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Panther21
30 Posts |
 Posted - 02/20/2018 : 00:06:54
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When starting a new tournament, does the tournament have to be associated with a certain organization?
What entices teams to play in the tournament? |
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Punishers
688 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2018 : 10:19:36
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1. No. Each tournament is it's own organization. No need to be associated with an org unless you want them to have complete control.
2. Price, Location, and level of teams playing in tournament. |
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Panther21
30 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2018 : 13:54:07
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| Thank you for your response. Do you currently run a tournament? |
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Punishers
688 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2018 : 17:37:28
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| Nope. Was looking into it. |
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Panther21
30 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2018 : 00:36:02
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| Obviously the biggest issue is field availability. I know of a few parks that might have field time and have been in contact with the counties. I have a friend that used to be a director for GA and he has been helping me. I am not looking to compete with the established tourneys currently in the market. I just think there is room for more tournaments and I don’t see it slowing down any time soon. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2018 : 13:13:35
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| My suggestion is to pick your demographic. The little fields are a dime a dozen, they are everywhere. You could make a nitch for yourself catering to the AA crowd. There are teams that love to play but don't want any chance of competing against the Astros and 643's of the world and getting run ruled three times a weekend. |
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Panther21
30 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2018 : 00:50:04
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Thank you. You mean little fields as in not having a lot of teams in the field/tourney? I know there different levels of tournaments, but what classifies a team as AA? Wouldn’t it be different for each tournament depending on if it’s a Grand Slam tourney or USSSA tourney, etc? I was looking at starting as a new company with a new name which I understand would take time to show that you can run a first class tournament. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not looking to complete with the big name tournaments, but I think there would be plenty of teams willing to play in tournaments like you mentioned where they are able to play against their talent level. Has anyone been in this position where they started from scratch willing to help me with some ideas and suggestions on how to start? I am willing to work some tournaments to gain some experience.
Thank you |
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turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2018 : 11:07:49
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There are already a plethora of tourney orgs right now, that scratch nearly ever itch and nitch out there. From demographics (levels of play) to geographic (locations), I don't see much of a void, unless you're talking NE GA or Macon and below.
Maybe, you need to determine if your geographic location can even support more tourneys... Competing against established orgs is TOUGH. And while I know you say you don't want to compete, I can't see there being much opportunity to 'compliment' or 'fill in the gaps' where other tourneys fail. The primary reason? Field space and number of weekends. Think about it...
Southern Sports: caters to AA to low-AAA, primarily in NW metro (Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Forsyth/Dawson counties). They play nearly every weekend.
Triple Crown: They have East Cobb (and Forsyth Co.) on lockdown for any weekend they want. Period. Cater to every level of play, from D1 (Major) down to Rec ball (D3).
Training Legends: caters to rec ball up to Majors, and gets so 2nd tier fields in the Cobb/Cherokee Co areas, and up to Cartersville, and now into Gwinnett Co and up the 75 corridor to Chattanooga.
Grand Slam: caters to AA/AAA, and typically has 'first choice' of field space in Gwinnett and Cherokee Co's. That's both northeast and west of the Atlanta metro.
Perfect Game: caters to AAA/Major. Has NW metro locked down on bigger weekends, if overflow from PG is needed.
USSSA: caters to all levels, though has fallen out of favor for Major teams, especially in older age groups. The directors have it locked down on the east and west (and even south) portions of metro. Such as Walton Co., Henry Co., down to Columbus/Lagrange, and out to Augusta. Nearly every weekend, there's opportunity to play U-trip, especially at the AA level.
TravelBallSelect: caters to Major, and has second choice of East Cobb fields on weekends that TC does not have tourneys there. Same fields, same umps, cheaper prices, and just not as popular... for whatever reasons.
So, where's your target? What geographic location? There may be voids around Greensboro or Macon or Dublin-- but even then you have USSSA and Top Gun and a couple other orgs that are more locally known.
Everyone considers price point, quality of fields/umps, and of course, level of competition. |
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oneZone
117 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2018 : 12:46:23
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Turntwo basically nailed it. If there is demand for travel tourneys that is not already being met by existing tourney orgs, I don't know where that demand is -- demographically, geographically, classification-wise, etc.
Case in point, March 23-25: Triple Crown doesn't even have a tourney that weekend, yet TravelBallSelect has dropped the fee for their tourney at East Cobb to $200 and still aren't filling slots!
EDIT: Also, see nearly every non-AA USSSA tourney. Most of those won't make. |
Edited by - oneZone on 03/12/2018 13:01:24 |
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SuperStar
257 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2018 : 12:53:25
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| If this doesn't answer your question above, then nothing will. Well covered turntwo. You did your homework! |
Edited by - SuperStar on 03/12/2018 13:01:24 |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2018 : 07:33:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Panther21
Thank you. You mean little fields as in not having a lot of teams in the field/tourney? I know there different levels of tournaments, but what classifies a team as AA? Wouldn’t it be different for each tournament depending on if it’s a Grand Slam tourney or USSSA tourney, etc? I was looking at starting as a new company with a new name which I understand would take time to show that you can run a first class tournament. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not looking to complete with the big name tournaments, but I think there would be plenty of teams willing to play in tournaments like you mentioned where they are able to play against their talent level. Has anyone been in this position where they started from scratch willing to help me with some ideas and suggestions on how to start? I am willing to work some tournaments to gain some experience.
Thank you
I agree Turn two has a very thorough post there.
To clarify what i meant earlier, I meant little fields as in 50x70 and below. What I meant by catering to the AA crowd is that there are teams out there made up of kids who just like to play, but maybe aren't affiliated with a park. They all wear red shirts and have numbers drawn on, or have generic shirts that change with who is there that week and they are turned in at the end of the tourney. Sandlot teams if you will. They aren't going to join the PG event or the TC event, they are looking for something smaller and cheaper.
Maybe there is a market for pick up players? Register, pay your $30, be assigned to a team, have coaches standing by who can coach that team that tourney, rent fields based on how many kids register? that is something I haven't seen here before. it may appeal to the people who don't want to pay 1-3K for their kid to play baseball. |
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Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2018 : 08:04:27
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| I ran a few tournaments years ago as fundraisers for two teams my son played for at 10 and 11u. There are certainly more orgs now and more weekends are filled with options to play at plenty of places. I had no real formula, i just picked a weekend with no "large" tournament and prayed it wouldn't rain. I had access to 6 fields and basically made money on concessions after paying umps. We offered large trophies and also had a home run award, an expensive composite bat signed by all kids who hit one during the tournament awarded to the kid with the most during the tourney. That went over well. The tourneys were successful and we raised plenty of money for the team. I had many coaches tell me the kids on their teams had the most fun at our tourney. We had speakers brought into the fields to announce the kids as they walked up to the plate....think nicknames etc and also had a private complimentary room for the umpires and coaches with free food and drinks and air conditioning. I built up quite a database over the years compiling email addys and phone numbers and just stayed on coaches until i got a commitment. And you are right, some coaches were more interested in playing like talent and entered when they found out more teams in their range were signed up and not the Astros or RoadRUnners etc. Good luck with it if you try it! |
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Panther21
30 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2018 : 03:03:16
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| Awesome. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything to me. I really appreciate it. Bunch of great advice. I will get a game plan together and see where and if I can fill in the gaps. I will have access to fields. Again thank you for taking time out of your day to respond. |
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Starting a new tournament
