Entry Fees (Again)

[RichardE]

There has been quite a bit of discussion on entry fees, most recently in relation to BOC.
I was interested to find this:

http://www.noegochallenge.com/torchchallengeinfo.php

No doubt some have come across this already... 12 quid for a 5 mile path-based night race.
My club (BL) charges £3 for a Saturday informal Green/Orange/White event.

I know it's been said before but I think orienteers tend to under-price events which may lead to them being under-valued by the casual punter. (Obviously not BOC!).

(Is 'No Ego' is a commercial concern BTW? They have a long list of very worthy charities- hospices etc- as 'partners'. If they are fund raisers, best of luck to them, but my point about entry fees remains valid I think).

Cheers
Richard

[Paul Frost]

I agree that we often undercharge for small events and risk them not being valued.

The mistake I think most clubs make is not taking into account the investment return required to keep offering events. The fees are calculated by taking into account the cost of printing the map and the levy, and not much more.
If every planner/controller submitted expense claims, even to just cover travel costs, the events would soon run at a loss. Then take into account the cost of buying/replacing electronic timing kit etc. Then there is the training of coaches and the supporting of them.
Maps need constant updating, but often don't get it because the club can't afford it!

You don't have to charge £20+ for everything, but the quality of the sport is unsustainable if we think we can only charge £2 or £3 for a level D event with electronic timing.

As long as you provide a quality experience (updated map, controls in the right place, results published within 24 hours etc.) then £5-£6 is not a lot for an adult to pay.

If you want to continue with outdated maps, not bother publishing results etc. then people won't attend even at 50p.

[awk]

You don't have to charge £20+ for everything, but the quality of the sport is unsustainable if we think we can only charge £2 or £3 for a level D event with electronic timing.
As long as you provide a quality experience (updated map, controls in the right place, results published within 24 hours etc.) then £5-£6 is not a lot for an adult to pay.

What matters financially is not what any one individual event charges, but what the total income for the club is, whether from events or other sources, versus expenditure. How that's structured is up to the club, and there is a wide range of different approaches that work. £5-£6 would see a big fall-off in attendance for many of our Level D events, Level D encompassing a myriad of formats.

[Paul Frost]

Obviously it's the total surplus after costs that counts.
If you get enough entrants you can spread the cost more. But if you are getting 50 or less at your events it's going to be hard to generate a useful surplus if you only charge adults £2-£3. Just the map printing costs and levy will take most of that. If you have a large percentage of juniors the numbers probably get even worse.

If you take the line that we will charge over the odds at larger events to subsidise our small level D events you get the sort of debate currently going on about the cost of entering the British Champs.

I hear clubs say that they generate enough income charging very low fees, but then I'm given a map that's badly in need of updating. Then when I comment about it, the response is often we can't afford to keep updating them.