Beer Pong Forums: Calling tourney promoters!!

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Calling tourney promoters!!

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HellaBinDrinkin Joined: 12.09.2009 Total Games: 0 W/L %: 0 Avg CD: 0 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 9th 2010, 11:56 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Was just wondering if any of you serious promoters-Billy, Duncan, & Skinny of course, Peter, Zen, etc have ever used your names or recognition of successful team names to draw in grass roots players & new players to tourneys, or do you just cater to the established pong teams? I was thinking of promoting a local event here in San Jose by advertising to local wannabe pong badasses (at bars & college campuses) that we'd have a tournament where they could compete against some of the nation's best players. Obviously I'd advertise being able to test their skills against Doin Hella Much (duh) ( if I can bribe Tiny into coming down), as well as Team Caboom, & possibly get Mike S. & Byron (I have not yet even spoken to these guys about this-just an idea). I was thinking it may draw in a lot of guys who fancy themselves serious pong players. Do you guys think this might work? Why or why not? Thanks in advance for your input!
swarlesbarkley Joined: 10.25.2009 Age: 24 Total Games: 36 W/L %: 55.56 Avg CD: 0.50 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 01:02 am Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! "HellaBinDrinkin" Was just wondering if any of you serious promoters-Billy, Duncan, & Skinny of course, Peter, Zen, etc have ever used your names or recognition of successful team names to draw in grass roots players & new players to tourneys, or do you just cater to the established pong teams? I was thinking of promoting a local event here in San Jose by advertising to local wannabe pong badasses (at bars & college campuses) that we'd have a tournament where they could compete against some of the nation's best players. Obviously I'd advertise being able to test their skills against Doin Hella Much (duh) ( if I can bribe Tiny into coming down), as well as Team Caboom, & possibly get Mike S. & Byron (I have not yet even spoken to these guys about this-just an idea). I was thinking it may draw in a lot of guys who fancy themselves serious pong players. Do you guys think this might work? Why or why not? Thanks in advance for your input! hey man, not a huge pong player on here this year was my first time at the world series but coming from WA state and not having that many "pro level players" i deffinatly use having experience to my advantage to get neew players in like come play a pro etc.... works for me gets em a rival and interested.
DrunkenBear Joined: 02.19.2009 Age: 26 Total Games: 82 W/L %: 50 Avg CD: -0.26 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 07:50 am Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! I think that one time events or that spreading these kinds of tournaments do work. I am having a Best of the Midwest in August and 8 states are participating with people asking if states can have more then 1 team. ( a team consists of 10 players) they all wanna prove that they can play and should have been on a team. They know they will be playing against players like Vince B, Zack G, Andy D, Dane, Joe, Nick V and etc but they don't care they think they are better. I am running a Drunken Bear 10K in Decemember which i know might seem to close to WSOBP however, playing against the best will prepare people for Vegas. It will also be a chance for people to expierence a tournament if they are unable to afford Vegas or win a Satellite. For my satellites I am normally concerned with the quanity of players and not the quality because I need to hit a break even point. I mean I want the best players to play in my events, but if they start scaring away regulars then i would be able to afford to host satellites. So I think it is a great idea to once and awhile do those tournaments but if you are looking for quanity and not quality then I would say dont advertise that. People want to think they can win and letting them know that 10 out of 15 teams teams played in the WS might scare them. This is just my thoughts and what I have seen. Nick V and I argue like little bitches about thiis topic all the time.
HellaBinDrinkin Joined: 12.09.2009 Total Games: 0 W/L %: 0 Avg CD: 0 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 10:52 am Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Thanks for the input, guys. I knew this would have an up side & a down side. I was thinking of having prize money down to like 10th place, with 6-10 basically winning back their entry fees only (but gives them some degree of confidence going in that they can at least potentially break even). That way, even if the 2 or 3 pro-level teams destroy everyone (which WILL happen), some rookies will walk away with some extra cash, & the satisfaction of beating the regular locals, while retaining most of their pride knowing they only lost because the other teams were national-level. In this area, there's no way we'd have too many top-level teams. Just need to get more people involved. I really think beer pong is going to become HUGE. It takes parties to another level when the pong tables come out. Jason & Boomer have done demos for our friends at some of our parties, & everyone (yes, even older parent-age people) are very fascinated by the game & want to try it. Esp when they find out someone can win $50K playing this game! Thanks again, Zen.
prusch Joined: 08.22.2006 Age: 30 Total Games: 145 W/L %: 77.24 Avg CD: 1.70 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 12:12 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Mr. Hersh, Glad to hear you're getting involved. I for one have never tried promoting events as the place to play top players. While I'd love it for people to want the challenge, I think that is a very small percentage of the population. Some people know it's good fun no matter what, but quite a few people hope to enter a tournament to win. If they get smashed, or see a team shoot a perfect game, it's somewhat demoralizing. One of my favorite moments from last year was when a team came out to a tournament, and while I was talking to them, one of the guys said, "That's Mike Wan. I've seen him on youtube!" He was in the minority though. Most players want to win, and knowing there are dedicated players going lessens those chances. One of my more downer moments last year was talking to a new team that told me they had avoided our tournaments for that very reason. Just look at the weekly $1,000 tournaments that used to go down in NY & NJ. Certain teams kept winning. Casual players lost interest due to lack of chances to win. Now those tournaments don't happen. So - I'd the key is drawing in casual players, & making it worthwhile for them (I'm not sure anyone has figured that out yet).
HellaBinDrinkin Joined: 12.09.2009 Total Games: 0 W/L %: 0 Avg CD: 0 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 02:31 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Thanks, Peter. I'm going to have to really think about this. Another reason there needs to be a ranking system or something. Dang it! Nothing is ever quite as easy as it initially seems!!
nvelissa Joined: 01.01.1991 Age: 29 Total Games: 171 W/L %: 69.59 Avg CD: 1.18 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 03:09 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! "HellaBinDrinkin" Thanks, Peter. I'm going to have to really think about this. Another reason there needs to be a ranking system or something. Dang it! Nothing is ever quite as easy as it initially seems!! The main thing is there has to be balance. Zen was right in us disagreeing about this, but balance is key. However, this is later down the road. If you are just starting, then I think you should advertise your best players for a couple reasons: 1. None are Mike Pops or WSOBP champs, so therefore they may not have the scare away potential yet 2. To establish a region, you need to play these guys to get better. In Michigan we had 1-3 teams at the initial WSOBP and bad players at our tournaments. After running leagues and tournaments it has become a top state from playing all these guys that were not phenoms but got better. IL is now getting on the map as well for the same reason. 3. In the early months, you will not have 64 teams who all know the rules, know how to play, and will show up every week/month. They are the most loyal tourney starters you have. They will play regardless and initially are a valuable asset to have to explain rules, help run it, or take it over if one day you cant make it. If numbers go down, then worry about it. Same as NY/NJ. But get the numbers first. They have been competitive for 5-8 years now, so the average player isnt just going to lose to pop, but all 30 great players they have. It took time to get it that way and a lot of the reason it is that way, and they have 3/4 titles and 5/8 finalists is because of those guys, not their numbers. They lost their numbers because 5 years later if you were not great, you could not win. It was not like that early on and the same team was not winning. Most valuable to start out as well...When those teams lose. You will not have the same guy win everyone in the beginning because you are not as established. So when the local stud loses, the team that wins brings his friends. When a guy on YouTube gets beat by someone (it happens, still beer pong) then that guy tells people and promotes for you Advertise the shit out of them, get your fan base, then figure it out from there. After that, me you and zen can fight about what to do. Haha Nick
longhorns707 Joined: 12.14.2007 Age: 28 Total Games: 211 W/L %: 74.88 Avg CD: 1.86 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 03:09 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Hey Mr Hersh, I'm not sure how relevant this is but in Sacramento, I'm sponsored by a bar and they pay me to play against their customers. People pay three bucks, and if they win, receive a shot of their choice. It gets the competitive juices flowing and we defintiely see some new teams from week to week showing up at our tourneys looking for another crack at winning. It goes both ways however, there are quite a few who decide losing three dollars is enough for them and don't want to donate another 20 to play in the tourney. I think it depends on the individual, but like any other game/sport, the only way to get better is to practice and take a few ass whoopings. On another note, I'm hoping to make it down to San Jose this weekend and get to meet you, and have a good time throwing the ping pong ball around. All the boys have promised a fantastic time...now I just gotta make sure I get all my work done so I dont have to come in this weekend. -Byron
nvelissa Joined: 01.01.1991 Age: 29 Total Games: 171 W/L %: 69.59 Avg CD: 1.18 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 03:16 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! And regardless of what you decide, make sure to do what you can to have fun. From a players viewpoint. Get specials, get funny songs, shit at the bar to have fun with, whatever. This way, a casual player still says it was worth it to play because they had a good time, and the players that win will come back because they won. The main thing I think helps is drink specials. In Michigan this was not a problem. $1 pitcher nights were common. We are running into this problem in Chicago. Nobody wants to "see if they are good" and drop $100 tab doing it. And another thing...make sure you do not get taken advantage of by the bar owner. Most are assholes, all are morons. They will not see your potential to make them money and so you have to make them see it. Great to see you getting it going there. Feel free to hit one of us up for more info anytime. nvelissa@gmail.com On facebook: D Runken Bear Nick Velissaris Peter Rusch Yes there is a space in Zen's company name. Facebook knew he is too fat to fit it all in one slot
HellaBinDrinkin Joined: 12.09.2009 Total Games: 0 W/L %: 0 Avg CD: 0 Full Stats	Posted: Mar 10th 2010, 04:39 pm Post subject: Calling tourney promoters!! Nick, Byron- thanks so much for your insight. The part about the bar owners is hysterical-but in my experience also very true in general! A concern I have is ponying up enough prize money, & not having nearly enough competitors. I don't expect to make a shitload of money by any means, but I don't want to get reamed either! I'll talk to some bar owners (I'm a guitar player in a blues band, so I've met a few bar owners) & kind of see what might be possible, & consult Jason for the actual tournament running aspect. Byron-hope you can make it this weekend. My wife's making a killer BBQ spread. Lots of free beer. Jason's talking about some pong battleship game w/ beer+cocktails in cups or some crazy shit. God help us. It'll be good to meet you guys! Again, thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get motivated enough to actually get this to happen!