Sunday, December 5, 2010

Swim Pricing & Professional Organisers

I just went to register for the Bondi to Bronte swim. Haven’t done it for a while but I’m now fit enough to have ago now.
What’s with the pricing ??? $40 normal and $50 on the day ??
I was waiting until today because cold water and me aren’t the best of friends or my low level asthma. Is it just me or as a few swims start to get professional organisers the price doubles?
I would mind a lot less if ALL the money went to the actual surf clubs, but does it??
I would think not, so I would like to know what % actually does. I believe charities that use professional organisers have to declare somewhere what % ACTUALLY goes to the surf club (I could be wrong here but If it isn’t it should be and/or they might not classify the surf clubs as charities).
So Bronte (and by extension the Cole Classic), what is the % of my money that goes to the clubs.... Care to let us know?
In the interim, I will go to a couple of extra  races where all the money goes to the clubs and they don’t see me as a cash cow..   and , if by chance, I feel like making a donation to a professional private profit-making organisation, I’ll drop in to my local bank.
Peter

5 comments:

  1. Higher price, but that's only a 25% markup.
    Coogee last week - a bit cheaper if you committed early at $30, but enter on the day and it's $45. That's a 50% mark up. And its a $5 bigger late fee than B2B's.

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  2. Peter,

    You will be happy to know that 100% of all funds raised by the increasingly popular and unique "3 Points Challenge & Ocean Swim" presented annually by North Curly SLSC - go directly to our Surf Club to fund its Life Saving activities and rescue equipment. (its our major fundraiser)

    For our entry fee of $40 we provide competitors with T-shirt, swimming cap, sunscreen,drink bottle, restaurant discount vouchers and some times complementary gym memberships plus other goodies. In addition we provide heaps of fruit and Powerade for competitors and a totally complementary BBQ for both competitors and their families / supporters after the events. (we do charge $10 extra for late entries, but this is more an encouragement for people to pre-register so that we dont over order T-shirts etc)

    Our aim is to provide a value for money competitor experience and this is why we have purposely knocked back several approaches from professional event companies in the the past 18 months so that we can keep our entry fees reasonable (e.g. cover all costs and raise money for the club) and not treat our competitors as Cash Cows......Let's face it there is an ocean swim on every weekend now and for the average swimmer, entry fees, location, how well the swim is conducted, safety & hospitality are all key factors in determining where they donate their hard earned cash!

    Glenn S

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  3. Please don't whinge. It's a bad look, and there's plenty of space for all sorts of events. I've just read your report on B2B, and the little barb about sponsors tents. There are still plenty of smaller, more traditional events for you to enjoy. Why be so negative about an event that has done so much to attract people who wouldn't otherwise have had the experience of ocean swimming? And that was a great occasion despite the weather and the water not dishing up the perfect crystal beauty of last year? To the outsider, your traditional culcha can look like an unwelcoming clique. B2B has done a lot to help encourage participation from newcomers. Many of the people who go on to the others you like better get their first taste through the encouragement of B2B. It's a tent-pole that lifts profile, money and involvement for the whole surf community. And what's wrong with a bit of a happy music feel afterwards? and with encouraging people to hang about in the park instead of having announcements inside the club where the average punter and their family can't go? I say thanks and well done to all who organised it. And thanks to the sponsors, we all need to make a quid and I hope their involvement was good for them. Please be more generous in your comments. It's an iconic Sydney event and I hope it builds on this year and grows even further.

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  4. Good on the clubs that organise the events and 100% goes to the club.
    But there seems to be a trend for some clubs to get a professional organiser and then jack the price up to pay for it.
    I don't think its big call to know what % of my entry fee actually goes to the club.

    I have no problem with sponsors or entertainment after the event or prizes etc but when prices get jacked up so that someone other than the surf club makes money I don't think thats right.

    Most swimmers have no problem with the surf clubs making money out of it...its the other leaches that seem to be appearing thinking its good for a free feed.

    I'll be at Bilgola, for a well organised, well run swim and 100% goes to the club.
    Peter

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  5. Charlie, how about releasing a basic breakdown of where the money goes then !!

    Peter

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