.

 

[treehorn]

Sorry to hear that.

It's really lame when someone goes out of their way to do good and then some a-hole bitches about it.

 

[Greatzky]

the guy attacking you is an idiot. Don't worry about him. He has no idea what hes talking about. He sounds like a selfish 12 year old.

 

[aardvarkious]

The best way to deal with complainers in any situation: ask them to solve the problem. Don't defend yourself, don't argue with them, just publicly invite them to get involved in the solution. In this situation, I would say something like "if you think you can run a better ace race, then I would be happy to let you TD it next year. Would you like to do that? If so, I am willing to help." The trick is to be sincere, not sarcastic.

Usually, when you do this, they shut up with their complaints. Sometimes they actually step up and help, which is even better. It is rare that they will continue complaining without actually helping, and if they do they will loose most of their support since people saw that they had the ability to change things but refused to.

 

[jcrab66]

i dont see that you did anything wrong, its not an official discraft ace race, its a tourney with an alternative format using the ace race disc, which you didnt acquire from discraft, carry on and dont worry about the whiner...

 

[nate22]

I wrote a big message up, but somehow it got lost ugh...

Short form, the guy sent me (and the other guy he 'blames') the message below, after I had deleted the conversation and stopped replying. I can defend anything he says about me, but...

Ya know, it's my belief that the two of you go too far at times with your decisions. To know that the two of you honestly felt like the 4 of us were going to use this opportunity to our advantage in the following Ace Race is angering. To not have consulted the club as a whole first, shows a complete disregard for the club and its members. Others ( and I know this from private emails) chose to do the right thing and not throw the discs. If You felt as if we had an advantage then why the hell not just say.....A member can only compete in one Ace Race event per year but can play in any others after as to support the club. Therefore, keeping to what the Ace race was meant to be.
You two completely miss out on the truly kind nature which is living within disc golf. Over the past year I have listened to you two say things that get many of us extremely frustrated. Nate, You go above and beyond what people ask. Everyone appreciates what you do but your attitude towards players is horrible. Your continual posts about us on here with posts like " why bother" after an event is truly disheartening to read. At times it seems like you fish for more praise or always give an oh poor me attitude on here. As said before, I buy tons of stuff from the club I don't want or need just to support it when able. Some can't afford to do that and you make all of us feel like **** for it.
BJ, your continued manipulation of players during events is ridiculous. You are exactly the type of member I have spoken about before. Your want to be # 1 in the sport ruins the " game" for many of us. You've talked a few guys out of the the division they were comfortable in and I believe it is only to lessen the competition for yourself. All to feed your drive to be the best. That is also why I find that your decision to throw the discs early was only to feed your competitive nature and I find it extremely selfish. Especially knowing that the 4 of us would have easily bowed out of competing but just wanted to play and support.

Nate, I tolerate your continual trolling for drama during conversations or reading your Facebook posts because I don't think you are even aware your doing it but you are truly losing people by making us all feel bad for you when speaking of disc golf matters. don't be surprised that some others will be dropping out of the Ace race coming up.
BJ, I have watched how you strive to be the best. I think it is becoming a terrible obsession for you and I don't put it past you to manipulate players in an attempt to get them out of a division, Like I watched you do with Berringer and Rhys. Your decision to throw the disc early, yet again from what I heard, shows a selfish nature and showed that you only care about how you perform not the club.
It's my further belief. That the two of you were upset not being able to go to the jesmond Jam. The two of you more than likely commiserated together and felt cheated in some way. You decided together that the 4 of us were going to come back with some sort of un-fair advantage and we were going to use this supposed advantage against the two of you. I am ****ing disgusted that you thought that of us. I also believe that if you two were down there and heard the same as us You would be complaining about it as well but you wouldn't be upset as to the reasoning like I am. You'd be mad cause someone may have an unfair advantage.
Effective immediately, I see now that no player in all of Australia can any longer take place in more than one Ace Race event per year. If none of us had gone to the Jesmond Jam; and say' had Dom and Neil came up this weekend for ours would we all have decided to play the discs early because 2 Newcastle guys were coming who have ?. Or will one of you be telling them that they can participate but can't compete due to the fact they have already played the disc for one day.?
You two Jackasses, due to your decision of throwing discs early have just opened a ridiculous pandora box that your flipping logic can't close now and will effectively hinder participation due to the fact that any member who plays in any other Ace Race prior to their perspective clubs event cannot compete they can only play. because like you two just said " playing in the Jesmond Jam gives 4 of your members an unfair advantage". Well done, well done. Why will players want to go and support another clubs event now? Or will all Ace Race events take place on the same day? so as to not have this happen again.?

I assume we will now have to have two divisions in years to come. One for players who have supported more than one Ace race event and those who have not. Therefore, anyone who has thrown a disc earlier than the other players cannot compete in the event with those who have not.

...to accuse my friend of manipulating other players in order to advance his own prosepcts is DISGUSTING! So now, the question becomes...could you be in the same club as someone like this? Is this a him or me (us) situation...has he crossed a line that can not be undone?

Sorry to dump this on you guys...and at the the end of the day, I am a disc golfer, I have fun doing what I do, and at times struggle with how little other people are motivated to get involved...which I am working on.

Oh and what he talks about in regards to me missing out on the formal ace race, 5 days before it, on my way to another DG event, my car literally blew up, radiator exploded, engine head cracked, and I am out probably 3 grand.....and my evil buddy came and got me, we played, returned to my car, he drove me and all my shop to meet my girlfriend, where his battery proceeded to BLOW UP!

We were both bummed about missing the event, but it played no part in my decision, and I had planned for another player to hand out the discs if I had gone to the event...as I thought it was fair (especially if 6 players were backing up!).

Any input is appreciated.

 

[deadbody]

What is he talking about that you can only play in 1 Ace Race in koala land?

In America we can play in as many Ace Races as we want.


FREEDOM!!!!11!!eleventy!!

 

[nate22]

exactly...once the cat is out of the bag and people have played at other events, who cares who has thrown what and how many times...its about a new disc that no one has mastered, and just as importantly, shorter, newer tees! But yes, the tirade kinda lost focus at the end there.

For starters, we had 2 Americans show up last year who had played back home...no biggie. Not forgetting, this will not be an issue next year, unless he organises the thing himself!

 

[deadbody]

exactly...once the cat is out of the bag and people have played at other events, who cares who has thrown what and how many times...its about a new disc that no one has mastered, and just as importantly, shorter, newer tees! But yes, the tirade kinda lost focus at the end there.

For starters, we had 2 Americans show up last year who had played back home...no biggie. Not forgetting, this will not be an issue next year, unless he organises the thing himself!

It does kinda feel like you are making an issue that doesn't need to be made though, trying to get discs to people early just to balance that these other guys got them early cause they went and played the other event.

That is part of the Ace Race, people who go and play in multiples or buy the discs early have a bit of an advantage. No biggie, the TD trying to balance the field in the way it seemed you are doing it seems heavy-handed and unneeded though.

A couple people got the discs early, they may have a slight advantage and do a bit better, thats life. If the other players wanted that same advantage they had the same option.

 

[Tiny]

People are always going to complain. Just name it something different, name it DISCRAFT PROTOTYPE FUN TIMES. Idk, I think if you compete in the tournament you shouldn't play with em before hand.

 

[nate22]

I get that...can be seen either way, and IF I could have seen how BIG of an issue this would be, at an unsanctioned back up event with no major prizes, I surely wouldnt have made the decision I did.

My friend and I have already decided (havent announced it of course) that we will play but not compete...it is by no means about 'winning' to either of us, we just like to play.

 

[nate22]

I cant undo it, its done...can you guys honestly now (up to now everyone was ok with my decision for the most part) agree with his stance, attitude and methodology?

 

[AdamE]

It sounds like some of this is built up from other things and has more to do with issues that have built up over time than this Ace Race and who got the disc when. Maybe you should try getting together over a beer or something and talking things out. Having discussions over the internet do not solve problems, they just cause more. Sorry about all the bad vibes down under, I hope it gets better.