exorbitant racefees that leave you breathless

[SkyDancer]

 

 

You can all say what you want' date=' fact is cyclists are getting screwed, full stop but especially in comparison to runners.  For some reason when anyone sees a cyclist they see dollars.[/quote']

 

Have you ever seen the actual expenses off a cycle race? Maybe ask your club to show you the expenses versus the income off a cycle race and it might change your view that cyclist are getting screwed.

 

If it is not for sponsors most cycle events will run at a lost.

SkyDancer2009-03-14 08:52:59

[Cassie]

i want to run a few mtb races on 10km laps in stellenbosch' date=' what is fair entry fee? you will get finish position and time, prizes, nice time like in the early 90's[/quote']

 

Grootlem, try contacting the Round Table in stellenbosch...they might be willing to help you out.

It's always nice to see at least some of your DOLLARS ending up with a charity of some sorts!!

 

PM me if you want a cell # or two....

 

Cassie

[cat-i]

 

You can all say what you want' date=' fact is cyclists are getting screwed, full stop but especially in comparison to runners.  For some reason when anyone sees a cyclist they see dollars.[/quote']

 

vote with your money, then. stay away if you feel it's too expensive.

 

as long as the event organisers get people willing to pay the entry fees, they can ask what they want.

 

 

 

[porky]

as long as the event organisers get people willing to pay the entry fees' date=' they can ask what they want.

[/quote']

 

Thats a very simplistic attitude cat-i, theres a lot more to it than just saying "stay away."

 

Reaching critical mass is a very hit and miss affair, when a race experiences a drop in numbers, services and facilities are the first to go, this makes the race LOOK expensive for those who have entered, as they recieve a substandard article, and from there its one way down and the race will soon fold.

 

Support the events if you can, but be a critical customer, dont accept poor or substandard events, make your voice heard loud and clear, take the organisers on if you feel hard done by and go public if need be - the more we demand the better the races will become, simply saying stay away serves no purpose and only kills events.

 

[big mama]

If race organizers put some of the money back into cycling, I am sure many riders would support the events.

[Dirt*girl™]

If race organizers put some of the money back into cycling' date=' I am sure many riders would support the events. [/quote']

 

 

That?s the thing, I think most MTB organisers do put back into cycling?.Just because it?s not hoisted on a flagpole for all to see, doesn?t mean it is not happening?<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

But I know some events are far beyond milking their supporters?but spare a thought for those organisers who actually don?t make mega bucks and drive around in Jeeps? It seems that at the moment it has become a money sucking industry and every one wants a piece of the pie?

 

Some events started 10/15 years ago because for love of the sport?and I can happily say I still know of events that run according to that philosophy.

 

At the end of the day?they are not robbing you of your money if you are giving it to them?so stop complaining!

[Rudo]

Bicycling website has a "rate your race" feature which may help judging races value for money  but not all races feature and not that many people vote http://www.bicycling.co.za/rate_your_race/race_rankings/all/2009

 

I think it will be great to see a very simple ratings poll based purely on value for money for races. Actually I am not so much interested in the best value for money races as I am in the worst value for money races, which I'd then avoid. 

 

There was an article in Ride mag last month by a race organiser (Dullstroom) where they explained what went into the organizing of their MTB event and how difficult it has been for them even to break even. They claim a loss some thousands of rands over 7 years not even taking into acount the hours of labour they have invested. They said that everything becomes more viable once one can secure decent long term sponsorship for a race. This is often dependant on media coverage which is in short supply for MTB events.

 

Imput cost is one factor but as with most products pricing can possibly also be detirmined by what the market is willing to pay for the product, with the aim of achiving the optimal balance between profit margin and sales volume. I think the best one can do is to avoid poor value for money races and make yourself heard regarding the negatives as well as the positives.

Rudo2009-03-16 05:13:03

[CatGirl]

https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=45278

i also posted this forum which lead to a discussion on expensive fees....

[Roders]

We as a family (giving the game away now) were involved in organizing races for some 10 years. mabalingwe & walkerville classic being some of the bigger ones. Never mind the costs & time involved, abuse from riders is what finally killed it for us.

I've said it before, every rider should have to have spent time organizing a couple of races before being allowed to enter one.

These days I happily pay whatever the entry is to enter a race, ride my race & dissapear into the sunset, gratefull that someone else is now organizing it.

[Nettie R]

The organisers should mention something on the on-line entries or forms that riders will pay extra for late entries. They can't just thumb suck what the day entry fee will be.  Babbas Lodge races and old Wimpie in vereeniging love to do this.  Ask them about their bs 'penalty fee'. It's just a fat chance they try to take (and get away with).

[fandacious]

its their perogative to charge what they want. you knew about the race age before hand. if you were stupid enough to forget to buy an entry, be prepared to pay a premium.

 

[Trackz]

No doubt a sensitive topic the one of entry fees, one that has been discussed over and over since I started cycling when Tshwane was still Pretoria and one that will be discussed over and over when Tshwane is called Space Station P.

So how about we make this a HUB challenge ... how about a couple of us team up to put on a race for R50 and see if it's possible. We publish every minute we spend on it, the whole saga like a reality show for everyone to see. Only committment we need is from everyone on the HUB to support the race!

 

Any takers? PM me if you're interested. Let's expose real race organization time and costs. Who's in? PM me.

[SwissVan]

We as a family (giving the game away now) were involved in organizing races for some 10 years. mabalingwe & walkerville classic being some of the bigger ones. Never mind the costs & time involved' date=' abuse from riders is what finally killed it for us.

I've said it before, every rider should have to have spent time organizing a couple of races before being allowed to enter one.

These days I happily pay whatever the entry is to enter a race, ride my race & dissapear into the sunset, gratefull that someone else is now organizing it.

[/quote']

 

 Well said Roders

 

AS Saffa's we have been and still are truly spoilt for races, the majority of participants have no idea what it takes to put on an event.

 

Maybe the comment "every rider should have to have spent time organizing a couple of races before being allowed to enter one."  is a bit heavy tho..

But yah they should definetly at least help their respective club commitee to put on a race or 2.

 

 

 

 

 

[Roders]

I am really looking forward to the hubbers putting on a race for a R50.00 entry fee. Make sure you either have personal surplass cash to spend or you find sponsers with good cash flow.

If you need advice pm me, but I certainly wont do it again unless there is money to be made