Originally Posted by
astrohog
Meh. I can take it or leave it, I go to events to interact with others that enjoy the same hobby I do. I certainly do not use the prize fund as a barometer to judge whether it was, "successful" or not.
On the other hand, I have hosted and run events that have donated many thousands of $$ to local charities. I would consider those events, "successful" (for the charities, if for nothing else), and it could be ASSUMED that many of the participants considered it successful, as they freely spent their money at the event one way or the other (food, raffle, entry, just a plain donation without expectation of anything in return). The REAL measure of a, "successful" event is the satisfaction achieved by those who attended. I am sure that for every "successful" event that I have run, there have been those who attended that did not feel the same way.
Astro
The whole "prize money" thing is usually attached to invitational events and are really not the norm. I could probably name numerous national events ( such as the Nat's) where you get a plaque or trophy but most important bragging rights. Most "everyday" events raffles and so on are just to cover expenses of putting it on or donations to charities. Everyone I know who attends these it's about the flying and the people along with the hobby and not about handing them a check..
Mike