2009 Prize Tables

[Chills1994]

^^^ wow, Bruce! Ya really did some math there.

PM sent!

[bkeeler]

^^^ wow, Bruce! Ya really did some math there.

PM sent!

Ya hope it is all correct!

BK

[kgunz11]

I'd rather have a nice trophy personally. Let the entry fees stay small and what little money is generated let it go to improving the club.

For example, I'd like to shoot the Fla. Open, but I can't justify that kind of entry fee no matter how good the match is. If it were local it might be a little different, but not by much.

[bkeeler]

I'd rather have a nice trophy personally. Let the entry fees stay small and what little money is generated let it go to improving the club.

For example, I'd like to shoot the Fla. Open, but I can't justify that kind of entry fee no matter how good the match is. If it were local it might be a little different, but not by much.

The entry fee could be what ever $35.00,$75.00... the only difference is the payout would be smaller. Personally I don't need anymore trophies. ( I have a bunch from racing Karts.)

[elynch2007]

The Kentucky State Multi-Gun Championships in 2008, we gave out plaques and the prize table was a random drawing of items donated ( Thanks Chris for all you did for this). When all was done and paid for, the club made less $600 on a match that the entry fees collected was around $8000. This is not counting the wear and tear on the steel and extra props needed to do the match. Everybady had a great time. The cost of putting on a big match is going up. It would hard to do a cash payout without increasing the match fees or cutting something out. We are not putting a match to make money, but most clubs and their officers are not willing to loose money just to hold them.

I gave away most of the items that came from the prize table, but still e-mailed all the people that donated to us and thanked them for their support.

A Smile still comes on my face to see a 2nd in Class D plaque over my reloading bench.

[tad]

PLEASE do not give prizes by random drawing, It is almost insulting. Get with the folks that put on some of the most successful and enjoyable matches in the southeast this year. ie: South Carolina, Tennessee, Gator Classic......... Theses matches still had good participation even though times are hard!! Each one of these matches did their prize table differently and their method worked for them.

[Matt P.]

I may regret this but, i will chime in anyway.

I am against cash prizes. Main reason is that I have seen many clubs that do not understand the business side of this type of prize. If you give out cash, you better follow that up with a 1099 in case you get audited. If you receive a 1099, you better report the income to the IRS (they want their cut).

To me, prize tables are an effective method of promoting your match to the public (or your business). It is your way of advertising and making your match shineyer (not a word but sounds good) then your competitors.

I have heard many people say that they don't go to matches because f the prize table but they go for the stages. I always see them walk the prize table and glem with happiness when they win a gun. If it is true that their interest is not the prize table, then why even go throuh there.

I believe prize table's are an important aspect of marketing your match and differentiating your match from your competitor. When time's get tough and peoplehave to pick and choose which match they want to attend, this will be a factor in their decision.

For match sponsors, they exchange goods or services for market specific advertising. As a match or sclub who receives "donated items", it is their job to promote that companyand give them their money's worth.

As the original thread started, I had difficulty raising the attention of rifle manufacurers this year. That's fine, I just moved on to other companies who wanted to promote their products and our prize table value was raised significantly from the previous year.

As I said before, It is important to promote them as well so, I want to thank Chuck at Shooters connection for his contribution to our prize table. Great selection, great prices, and great inventory. Thanks Chuck.

I know this is long but I am an advocate for treating this sport like a business. Market your match or club better than your competitor and the attendance will increase.

[kgunz11]

I am a match director for a pretty decent sized match according to its format. It's a long range precision rifle match with the combat handgun thrown in there. Last year (our inaugural match) we had a pretty decent prize table. Everyone got a trip to the table at least once ($20,000.00 worth), some twice, and most of the items on the table are worth more than the $150 entry fee.

We put on the hardest rifle match anyone has ever competed in, the winner only scored 47% of the available points last year. While we plan to make it easier in 2009, it's not going to be a "gimme". With 2200 acres of beautiful rolling hills and natural timber, it provides an exciting match. Shots from 11 feet to 1100 yards, across water, even steel floating in the water, varmint shooting, props galore, our match alone is worth the trip, with or without a trophy, cash prize, or a prize table, and we take great pride in that. We DO offer a nice crystal shard trophy for the winner and a plaque for 2nd and 3rd place. They'll be able to tell their grandkids about the time they won that "sniper" match in Alabama, and the great friends they met along the way.

We do our prize table a little differently too. We don't award first trip to the winner, everyone has a chance for a trip in a random drawing. At registration we give each competitor a playing card that will be instrumental in the match. They must keep that card on them all weekend, they have no idea when they will need it. At the end of the match, we tear the card in half, they keep one half the other half goes in the prize bucket. We randomly draw out the half from the bucket and call out the card, that person gets to go to the table and choose an item.

This year we are giving away 2 custom rifles worth over $3000 each. One built by GA Precision and the other by Patriot Arms. Winner gets to choose stock, bbl caliber and contour, paint... everything. We have suppressors, drag bags, rings, bases, a complete DPMS M4 rifle, NF scopes, TIS slings, many other custom rifle jobs offered by gunsmiths, gun cleaning kits from KG Industries... the list goes on and on. Our guys come for the adventure, they just happen to get a pot of gold at the end of the journey. Since our first match was so popular, in 2009 we are doing 2 weekends and we already have over 70 people signed up. It's a monumental task to provide so many targets at such a variety of shooting positions in various terrain. Shooters from Oklahoma, Missouri, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee will all descend on Society Hill Alabama with enough firepower to start a small war.

So when you do a match, decide the best way to do prizes, set an entry cost, trophies, etc. whatever you want to. Until you've walked a mile in the shoes of a MD, it's hard to comprehend the work. The cost of multiple sheets of AR500 steel, having them cut with a plasma CNC, then humping them 1/2 a mile across a swamp to set them up. Provide full insurance not only for yourself but also the participants (who else offers that?), have awesome shirts made, feed everyone a catered bar-b-que dinner, and beg and plead yourself to humility for a great prize table, for what? Money? HA! We lost our ass on the last one, but we didn't do it to make money, and we won't make anything on this one either. We do it for the shooters.

[/back pat]

[Matt P.]

I can appreciate your position but I strongly encourage making a profit. Althoug this is a "hobby sport" it should still make money. Ranges need to survive and grow and outlast the hard working people like yourself to have self interest.

I know that the DPMS tri gun is a widely attended match. I hear my friends talk about that match and their first words are aout the huge prize table, then the great stages, and good people. DPMS does shuch a good job at this that these shooters choose that match over a local match with meaning. DPMS does a good job at marketing and their prize table is a big part in attracting a large participation.

[kgunz11]

We're not in it for the money, but it would be nice to at least break even.

[splashdown]

Prize tables at Area 1 have been by random drawing since I started shooting the match in 2006. I like random draw because I feel it helps bring the non-GM's (most of us) to the match, and by attending big matches we grow as shooters. Chuck Anderson did a real bang up job with the prize table in 06 and 08, and he did everything he could to recognize the sponsors. He read off the name of every sponsor at the pre-match shooter's meeting and at the awards ceremony. Every sponsor had their logo in the match booklet as well as having their name in an alphabetized list. Then Chuck posts the list here on this forum and takes out a full page ad in Front-Sight to thank each of them. Chuck is a class act. Then we the shooters and recipients of these donated goods need to thank our sponsors. I've been introduced to a product or two through sponsor donations and have thanked them for their donation when I'm ordering more of that product. I've also thanked Rene from SSI a few times for setting up a table at the vendor tent when I'm ordering products from him. The more the vendors know their donations are appreciated, the more they are willing to donate.

[kgunz11]

For our match, we include the names of every sponsor on the back of the match t-shirt. We also post their email address and phone numbers so our participants can call or write them to thank them for their support. We encourage them to write each one of the sponsors even if they didn't get something from that company off of the table. They made me very proud last year with their "TY" letters and calls.

[VegasOPM]

I like winning stuff- who doesn't? But that isn't why I attend matches. I don't really care about the entry fees either. The entry fee has never been a deciding factor in which ones I attend. I do imagine that this year it will be hard to get a bunch of sponsors to pony up prizes, but then again the gun biz is the only one making money right now it seems. I REALLY don't want any plaques or trophies. Spend that money on 100 bullets or 100 primers, or better quality t-shirts or even a beer cozy with the match logo- along with a certificate (suitable for framing of course) made up and printed on site.