MTB Race Entry Fees....

[Danger Dassie]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

You sound passed off @sias. I'm not saying it's easy or cheap to put an event together but that at over 1300 per day of riding it doesn't seem like a good value proposition to me as a consumer. Those are 2 different things. 

He fully makes a point though. And how many events charge 1300 per day? A fraction of the total calendar. There are over a 1000 events to choose from.

Then there’s there exceptional entitlement some people display at events. 

[Headshot]

A R500 per day stage event on great trails.Eselfontein. Charity fund raising is the motivation. I'd far rather spend there than lining some pockets at twice or 4 times that per day

[olmec]

14 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wanda-sports-group-completes-the-sale-of-the-ironman-group-to-advance-and-announces-board-of-directors-changes-301096048.html#:~:text=BEIJING%2C July 20%2C 2020 %2F,broad range of media and

https://www.advance.com/news-/advance-completes-acquisition-of-the-ironman-group

 

Ahhh thanks man—this was Wanda selling Ironman group (exactly as you said). I had read that as the unbundling of the Epic race from within the Ironman group.  Appreciate the links.

[Duane_Bosch]

On 7/8/2022 at 1:05 PM, BaGearA said:

Can't remember what i paid for Crank chaos in 2019 but it was like 5k max 

 

Lift pass , I stayed in A cabin that was cleaned every day , Food incl , we only paid for drinks 

 

That thing isn't a ski lift mate.

[Jewbacca]

3 hours ago, Headshot said:

A R500 per day stage event on great trails.Eselfontein. Charity fund raising is the motivation. I'd far rather spend there than lining some pockets at twice or 4 times that per day

Conversely you can pay more to ride TheU, which provides everything and then some, awesome riding and is also a massive community fund raising initiative.

The objectives are the same, but the target market has very little overlap. Both are awesome.

For me, It's not always how much money, but about where the money goes. 

[BaGearA]

40 minutes ago, Duane_Bosch said:

That thing isn't a ski lift mate.

Oh definitely, but what does the ski pass for one day cost in the Alps ? 5k per day ?

[Duane_Bosch]

1 hour ago, BaGearA said:

Oh definitely, but what does the ski pass for one day cost in the Alps ? 5k per day ?

30-40 euro for a day pass. Give or take depending where you are. But then it gets cheaper the more days you buy. 6 day pass +- 120 Euro. Around 5k would buy you a season pass in most resorts.

 

If you budget on 3k a day all in you can have a very very very very nice Alps biking trip. I'm off to cry myself to sleep now. chat later.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Duane_Bosch

[Headshot]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

Conversely you can pay more to ride TheU, which provides everything and then some, awesome riding and is also a massive community fund raising initiative.

The objectives are the same, but the target market has very little overlap. Both are awesome.

For me, It's not always how much money, but about where the money goes. 

Ah, the U, R29 500 for the luxury option.  R18 500 per team for the poor persons version (3k per day pp). I rode the 40km last year when they had an open day. was worth the few hundred bucks for a lekker ride. I find the U offensively expensive for what it is though. Many of the planets  problems stem from the ceaseless need most of us have to be cossetted in luxury be it on an outdoor sports weekend or in our cars and homes. To me this event exemplifies this. I guess I'm not not the target market, whether I had the cash to burn on an entry or not 🙂 

[Jewbacca]

6 minutes ago, Headshot said:

Ah, the U, R29 500 for the luxury option.  R18 500 per team for the poor persons version (3k per day pp). I rode the 40km last year when they had an open day. was worth the few hundred bucks for a lekker ride. I find the U offensively expensive for what it is though. Many of the planets  problems stem from the ceaseless need most of us have to be cossetted in luxury be it on an outdoor sports weekend or in our cars and homes. To me this event exemplifies this. I guess I'm not not the target market, whether I had the cash to burn on an entry or not 🙂 

hahahaha

I can't afford it. I can't even afford the Ezelfontein weekend these days hahaha

I'm also not a drinker, so the allure of 'free' beer/gin etc doesn't appeal to me. Buffet breakfasts with unlimited bacon and eggs on croissants... mmmmmmm 

My point was more that you pay more, have a different experience and while you do that a fairly large amount of money is raised for the Picket-bo-berg school, community and area. 

Same outcomes, different approaches

[ChrisF]

7 hours ago, Headshot said:

A R500 per day stage event on great trails.Eselfontein. Charity fund raising is the motivation. I'd far rather spend there than lining some pockets at twice or 4 times that per day

 

Eselfontein truly is a gem, on so many different levels.

 

. Excellent trails

. Affordable day entries

. Stage race (for those that can get away for a few days)

. Accomodation, or drive in (darned early start driving in from Bellville... so worth it 👍👍)

. Fantastic vibe, with all the extras you can ask for .... and no issues for those that want to bring their own braai or picnic.

[Headshot]

18 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Eselfontein truly is a gem, on so many different levels.

 

. Excellent trails

. Affordable day entries

. Stage race (for those that can get away for a few days)

. Accomodation, or drive in (darned early start driving in from Bellville... so worth it 👍👍)

. Fantastic vibe, with all the extras you can ask for .... and no issues for those that want to bring their own braai or picnic.

Yeah, more like real life in other words. Hoping to get to Esels again this year. 

[Dustbug]

Going back on an earlier bleat re Munga fees etc, everything is relative compare Sani2C team entry R18700 for 3 days reheated food and tents basic option +/- 1000 riders in total income R9,350,000 without sponsors input etc.. distance total 3 day 240kms cost R38.95 per Km

Munga Entry R28900 entrants +/- 150 total income R4,335,000 without sponsors input etc.. total distance 1100kms mostly proper accomodation cooked meals etc,  4 x the number of support stations required. Cost R26.27 / Km munga is effectively 30% cheaper than Sani / Km

Some races are vastly overpriced agreed that why I dont do them, others have a vast overhead, one has to be prepared to pay a reasonable fee  if you want to engage in that style of riding, Im not a racer but consider cost against return when considering an event.

[binxc]

24 minutes ago, Dustbug said:

Going back on an earlier bleat re Munga fees etc, everything is relative compare Sani2C team entry R18700 for 3 days reheated food and tents basic option +/- 1000 riders in total income R9,350,000 without sponsors input etc.. distance total 3 day 240kms cost R38.95 per Km

Munga Entry R28900 entrants +/- 150 total income R4,335,000 without sponsors input etc.. total distance 1100kms mostly proper accomodation cooked meals etc,  4 x the number of support stations required. Cost R26.27 / Km munga is effectively 30% cheaper than Sani / Km

Some races are vastly overpriced agreed that why I dont do them, others have a vast overhead, one has to be prepared to pay a reasonable fee  if you want to engage in that style of riding, Im not a racer but consider cost against return when considering an event.

Munga doesn't currently have a sponsor; as per their latest communication there isn't any prize money for the winners at the next Grit or the Munga MTB. I can understand the logistics involved being expensive and of course the organisers need to make a profit unless it is a fundraiser for charity, however I can't see that it costs that much to run without having some spare change for prizes. Most people enter this type of event for the challenge and bragging rights, not the prize money, however the value proposition looks very different and they are not likely to entice top-level competitors as other similar events have greater prestige and cost less to enter (or nothing, for the self-supported epic ultras like  Tour Divide which arguably have far greater international bragging rights as a winner). 

[SSCC]

3 hours ago, binxc said:

Munga doesn't currently have a sponsor; as per their latest communication there isn't any prize money for the winners at the next Grit or the Munga MTB. I can understand the logistics involved being expensive and of course the organisers need to make a profit unless it is a fundraiser for charity, however I can't see that it costs that much to run without having some spare change for prizes. Most people enter this type of event for the challenge and bragging rights, not the prize money, however the value proposition looks very different and they are not likely to entice top-level competitors as other similar events have greater prestige and cost less to enter (or nothing, for the self-supported epic ultras like  Tour Divide which arguably have far greater international bragging rights as a winner). 

The Munga is worth every cent IMO. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that has done the event that does not feel that way. 

There are maybe 6 people each year that enter the Munga for a chance to win some cash. Of those 6 perhaps 3 of them won't enter if there is no prize purse. Every other person that enters could not care less about prize money.

There is also no comparison between self supported races like TD or AZTR and the Munga or Freedom Challenge. In fact people used to the unbelievable level of service at those SA events would likely not dig the "free" self supported scene at all (for many reasons). BTW the TD will likely cost you about R40k to do excluding flights. That's just the cost of food and some accommodation on the route. You can do it for less but not many people camp out every single night. It's the most expense free race in the world.

What I feel is getting out of hand is self supported races that provide a GPX file and nothing else and charge a few thousand for entry. There is just no value in that. 

[Jewbacca]

4 minutes ago, SSCC said:

The Munga is worth every cent IMO. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that has done the event that does not feel that way. 

There are maybe 6 people each year that enter the Munga for a chance to win some cash. Of those 6 perhaps 3 of them won't enter if there is no prize purse. Every other person that enters could not care less about prize money.

There is also no comparison between self supported races like TD or AZTR and the Munga or Freedom Challenge. In fact people used to the unbelievable level of service at those SA events would likely not dig the "free" self supported scene at all (for many reasons). BTW the TD will likely cost you about R40k to do excluding flights. That's just the cost of food and some accommodation on the route. You can do it for less but not many people camp out every single night. It's the most expense free race in the world.

What I feel is getting out of hand is self supported races that provide a GPX file and nothing else and charge a few thousand for entry. There is just no value in that. 

This is all pretty true. I also think that events post covid are fine without the pro centric fantasy that 3 people provide. It allows them to focus on the actual backbone of the event, the 'average joe'.

The public is quick to forget that the events industry is not stable after COVID. Many organisers packed up and got other jobs or took out a 2nd mortgage on the house just to survive. 

I'm sure things will 'normalise' again and sponsors will start putting their money out there again, but for now we should be happy that the organisers are putting things on without a title sponsor. 

I was looking at doing the Ceder, but R1500 for a GPX file seemed a bit steep. I'm also not a beer at sunset in my cycling kit IG banger kinda cool, so it's a hard no.

Going from a couple of very rough 'free' races in europe and the AR scene to RASA and the AR scene here, I was amazed at the level of service and pampering we get. 

Even things as mundane as boiling water and a soggy mattress at transitions or check points here is WAAAY  more than you get there.

On the other hand I gladly paid the entrance fee for Around the Pot even if it's just for my koeksisters and a haul over the Breede River on the pont. 

[SSCC]

8 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Going from a couple of very rough 'free' races in europe and the AR scene to RASA and the AR scene here, I was amazed at the level of service and pampering we get. 

Even things as mundane as boiling water and a soggy mattress at transitions or check points here is WAAAY  more than you get there.

On the other hand I gladly paid the entrance fee for Around the Pot even if it's just for my koeksisters and a haul over the Breede River on the pont. 

Totally. The race scene in SA (particularly the WP) is ridiculously good. It's crazy but the gravel / MTB races offerings are way better than the USA. No comparison. 

Around the Pot is outstanding value. So is the new Gravel DC, Swartberg etc. People need to realize that the subsidized PPA events that cost R350 are not a realistic benchmark. At the same time you don't need to pay R2,000 for a GPX file. Get some mates together and go do a big day out for free.