Would you pay a $575 entry fee? Insane?

[atomicbrh]

This event has no advertising and no promotion except for the website and the promoter starting a topic on one forum. Less promotion than any silhouette match. There will be more than 600 entries at this event generating over $300K gross. That does not include $150 parking fee, $65 for each pit pass, $400 for Vendor parking and round the clock concessions just to name a few more money generating ideas. I conservatively guess this event generates over $600K gross. My point is that we need to continue to think of ways to promote silhouette. If Silhouette is showcased properly it will take off. Silhouette is a great sport.
Here is the link. www.theinsaneone.com

[OldRanger]

This one line goes a long way to explaining the number of entrants.

TOTAL PAYOUT - $109,925

First prize is 50k. I wonder if we could come up with that much for prize money how many people would travel to the match?

[Boyd L.]

http://www.theinsaneone.com

Ain't them Kentucky boys the enterprisin' sorts?

All kidding aside the racetrack referenced in the link is about 30 miles from my home and it stays busy whenever it's open. These folks spend a lot more on racin' and than I do on shooting. For whatever reason, it appeals to folks to spend their time and money.
Maybe we need a marketing branch?

[dustinflint]

Most Ironman triathlon races cost between $650 and $750 to enter and sell out in a matter of days.

Dustin

[OldRanger]

Most Ironman triathlon races cost between $650 and $750 to enter and sell out in a matter of days.

Dustin

So your sayin we need to raise our fees? Brilliant! ;)

[dustinflint]

Ha, not at all. The point is that people will pay for what they want to do. Silhouette just needs more people wanting to do it, which means we need more people knowing it exists, which means it needs more exposure.

I think we need more exposure - but the discussion on ways to improve participation have already taken place on this site, and I was part of that discussion, and I have no desire to be part of another one!!! So that's all I have to say about that.

Dustin

[OldRanger]

Yeah, but I have always wondered if a big purse like $50k would bring any more interest to the sport?
If I were rich we would find out, but alas I'm just a poor geek slaving away for the man.

[dustinflint]

Yeah, but I have always wondered if a big purse like $50k would bring any more interest to the sport?

I can guarantee you that I would be in attendance at any silhouette match with a $50K prize purse.

I think that's putting the cart before the horse though. I believe that the sports that have events with big prize purses are able to have those purses BECAUSE of the popularity and participation. If we had another ten or twenty thousand people shooting silhouette, I believe we would have events like this.

Dustin

[Jason]

Didn't Troy Lawton win a truck at the Southern Nationals? That's a pretty big prize.

[Doodaddy]

Ironman carries a level of prestige. Even outside of the participants to the general public. As does something like Camp Perry. People aren't going to pay big money to enter in something that doesn't offer some sort of incentive that isn't monetary. Large payouts are nice, but I don't really feel that draws a crowd in as most people know long before the match if they have a shot at winning or not.

At this point, silhouette is participation for the sake of the enjoyment and camaraderie. For the sport to grow, exposure needs to take place and relationships need to grow. Unfortunately the sport isn't excluded from political and social pressure so it's an uphill battle.

[atomicbrh]

Breihtaup and McClemore put up that new truck at the height of their Winnsboro promotion years. My family started Silhouette just a few years later. It was a Ford Ranger. I saw Lawton in it several times. I would love to see somebody put up a guaranteed 50K to win a Silhouette Match and announce it at least 18 months in advance. I think a lot of shooters and I mean good ones would come out of the woodwork. Many Sportsmen and Outdoor types would come out with their Walmart special because they would have no idea the skill level needed. Just think 600 entries X $500 = $300K Gross. You will have enough to pay for some fast target setters and plenty of line officers. I think Lawton said it took 15K rounds of practice in the 6 months before the truck match to give himself a good chance of shooting the perfect 40 in at least one of the 4 matches. Remember folks. He did it with a wood stocked 1710. I think if 50K went up Lawton would come out of Silhouette retirement and a couple of nice young ladies would start practicing like they never practiced before. Where is Col. Tom Parker when you need him?

[psteiger]

I already pay that in entry fees................

[Jason]

Wow, imagine the total Steiger bill for entry at $500+ per head. The hosting range could get all new targets every year.

[Tlee]

Not insane, but there is a point where you start losing far more "less well funded" entries than you've gained in those that are willing to pay the fees, regardless of the prizes.

We've a bracket race (drag race) once a year where entry fees total easily in the thousands... It's called "the Million"... Draws several hundred entries every year. I believe it'd pay something like $50k to the winner the day of the win and then an annuity for some period afterward. I never raced it. Several others around the country have popped up since I became more active in shooting that payout in the 100k+ range. Nearly every weekend there are "top heavy" big money races all over the country with payouts in the tens of thousands. Entries, depending on top prize and depth of win money, are usually in the hundreds.

Many years back I raced at, and won a few $5k, $7k, and even one $10k race with $250 range entry fees... I usually ran 3-4 of those a year. However my preferences quickly became the $1k to 2.5k to win/$50-100 entry "closer to home" weekly level races. I raced at dozens of those a year, and usually came home with a much bigger smile on my face, win OR lose. A few years I was lucky enough that the hobby even paid for itself, more frequently when I ran a more modest operation at the weekly races with less payout/lower entry fees.

IMHO, the #1 problem with big purse events (regardless of the sport) is what I called the "traveling semi-pro effect"... Anything over the $1000-2500 to win level starts drawing what I termed the "traveling semi-pro". What I used to observe (depending on the event) is for every one of them that enters, we'd lose 2-3 of the (usually local), less well funded racers.

Other (related) problem is DEPTH of payout.... It's a delicate balancing act for the promoters holding the event.... Do you put all the prize money lumped into the final (top 4-8 placement) finishers to inflate the advertised 1st prize purse and pay little else to the rest of the finishers? Or do you payout less to the top finishers and distribute some "round win amount" to the more mid level finishers (enough to cover gas/entry fees, etc)? For some (usually the more well funded) it's the "eye on the top prize and to hell with everybody else" attitude... And, BTW, I have no problem with that attitude for those that CAN afford it. For ME (zero sponsors, self funded), I'd attend a $5k winners race that'd pay gas/entry round win money deeper LONG before I'd attend one that paid $10k+ to the top winner with only other money paid were to say semi or quarter finalists, even if the entry fee is the same.

My .02,

- Tim

[atomicbrh]

I am curious as to what motivated the triathletes to pay these same kind of entry fees? Was it the bragging rights attached to a historic triathlon or was it some big prize? As far as the racing analogy, Tim hit it on the head. Huge payout to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. You would be making $300 less than your entry fee for finishing less than 5th and the other expenses would be huge. Remember 6th place beat possibly over 500 other racers and only won $200. There are no door prizes or drawings at these races. Silhouette looks good. Doesn't it? It just needs the proper settings(ranges) and promotion.