Are all TDs evil people??

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Am I missing something or must all tournaments be run as a zero profit event. There seems to be a growing contingent on here that if a tournament makes money, the TDs are greedy seedy people and not "giving back" to the girls. I personally do not think making a little money off a tournament for your organization is such a bad thing. I've been involved in many tournaments that made some money and believe me with the amount of "volunteer" time I put in I would take offense to any bleacher jockey telling me I'm not giving back to the girls. When you've been out there at 5:00am with your car head lights on the field trying to get the water off the diamonds to be ready for an 8:00am game then you can complain. Any money we made was put right back into the organization for the girls. I ask again. Am I missing something?

 

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I agree! I thought that organizations hosted tournaments as fund raisers? Most organizations are non-profit right?

 

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No Ringer your 100% right. That is a huge undertaking that serves alot of girls from alot of places.So keep up the good work.

 

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The Gahanna Lady Lions put on 2 tournaments each year. We are not ashamed that we make a profit. The profit goes right back to the teams to allow them to keep costs down for the parents and offer opportunities for the girls to do things such as renting facilities for indoor workouts in the winter, etc. Plus with all the hard work of our parents we feel we put on a good event for the teams that attend. We tell our parents we need their volunteered time for these events or we would have to choose between cutting some things or raising their fees. We don't feel guilty and believe we are giving back to the girls with our time.

 

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nothing wrong with the aforementioned comments/reasoning. We are hosting one in the spring to help raise funds and are pretty happy to have the opportunity to do so.

 

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Profit is not a dirty word and hopefully it never will be! I'm hosting two IFA tournaments that are national qualifiers. IFA/NAFA has brought up a lot of converstion here lately and I think the giving back has been bent, twisted, you name it. The idea of giving back is a thing between IFA, USSSA, ASA, PONY, NSA, NAFA. Based on the money they charge a TD to host a Qualifer is why better prizes aren't usually given. IFA charges only $15 to $20 per team entering the tournament, which allows a TD to give better prizes and give back to the teams. We as TD's could just run a non qualifying tournament and not worry about it, but as a coach we all want to play in qualifiers and get births to nationals. I really liked the money prize idea, and obviously we all know where we stand on that one, but a National Tournament out of State costs a team a min. of $4000 for all parents to stay and take 4 days off work, parking passes, entry passes, eating out, hotel costs and sometimes medical costs. The goal of this TD that also has a travel organization is to assist with parental costs, because we all know they add up quickly in the Fastpitch World. Mid Ohio Bombers is happy to host these tournaments and are very thankful that River Valley Baseball for Youth has allowed us to reserve thier complex and IFA providing the Insurance, will make these successful tournamnets. The prizes have been updated for the Marion Tournaments so please go read the IFA Tournaments and check them out. Please post a comment if you like. Happy New Year Everyone!

 

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um, if tourneys werent about making some money back for your org, why have them? we cant all be quakerflaked!

 

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It beats selling candy bars !!!

 

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We are making money, profit isn't a dirty word. It's just I don't have as much to pay out playing IFA, which lowers my margin and allows me to give Medals, T-Shirts or Hoodies, 1 Team Trophy for the Coach and the entry fee back for first place and t-shirts, medals and half entry fee for second and t-shirts for 3rd. It's all based on the number of teams, just as it reads under my Tournament entry under IFA section.

 

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16 years ago I made a decision to put on and run tournaments for the kids of Whitehall. This was due to the fact a 7 year old child was molested and killed in Vermont going door to door selling candy bars for his youth league baseball team at that time. The children of Whitehall do not sell ANYTHING door to door. ALL PROFITS go directly to the youth league in Whitehall to keep pay to play fees at a minimum. This also promotes more kids to play with smaller fees. Believe me when I say I have pushed ALOT of water over the years while my car headlights were on. All those years my payment was smiling kids playing diamond sports. Some places tournaments aren't just needed they are vitale to some leagues existence. Thanks....... Dan Adkins

 

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No matter what you do, how much you charge etc., if even if somethings free there will be someone bitching. Let's just keep doing the good things we've been doing for the kid's and not worry what those people are saying.

 

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No, not all of you can be "quakerflaked" so to say. Roger is right when he states that IFA tries to keep cost down for their TD's. I know when I ran an NSA qualifier last year what the amount of money I had to give to NSA was.. $40.00 per team. PLUS, if they scheduled the umpires, there was a cost, etc....

My TD's don't pay nearly that much. IT's $15.00 per team, I provided site insurance free of charge (which isn't the norm)... I try to help them out with going out and bidding to the Convention and Visitors Bureau in their local.... and if that isn't good enough... I use the bid money I receive from the National tournaments and use a little bit of that bid money and give to Roger and Jon and any other tournament director... just for the mere fact that I want to. I don't have to... I could put that bid money in my pocket just like any other state director does and that is their option.

My thought is to try to help give back to the girls for playing in an IFA event. I work hard at getting a great rate at motels for the parents. I work hard as a TD myself to give the coaches, girls and parents a good tournament and do the best I can do for them. Did I have to bring in a helicopter to play in Wilmington last June. No, of course not.. But, when you have teams there from everywhere...looking for that last shot to be qualified for the local World Series (Columbus).. then I did it for the girls... Surely, no one can ever think that I made money from that event. The umpires individually made more money that me....lol That's the God's honest truth.

But, I got a lot of respect for doing that for the girls and the teams. A terrible Saturday turned into a great Sunday. I had one coach who played in Columbus that weekend... his other daughter was playing in Wilmington... he laughed and said," I should have known you'd be playing".... And folks, that why I done it. It's a comment like that... that makes you want to do even more.

As a TD for USSSA (men's and girls) and NSA (one and only one time) I could see where I ...if I was those organizations... I could have helped out my TD even more... Thus, my reasoning for trying to help mine out any way I can.

Lower tournament fees to TD, give them some money to help better their prizes for the girls, help the parents with their motel costs, generally lowering the cost of the TD so they can keep money for their organization to go play ball and for their parents to have less out of pocket expenses.... something I would think teams and their parents would be thinking more about this year... but it seems that no matter how a person such as myself try to help the girls... there is someone there to "bash" you.

I thought I was doing a good thing for the TD's and their organization and parents, coaches, players and parents of teams that play in tournaments..... but it seems that nobody looks at it that way....

But, I have thick skin. It shocks me sometimes.. but I go on working hard for the girls and their parents.... Hey, Johnnie (Mr. Clark) did I save you some money on the uniform cost for your team. when you won the uniform blowout. You was going to go play somewhere that weekend.. why not go shoot for some uniforms. How about you Buckeye Heat Gianas. How about those West Virginia Wild 1's 10u? How about that Cincy Storm 18u team. Did the uniform money help ? Looks like it paid for two tournaments that you would have paid .. but now you don't because you won uniforms that is no longer has to be in your budget.

That's my point... I give out some good prizes.. saves the teams some money to go play in other association tournaments. Heck, I feel like the federal government and the taxpayers who bailed out the banks... supplementing the other tournaments because of my prizes....lol

I have seen and known TD's in my lifetime.. you can believe that after 25 years in this business. Many could careless about the teams.. it's about the almighty dollar.

I care and get "bashed".. It's a weird world out there anymore.

But, what you see and read here is me, a state director, who can come out and clearly educate the people of girls fastpitch how this is a business and how money is made off the backs of the girls and their parents by other state directors... who by the way are quite upset that I revealed the secret...

I don't see them giving a rat's behind about the girls to give back. Or giving back to their TD's and organizations who run their events under the associations name... and do all the hard work of maintaining fields, etc....

I don't know why I do.. but I do. That's just me.

 

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Happy New Year's to all of you.