Hey guys, just wanted to know what makes a tournament standout, what do you like... and hate?
Ring girls walking around in minimal clothing always makes the time pass by a little faster.
No meshing weight classes together!!!!!!!
What makes a tournament good is organization. Absolutely, positively NOTHING is worse than hanging around a facility from 9:00am until 10:00pm waiting to fight, when there is frequently a bunch of open mats with no one wrestling on them.
I echo Not Lettuce's comments.
Plan it, then do it like the plan says, on time.
Provide good refereeing. I have seen more than my share of biased refereeing and it does the sport no good, noit to mention the lack of desire to return to the scene of the crime.
Organise the weigh in so that a lot of the prep work can take place before the weigh in is finished. Once you are finished drawing one weight class let it start. Others can follow as they are readied and then it will take care of its self.
Good organization is the key. Oh, and lots of
competitors, both men and women.
Hookers and free booze?
I think wayne-o hit a big one. lots of competitors,
I know it sucks when my weight division always seems to get bumped up to the big boys.
So I guess the big question is
HOW DO WE GET MORE PEOPLE OUT TO COMPETE.
What would make you say " Oh man, I don't want to miss this one"?
chicken wings!!!
Good question.
Here's the answer.
I stopped competing because I don't want to pay 30-40 dollars to compete against guys I know I don't have a hope of beating. Plus drive to Calgary, Red deer, Lethbridge etc, pay for hotel, food, etc. just for a fuckin piece of tin that says I placed third against three competitors. Yeaaaaaaaaa! Offer some prizes for shits sake.
Novice ends at 18 months here in Alberta then you have to fight in the advanced division against guys who have been training anywhere from 18 months-10 years or more. There desperatley needs to be belt levels or an intermediate level for me not to piss my money away anymore. Ya and it sucks having to fight out of your weight class.
Most important though is lower the fucking price. Most places are charging $35 to compete. $35 multiplied by let's say 50 competitors = $1750 in whoever is putting on the tournaments back pocket. Hmmm? Maybe the competitors could win some of that shit back.
Sorry for the bitching.
Offer cash prizes
Lower admission
Change the divisions
Oh and deduct points (lots of points)for stalling.
I would LOVE to give out prize money for the competitors. And being an active competitor I agree with almost everything mentioned.
The problem is
Running a tournament cost $... Medals (used to be trophies but too much$), advertising (if done properly, supplies,... and countless hours spent prepping it
I know it sounds bad but it adds up.
No people = stuck with a big bill, bad rep, etc...
Offer money, raise tournament costs.
What is the acceptable rate for a tourny??
I am holding one in Edmonton March 6th. I WILL have more experience divisions than ever before, weight divisions? (I hope so, it's a pet peeve of mine).
I guess what I'm saying is,
How much would you pay to go and compete?
P.S. I am totally against the $50 entry fee deal
Mike Yackulic
Hey, speaking of prizes, is there anywhere in Canada that makes the belts and stuff for SUAF, TKO, MFC etc?
Mike, send me some info on your tourney on March 6th:
roquea@telus.net
I have some suggestions:
1. keep the costs low, ie. about $25 for one event, then $10 for each additional event
2. offer a decent trophy and/or a cash prize (about $100) for the winner of each division as well as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals
3. have absolute divisions in gi/no gi with the biggest trophy/money prize
4. adopt standardized rules such as the ones used in the Mundials, there's nothing worse than arriving to each promotion not knowing what to expect and having to adapt on the spot
5. have the results of the tournament published and winners be awarded points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and start ranking fighters (start a ranking organization, you, Kyle, Jason St-Louis, eventually I'll start my own tournaments as well...).
6. get associated with the BJJF, I'm not too sure how to do it, but it would be a good idea, and your show would be recognized by the Federation, giving it a greater status.
7. more experience categories: 0-6 months for novice, 6-1 year begginers, 1-2 yrs intermediate, and 2yrs and over advanced
8. weight classes for me is not such a big concern, I would be happy with 3 weight classes, light, middle, heavy, so long as there are enough guys in each category, ie 8 per weight class.
9. have a greater commitment from competitors, pre-payment and registration, this way you can organize beforehand, and won't loose money if someone decides not to show up.
10. have greater participation from club coaches, I myself want to learn the ins and outs of throwing a tourney so that when I do mine it will be successful and everyone will have a great experience.
11. promote more BJJ competitions with the gi otherwise you might as well call it submission wrestling
I believe if we work together (more inter-club communication and assistance), standardize the rules, weight classes, experience levels, etc, and each club help each other, that eventually the attendance at these meets will naturally increase.
just my thoughts...
Holy crap you guys, your all living on the moon. You can't promise cash prizes if you don't know if you can even cover the overhead involved in putting on a tournament.
BJJ/Submission Wrestling is a fringe sport. Everytime I tell someone I do 'grappling' they think I climb walls and shit. When they discover what it really is, they think its weird and gay.
I think giving out a couple hundred bucks for an absolute championship is a cool idea, anything past that and the promoter is in danger of screwing himself over.
Thanks Alex. I agree with what your saying.
Thanks for all the great ideas everyone, I'll definately try to incorporate them by March.
I like the idea of the ranking system. I've thought about it for a while but that's as far as I've gotten with it.
I know the Behring open has some plans for ranking, maybe we can incorporate it at our tournys as well.
Kyle, Jay, and anyone who's interested, let's get together to make a ranking system (similiar to the karate tourny's) that will be reconized throughout Alberta.
A belt for the champs would be too cool.
Anyone want to help get the ball rollin?
Snipergym@interbaun.com
Mike Yackulic