Growing MD/VA's scene

[Lobos]

Nova are you gonna be running any more tournies at that venue in Landover?

yea that was a pretty **** tournament.

 

[SOVAman]

You had 63 people show up, that is certainly not the norm otherwise this thread wouldn't exist. You also had a good deal with the venue. At most you made 315, but you said "we made hundreds" implying you split it. So I think your hundreds is an exaggeration much like my "only make $25 was."

I would say 20-40 people is much more realistic attendance to expect. So with a five dollar venue fee you are making 100-200 dollars. At a house venue that is pretty much pure profit. At a low end venue you are looking at a 50 - 150 dollar venue cost. In this scenario losing money is a real possibility depending on the cost of venue and attendance. Most TO's aren't going to add break even analysis to their list of task to do to set up the event. Your high end event places (usually places that cater and host weddings) your looking at around 300+ or a per person charge. Not much room to make money there.

My analysis on the whole idea of making tournaments as a business is this it is a okay idea if you really like gaming and the community. It is a lot of hard work and you really need to reach into other communities to be profitable. If you are going to start a tournament business now is a good time, but you are still a little bit behind.

Working on Saturdays is guaranteed money, it doesn't waiver with increased cost and/or decreased attendance. I probably spend like 3 hours setting up Friday night and like an 1 hour of last minute stuff on Saturday. Then it is like 8-12 hours of working the event. It isn't tough work but it can be draining. The biggest downside is that attendance is never a guarantee.

So lets not be unrealistic here and say some hundreds of dollars is waiting for everyone and anyone who host tournaments. It just doesn't happen, I would say that after running quite a few tournaments you would find your average to be around 50-100 dollars. You are going to find in most situations having an actual job to be the better financial choice. Also you can't reasonably run a tournament every week whereas you can work every Saturday. I could argue the lawn mower thing but again that wasn't my point.

As for the other issue. Posting on AiB is really simple and should be done but I haven't really found it to bring in more attendance. I also found that AiB people are less likely to show than Smashboard members.

I think new members should be the focus. What is happening is we aren't replacing the members who quit with new members. People are going to quit playing for one reason or another, it happens. We need to be more welcoming and more aggressive in our pursuit of new members. This really to me falls on the TOs more than it does the community. The community should of course help, but the TO is responsible for being the driving factor to getting new people to come to tournaments. I think local schools are the main place TOs should focus their attention. From then I would hang around local hobby shops.

I know NWC hasn't gone to many tournaments. Mostly my fault really, but we have been to some and we are getting more and more people interested in competitive smash...competitive gaming in general. We have a group that practices Soul Calibur and SSF4. We have two kirby and a marth main who are interested in getting better and want to go to events. To be honest I have no idea why they want to get better and compete. We mostly play free for alls at HCC, we didn't shove no items 1v1 down there throat, but somehow they began to desire this.

So my advice for TOs, find local players and play free for alls with them. They will notice you are better than them. Maybe ask you how you got to be so good. Tell them but don't gloat. If you have another tournament going friend use them to discuss tournaments while you are around potentials. Once a person desires to get better it is only a matter of time until you have a group of players wishing to get better for one reason or another. If you make their first tournament a good one then you have got em.

tl;dr, don't really care to read a god damn novel lmao

 

[NO-IDea]

Not mad. Zak said everyone at Danny's wouldn't go because they were tired of tourneys and far away in bowie (only 40 minute drive from there to eldersberg). Xanadu was the week before my tourney and Tant's was the week before that. They said they went to too much tourneys that month and wouldn't go regardless. The people who did show interest only would go still if it was 10/10/10. So, I did that. I planned weeks ahead of time. I asked people on smashboards, xat, and aim what they wanted and would they go given blank circumstances for etc...I got ****ed over for my first tourney I hosted because too many tourneys were that month and people are indecisive. I try to cater to people's needs, but they wouldn't go regardless.

This is true Alan. The people who went wanted it to be higher singles fee (not venue fee mind you. I did NOT like that part.)

But regardless, you guys need to stop complaining. If money is an issue, get a job. The idea of making money off this game in the local scene is a joke.

@lil'b from above: If you don't want read posts, that's fine. Did you have to belittle his post though? You could try to nicer about it.

 

[Laijin]

Lil B is this you? Theres a thread dedicated about you ya now?
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=294929

 

[SOVAman]

@lil'b from above: If you don't want read posts, that's fine. Did you have to belittle his post though? You could try to nicer about it.

I don't read more than like 10 lines unless it's gossip

 

[Sleek Media]

tl;dr, don't really care to read a god damn novel lmao

You're an even worse troll than me, and I try my best on this forum.

 

[B0NK]

You had 63 people show up, that is certainly not the norm otherwise this thread wouldn't exist. You also had a good deal with the venue. At most you made 315, but you said "we made hundreds" implying you split it. So I think your hundreds is an exaggeration much like my "only make $25 was."

It isn't. Five Guys had 79 people show up. Veterans of '08 that same summer had at least 47. Not to mention we gave hundreds away in payouts to the top 5 placing benefiting both the TO and the tourney-goers.

I would say 20-40 people is much more realistic attendance to expect. So with a five dollar venue fee you are making 100-200 dollars. At a house venue that is pretty much pure profit. At a low end venue you are looking at a 50 - 150 dollar venue cost. In this scenario losing money is a real possibility depending on the cost of venue and attendance. Most TO's aren't going to add break even analysis to their list of task to do to set up the event. Your high end event places (usually places that cater and host weddings) your looking at around 300+ or a per person charge. Not much room to make money there.

Sure you expect the worst, but you work for the best which may involve many factors. And please don't imply that $5 venue fee establishments are "low end." Based on this description I say you are very poor at finding venues with that mentality. Veteran's of 08 had plenty of space, chairs, and tables. And the venue is quite often used for parties and ceremonies

My analysis on the whole idea of making tournaments as a business is this it is a okay idea if you really like gaming and the community. It is a lot of hard work and you really need to reach into other communities to be profitable. If you are going to start a tournament business now is a good time, but you are still a little bit behind.

Tell that to VG not us, Brandon quite smash and I moved to NY. (Although I'm sure VG already knows this)

Working on Saturdays is guaranteed money, it doesn't waiver with increased cost and/or decreased attendance. I probably spend like 3 hours setting up Friday night and like an 1 hour of last minute stuff on Saturday. Then it is like 8-12 hours of working the event. It isn't tough work but it can be draining. The biggest downside is that attendance is never a guarantee.

That's you, and if that works for you continue doing that. That isn't us. Attendance isn't guarantee but you can get an idea of attendance before investing in a venue (there is nothing wrong with canceling an event if you have to)

So lets not be unrealistic here and say some hundreds of dollars is waiting for everyone and anyone who host tournaments. It just doesn't happen, I would say that after running quite a few tournaments you would find your average to be around 50-100 dollars. You are going to find in most situations having an actual job to be the better financial choice. Also you can't reasonably run a tournament every week whereas you can work every Saturday. I could argue the lawn mower thing but again that wasn't my point.

I say it is possible, and I'm be completely realistic. I'm also being realistic in that you can make more consistent money with a decent job. And that doesn't mean your not going to make more money than you usually would on that Saturday by running a tournament. (TO's will quite often use tournaments to make some money before an event they have to travel to, not us but some do) Lawn mowing imo is more inconsistent and seasonal work than running tourneys and in this recession that is a luxury to have someone do it for you, but as you said that's not what your arguing

As for the other issue. Posting on AiB is really simple and should be done but I haven't really found it to bring in more attendance. I also found that AiB people are less likely to show than Smashboard members.

Agreed, and the rest of your post I can't say I completely agree with but it certainly isn't wrong or relevant to what I said in this thread

Since I don't mind reading and responding like Brandon, there you go, my responses are in bold and purple. And GIMR had it right, location is a huge factor that complements $5 venue fee to bring in more locals that every TO seems to want.

But putting a tourney out of people's way and then saying there going to have to pay a $10 venue fee on top of the gas they spent to get there and back is surely not attractive to tourney-goers.

There are plenty of venues with great locations out there, people need to know where to look and how to negotiate the pricing for the venue. I give my complements to NOVA who did a great job doing just that. Other TOs can do the same.

 

[SOVAman]

You're an even worse troll than me, and I try my best on this forum.

you...........try............to troll?

you fuggin suck -_^b

 

[Omni]

wtf are you guys all rambling out

come over to my place next week and get your *** kicked by my Fox

my MK, Falco, and DDD will also be glad to get up in those buns

 

[Takeover1806]

wtf are you guys all rambling out

come over to my place next week and get your *** kicked by my Fox

my MK, Falco, and DDD will also be glad to get up in those buns

When next week?

I'm up for it

 

[Omni]

idk im thinking like Monday or Thursday or Monday and Thursday

 

[Oh.]

Hey guys what happened to the Wall Street crew thread? I can't find it anywhere.

 

[$up@ N0v@]

jk
Lobos for best assistant TO...

idk im thinking like Monday or Thursday or Monday and Thursday

 

[Kaffei]

Chu might be having a biweekly on the 22nd

Everyone should go to get in practice b4 pound 5 =D

 

[Seagull Joe]

No one will attend Kaffei. Get real.

 

[KageMurphy]

No one will attend Kaffei. Get real.

sdjfndjskfnjdsklfds

This post cracked me up for some reason.

 

[Rumikun]

No one will attend Kaffei. Get real.

We already have 4 people interested, and its only the first day! I know its not much, but its a start.

 

[TheTantalus]

Typical Gull Shutdown

 

[EPsilon933]

It can't be too bad. I think the Melee players are just spoiled. Sypher hosts tournament at his house with no venue fee and he goes out and buys a few 12 can packs of sodas before the tournament, out of his own pockets. And he has a really good basement (with plenty of setups). Melee players here are so spoiled, if you check the soda cans after everyone leaves, 1/3 of them are only half drank

I don't know much about the Brawl side

 

[$up@ N0v@]

Honestly, I might just start hosting my own smashfests. Since all the action is in MD anyway, we should just have it somewhere around here. Vato volunteered his place and you can ask Takeover or Coney, his place has space like NASA. If there is enough interest I can try to make these come into fluition.

 

[Takeover1806]

Honestly, I might just start hosting my own smashfests. Since all the action is in MD anyway, we should just have it somewhere around here. Vato volunteered his place and you can ask Takeover or Coney, his place has space like NASA. If there is enough interest I can try to make these come into fluition.

Me and Nova thought about honestly promoting smashfests at Vato's.
His place is huge.

 

[$up@ N0v@]

I'll make it happen but only if there is enough interest. Vato's down with whatever but I don't wanna waste his time either. Plus it's like 5 minutes from Sassy's so it wouldn't be a problem location wise.

 

[rhan]

Travel to and from So/NoVA would be nice to.

We're apart of the same state but RARELY play against the other part. People are just so unmotivated to drive an hour or two. I offer to pay 100% of gas fair to have us travel from our area to yours and no one steps up.

I'd just like to play players from other areas because there is just so much diversity from SoVA to NoVA.

/Lurking.

Edit: I thought this was a "in general" thread. We still have some Brawlers that don't really travel that need to. Idk what's with their situation though. The Melee players here are unmotivated.

 

[SOVAman]

Travel to and from So/NoVA would be nice to.

We're apart of the same state but RARELY play against the other part. People are just so unmotivated to drive an hour or two. I offer to pay 100% of gas fair to have us travel from our area to yours and no one steps up.

I'd just like to play players from other areas because there is just so much diversity from SoVA to NoVA.

/Lurking.

That's awesome man

to specify: that you would pay all the gas money lol

 

[GimR]

wtf are you guys all rambling out

come over to my place next week and get your *** kicked by my Fox

my MK, Falco, and DDD will also be glad to get up in those buns

I hope you start maining fox, I think it has a lot of potential

 

[$up@ N0v@]

Travel to and from So/NoVA would be nice to.

We're apart of the same state but RARELY play against the other part. People are just so unmotivated to drive an hour or two. I offer to pay 100% of gas fair to have us travel from our area to yours and no one steps up.

I'd just like to play players from other areas because there is just so much diversity from SoVA to NoVA.

/Lurking.

While this is true, bolded is where the problem lies.

I had an idea to host a smashfest at my bros spot in Crystal City, but because of the bolded part, its like what for? I'd like to see a bigger unity between MD and VA but at this point, it wont happen because there's very little motivation among the smashers we have here. No one's fault in particular, but like you said, no one steps up.
I C wut U did thar...
Edit: It might as well be a "in general thread". I'm sure this isn't just a brawl issue.

 

[Omni]

I hope you start maining fox, I think it has a lot of potential

Thanks. =)

That's definitely the gameplan.

 

[Kaffei]

No one will attend Kaffei. Get real.

-.- I'm trying to keep the scene alive looks like no one cares

 

[@TKbreezy]

if chu stops hosting bi-weeklies the scene isn't going to die...LOL wtf

chu's biweeklies have had the worst turnouts as far as tourneys go for a while now

 

[KORNNNNN~]

It can't be too bad. I think the Melee players are just spoiled. Sypher hosts tournament at his house with no venue fee and he goes out and buys a few 12 can packs of sodas before the tournament, out of his own pockets. And he has a really good basement (with plenty of setups). Melee players here are so spoiled, if you check the soda cans after everyone leaves, 1/3 of them are only half drank

I don't know much about the Brawl side

Woodbridge tournaments that host by Kenny was pretty awesome..
smashfest on friday night before tournament, just like Sypher's

 

[GimR]

seriously, people just don't like his bi-weeklies any more.

 

[Rumikun]

Its not that people don't like his bi-weeklies. He just announces them a week in advance and gives no one time to call off work/prepare to come to his tournaments. Also, he is banned so he can't even advertise them. Otherwise, he would continue to write Chu Chronicles and get people to go.

You guys should go and support him .

 

[EPsilon933]

I support him when I'm not at college, it's just that college is 250 miles south of Falls Church

Also, what's the ratio of MD players to VA players in the region?

 

[SOVAman]

Who would request off work for a chu biweekly? lmao

 

[Lobos]

I support him when I'm not at college, it's just that college is 250 miles south of Falls Church

Also, what's the ratio of MD players to VA players in the region?

As far as brawl? MD has way more than VA......As far Melee? MD has way more than VA lol

In general MD always had more players but VA always had the top player(s) even tho the margin of skill wasn't that wide.

You guys should just do smashfest anyways....seriously a group of 3-4 guys is not needed to be advertised. In any case doesn't everyone have a cell phone now? Can't you guys just call or txt each other instead of waiting for people to post messages? lol

Who would request off work for a chu biweekly? lmao

Who works on weekends? LMAO <3

 

[Rumikun]

Who would request off work for a chu biweekly? lmao

I would. Chu bi-weeklies are the ****. You are just a hater who hasn't even dropped his balls.

 

[@TKbreezy]

^is this Kaffei's alt?

 

[GimR]

Why do people respond to B? LOL

 

[EPsilon933]

^is this Kaffei's alt?

ChuDat's Sister and Umbreon GF

 

[@TKbreezy]

Ehh Close enough

I think I seen her like 1 time back when I played falco

aye yo I'd BEAT!