Buying an Early Registration Exemption

[Darkgreen]

https://www.pdga.com/announcements/p...ion-exemptions

I don't know how I feel about this. People with money to spend will be able jump to the front of the line by buying a sponsorship.

[brutalbrutus]

They've been doing this at BG Ams for a couple years.

[riltim]

How would you feel if you sponsored an event and didn't get a chance to play in it? This makes sense to me.

[BuzzzChief]

Ledgestone did it this year, right now the only way to register is to buy a hole sponsorship or a merchandise package. So far the event is something like 15-18% full (depending on division). Seems to me that it’s a good way to raise more $$$ without affecting things too much.

[JC17393]

They're just codifying something that's been tacitly allowed for years. It's not as though any of these practices have every been explicitly disallowed, and they've all been used in various events for years. This is basically to end the debate some have raised that the rules don't already allow it.

The one thing I like about the rule is there will be caps on how many players can early register as club members or sponsors. I have witnessed tournaments filling entirely on "sponsor" entries before official registration opened, which I found patently unfair. If everyone paid an extra $25 or $50 or whatever the sponsorship was, is it really a sponsorship or did the TD trick everyone into paying a higher entry fee than originally advertised?

[biscoe]

Originally Posted by JC17393

They're just codifying something that's been tacitly allowed for years. It's not as though any of these practices have every been explicitly disallowed, and they've all been used in various events for years. This is basically to end the debate some have raised that the rules don't already allow it.

The one thing I like about the rule is there will be caps on how many players can early register as club members or sponsors. I have witnessed tournaments filling entirely on "sponsor" entries before official registration opened, which I found patently unfair. If everyone paid an extra $25 or $50 or whatever the sponsorship was, is it really a sponsorship or did the TD trick everyone into paying a higher entry fee than originally advertised?

If they all willingly paid it does it matter?

[JC17393]

Originally Posted by biscoe

If they all willingly paid it does it matter?

Not from their perspective.

I only question whether it can be called sponsorship rather than simply the entry fee. Like when the TD does the finances for the event, does he list gross entry for MPO as the $50 it was listed as or the $75 ($50 + $25 sponsorship) that every entrant paid? If it's the former, it seems like a bit of a loophole that could be exploited by a shrewd TD. Why not call every entry fee $10 no matter the actual amount paid and the rest is "sponsorship" that the TD can do with as he pleases? Meeting payout requirements would be a cinch. At least this new rule closes out that possibility.

[DavidSauls]

I like it, but it doesn't go far enough.

Some events are open to those who can type fastest in a flash online registration. That's not a great method, either.

I'm TD of one of those events, and we're scrambling to find a better solution. Our hopes to go to multiple weekends ran into a crowded local calendar. So we're still working on it.

[aredoubles]

There was a recent episode of the Planet Money podcast that discussed how the NYC Marathon deals with limited spots and massive demand, in the fairest ways they could find. Not sure how much would work with disc golf tournaments.

From my recollection,
- The main pool gets in through a random lottery. You apply in advance, and are notified if you get in. Obviously fair, but doesn't guarantee you a spot if you desperately want in.
- If you don't want to deal with the lottery, and want to guarantee a spot, you can:
-- Donate a large sum to charities selected by the organizers (payment-based), or
-- Qualify through good performances at feeder events (merit-based), or
-- Be a popular touring pro that gets invited by the organizers (merit-based), or
-- Volunteer a certain number of hours at local events (commitment-based)

For the average disc golf tournament with 70-100 players, these are probably total overkill. But worth throwing out as ideas, on how different kinds of fairness can be addressed.

Regarding paying for hole/tournament sponsorship, that money is going directly towards the TD's efforts to support and run the tournament. Plenty of discussion already on this forum regarding how TDs need more support. So I don't have a problem with sponsors getting in early out of gratitude, as they are making the tournament possible in the first place. And like others have said, this already seems to be common practice anyway.

[puttlikeablowfly]

Originally Posted by BuzzzChief

Ledgestone did it this year

Ability for sponsors to register first at Ledgestone started at least a few years ago.