ORIGINAL: jonlowe
ORIGINAL: jetmech43
Its hard to promote pattern in the club im in, just a hand full of us are doing it, I do wish we could change the way the club thinks, but trust me we have tried, all they want to do is the fun fly thing, if we mention anything about pattern they throw up the cross and push it back in the grave, we might as well ask for dental work than get the club to sponsor anything in pattern. Maybe you guys can give us a way to approach it in a different way.
Believe it or not, this one is fairly easy. Don't ask your club to sponsor anything. If your club rules have a way to make an event proposal, do that. It only takes two or three people to put on the contest. You basically just need a CD and a scorekeeper. Just ask for the field for 1/2 day on Friday for practice, all day Saturday, and 1/2 day Sunday. Don't ask for any help, other than perhaps someone to help you set up the poles. Don't ask for any money up front. Tell the members of the club you promise them a profit. Believe me, you will make one.
I CD'd two contests this year, one for BPA, and one an AMA contest. Total income from the BPA contest was $505, and total expenses including lunch, water, trophies (simple picture frames with a certificate and a picture), and other sundries was $127.47. We returned $377.53 to the club and charged $35 per entry for 14 entries. We also had one small contribution from a club member, around $20.
The AMA contest returned $469 with 19 entries to the club, and we only charged $30. In this case, trophy cost was zero, because one of our regulars had a friend who makes really nice plexiglass plaques, and all he asked was that he put a sticker on the back of the trophy with his company name and address.
The club is estatic because we are the biggest money makers for the club for the last several years. They don't have to do anything except loan us the field. Any other events give most of their money away in the form of door prizes or fancy trophies, and some end up costing the club money. If anyone makes noise about ''those pattern guys'' we and the club board just point out how much money we give back. Door prizes are nice, but pattern flyers understand the need to keep clubs happy, so they don't care.
If we could do a 50/50 cash raffle where the winner gets 50% and the club gets the other 50%, we could make more. But because we are in a city park, our contract with the city prohibits it.
Hope this helps give you some ideas.