Hi
I agree with everything Windy has said.
I would like to emphasise that you get subsatantially more than most tournaments and it is considerably cheaper. It is a mighty fine facility!!
On the cost front (and money for BU). We started the year with some clear issues that needed resolving. The club finances was the biggest one and this was generated by everyone involved in Ultimate in Belfast. We started dealing with this by making sure that no activity generated a loss, so for each and every activity we estimated the MINIMUM number of people to expect. We then based all our prices on breaking even with those numbers. I am glad to say that for most activities we have equalled or beaten those numbers.
For Love Easter we based it on a break even of 6 teams. This is also the starting point for "Not The Worlds". If we get more than 6 teams paying full price, then we will make a profit.
This is the only way to operate!!!
Our intention is to guarentee no loss to the club this year, and then once there is a safety net in the bank account, then (next year) we can change the pricing structure and risk a loss here and there. We will also have a clear structure of well organsiesd events and interest, which has been a little piece meal in previous years.
Additionally to all that, I would add that we are the Committee for Belfast Ultimate and as such are committed to BU. We have a development program in place and are doing our upmost to develop ultimate, some of us are developing in our own time, outside of the remit of BU.
As BU we have been liasing between UKU, Sport NI and Belfast City Council and have secured the final stages of the process for Ultimate to be recognised with the UKU as our authorised governing body. Once this process is complete we will be able to apply for a good funding source for events tailored to development of he sport at a very low cost.
As a comparison of whether £15-£20 for a weekend of sport and food is "expensive", a quick look at any sport centre website will show prices between £4-£5 for a 30 min session. So that would be a max of 2 hrs of sport for the above amount. We offered 7 games of 45 mins which is 5 hrs and fed and provided camping facilities.
Additionally to all that, Shorts is a BU venue, paid for by BU players. Why should the finances of those people subsidise the small team players who are not part of BU??
As for BU players playing in the tournament (especially if they play as BU), then any sensible suggestions as to pricing structure will be considered.
The committee would love to hear CONSTRUCTIVE comments on any subject, but in general there is either silence or negative comments. Neither of these things benefit anyone in any manner.
See you all at training later, and for a discussion in the bar after.
Cheers
Sich