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dgersh22
169 Posts |
 Posted - 03/07/2011 : 11:40:42
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We at least had the opportunity to play two games on Friday night at a cost of $260.00 per game. Do I agree that they should get to keep my entire entry fee, most likely since we were able to play two games. I feel we should get back at least part of our gate fee.
My major complaint is how they let teams sign up for this tournament, we played a high AAA team/Low Major team in our second game that had no business playing in that division.
We will look hard before we return next year for those two reasons. |
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tae281
447 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 13:24:37
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quote:
Originally posted by 22202
+1 WFDD. We froze our butts off. I felt sorry for the kids playing, their hands were blue when they came off the field!
So it looks like, TC has made their mind up about the refunds. I sit here this morning sick about loosing that money and not playing so I ask, what I would do if I was in their shoes to make this easier on everyone. And about the only thing I can come up with is refund the gate fee in full, and use the entry fee for another TC tournament in 2011.
TC only set the schedules, the Slugfest folks chose to use their rain out policy. All money was paid to the slugfest so there is no way that TC can give you a credit towards another tournament.
I can live with the 50% for playing one game since it was known before hand but the gate fee is another deal, they should not be keeping that for teams who played one game. |
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Thunder
72 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 13:57:17
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| Each team that played on Friday night will be receiving a gate fee refund of $50. |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 14:30:36
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quote:
Originally posted by wfdd
The correct thing to do would have been to cancel the tournament Friday morning and avoid any controversy. Anyone realistically looking at the weather forecast knew Saturday and Sunday would be washed out. Now the teams that had to endure the freezing temps on Friday night pay $320.00 for 1 game. The gate fee should be refunded as anyone that had to attend Friday night due to the decision to play was miserable in the cold.
This is the first time that TC has been associated with the Slugfest, but I'm guessing they'll both rethink the relationship next year. This makes 3 of the last 4 years Slugfest has had serious weather issues and the year we played in it, it was cold, but sunny.
TC doesn't charge gate fees at ECB, but I think they do when they host a tournament away from there. Not sure who drives that decision.
Also, they try like crazy to get their tournaments in, sometimes putting teams on the field in questionable conditions at bizarre times. At some point, the teams can draw the line and say we are not going to put our players in that position. Period.
One year at the Slugfest I said "no mas" and told the TD that I wasn't putting my players on the field no matter what the TD's decision was on Sunday play. He ripped me a new one via email. I didn't care. We weren't playing and I had the parents' support on that, knowing the weather conditions and the potential consequences. About two hours later they canceled the tournament, so it ended up being a moot point, no games or money forteited.
I guess my point is that we have a choice and we don't HAVE to put 8,9, 10, 11 year-old boys on the field in crummy conditions at all hours. I can think of at least two other times I wish I had "just said no". One win and one loss, so the results weren't the issue, the conditions and times were.
Too bad really, because the year they got the tournament in remains one of the highlights of my son's travel career. Well run, tons of teams and great competition. Unfortunately the weather on the first weekend in March will always be touch and go at best. |
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tae281
447 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 15:04:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Thunder
Each team that played on Friday night will be receiving a gate fee refund of $50.
Thanks, that makes it ok with me. |
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coach0512
123 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 16:17:26
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This is such a shame because the charity will suffer somewhat. It is such a great event and charity.
My team, personally, has never played the Slugfest and we won't as long as it is held in this time period. The Slugfest has become so important it NEEDS to be moved to the beginning/middle of April. Still not the best weather period but much better than beginning of March! Heck, end of April beginning of May if you can.
TC really dropped the ball on this. But how many of you will REALLY remember your "never again" threats next year. TC and the Slugfest are betting you won't and I'M betting 350 teams will sign up again next year. Put a reminder in your Outlook calendars to skip this event if TC runs it again or else it's your own fault...... |
Edited by - coach0512 on 03/07/2011 22:02:13 |
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beanball
222 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 16:18:48
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| I think the sluugfest has been around for about 5 years now. Most of those years the weather has been miserable. Every year people come to this site and complain about the weather, the umpires, the pool assignments, the gate fee and everything else one could imagine. This is the 1st year my sons teams have not participated in the Slugfest and did not miss it one bit. I am getting a good laugh at all the moaning on the site though. If you go back to last year archives I would bet that you can read the same messages from a different group. The more things change the more they stay the same. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 16:32:22
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| I'm pretty sure we paid a gate fee at the last TC tourney at EC???? Did random people just put a table at every entrance?!?!?!?!? |
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Mike Corbin
523 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 18:14:14
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| Since the Super NIT is no longer done the opening weekend of Spring Break, why not have it then? The rec leagues won't be using the parks and the weather has a better chance to be decent. |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 20:42:33
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Its really very simple. If they dont refund...Dont sign up next year. I am amazed however that this event has gone on for several years and yet the powers that be seem to want to risk losing a lot of teams for next year for a little bit of money this year. This in its self tells me its about the money for them and not the charity or the kids. Actions always speak louder than words.
quote:
Originally posted by dgersh22
We at least had the opportunity to play two games on Friday night at a cost of $260.00 per game. Do I agree that they should get to keep my entire entry fee, most likely since we were able to play two games. I feel we should get back at least part of our gate fee.
My major complaint is how they let teams sign up for this tournament, we played a high AAA team/Low Major team in our second game that had no business playing in that division.
We will look hard before we return next year for those two reasons.
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biggin
174 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 20:50:02
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| After playin in 1 tc event last year I swore never to return. It seems like pretty smart. Hopefully super nit goes off a lot smoother. |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2011 : 22:28:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Spartan4
I'm pretty sure we paid a gate fee at the last TC tourney at EC???? Did random people just put a table at every entrance?!?!?!?!?
I don't think so, but I could be wrong. We played in three TC tournaments last year and the one at ECB was the only one that we didn't pay a gate fee for. |
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jongamefan
218 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 01:09:22
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GMAN: Now your Talkin ' !!! Talk is cheap and actions speak .
quote:
Originally posted by G-Man
Its really very simple. If they dont refund...Dont sign up next year. I am amazed however that this event has gone on for several years and yet the powers that be seem to want to risk losing a lot of teams for next year for a little bit of money this year. This in its self tells me its about the money for them and not the charity or the kids. Actions always speak louder than words.
quote:
Originally posted by dgersh22
We at least had the opportunity to play two games on Friday night at a cost of $260.00 per game. Do I agree that they should get to keep my entire entry fee, most likely since we were able to play two games. I feel we should get back at least part of our gate fee.
My major complaint is how they let teams sign up for this tournament, we played a high AAA team/Low Major team in our second game that had no business playing in that division.
We will look hard before we return next year for those two reasons.
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prestont
197 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 06:08:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Spartan4
I'm pretty sure we paid a gate fee at the last TC tourney at EC???? Did random people just put a table at every entrance?!?!?!?!?
Spartan - You are correct. At the TC Spring Frost a couple weeks ago, Tony & TC ran the event but the host team collected the gate as a team fundraiser. One of the parents on our team worked the gate since her older son plays for the team that was hosting the tournament. |
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beanball
222 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 06:45:42
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| In the past TC did not charge gate fees. There was always a charge @ ECB for TC that was collected by ECB and went into ECB's posckets. If you played TC at another venue there was no charge. Last Fall the folks at the Alpharetta American Legion started charging a gate & I'm sure it went in the Legions pocket. I never paid a gate @ Webb Bridge or any other TC location to my reccolection. |
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Peanutsr
171 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 07:15:06
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It is amazinng to me to see everybody on here ripping Triple Crown as if their main goal in life is to fleece a bunch of travel baseball teams.
From the three years my son has been playing travel baseball I have seen similar situations with every sanctioning body out there, usually worse.
I have seen tournament directors put two teams on the field in pouring down rain, play an inning, call the game, wait two hours, put the next two teams on the field for one inning, call the game, until every team at least started their first game, and then cancel.
Running tournaments is a business. Triple Crown still has to pay all their employees travel expenses including hotels, food, mileage, plus salaries. They have to pay the venues, at least for one day. Umpires, administration fees.......
You can bet that nobody wanted this tournament to make more than Tony. Of all the tournament directors whose tournaments my son has played in, TC has always been the most fair, have done the best job of keeping the parents updated as to conditions, and has been the most reluctant to put kids on the field in adverse conditions.
If the tournament had been cancelled before the first games had been played you would have people on here complaining that the weather was ok Friday, and that games could have been played, and our team could have played somewhere else, how dare they cancel a tournament because of a forecast.
Bottom line is, until you have tried to organize something this large, you really don't know the costs involved. I would be willing to bet that Tony didn't make the killing that everybody seems to think he did. Every team entered the tournament knowing the risks involved with the weather and the rules concerning refunds. Yea, it stunk that the kids were looking forward to playing baseball and it didn't happen. Yea it stunk that some teams paid some money out of their budgets with little or no return. That is travel baseball.
Grabbing pitchforks and rakes to go after Triple Crown, while it may make people feel better in the short term, is really kind of counterproductive. Given the choice between TC and that other large sanctioning body out therwe, I'll take TC any day. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 07:42:06
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quote:
Originally posted by AllStar
quote:
Originally posted by Spartan4
I'm pretty sure we paid a gate fee at the last TC tourney at EC???? Did random people just put a table at every entrance?!?!?!?!?
I don't think so, but I could be wrong. We played in three TC tournaments last year and the one at ECB was the only one that we didn't pay a gate fee for.
From the TC website ~
ALL FACILITIES HOLD THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO CHARGE A GATE FEE. THESE ARE USED FOR THE FACILITY UPKEEP AND TRIPLE CROWN DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION ON ANY GATE FEE CHARGED.
With the entry fees being $545, this team can't afford to run the risk of also having to pay a gate fee - the statement on their website is a little ambiguous to me... |
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Bogart
10 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 08:38:24
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| We played in three TC tournments in the fall and paid a gate fee at each one |
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silvercityjon
56 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 09:07:59
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Well said and the truth though some want admit it!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by Peanutsr
It is amazinng to me to see everybody on here ripping Triple Crown as if their main goal in life is to fleece a bunch of travel baseball teams.
From the three years my son has been playing travel baseball I have seen similar situations with every sanctioning body out there, usually worse.
I have seen tournament directors put two teams on the field in pouring down rain, play an inning, call the game, wait two hours, put the next two teams on the field for one inning, call the game, until every team at least started their first game, and then cancel.
Running tournaments is a business. Triple Crown still has to pay all their employees travel expenses including hotels, food, mileage, plus salaries. They have to pay the venues, at least for one day. Umpires, administration fees.......
You can bet that nobody wanted this tournament to make more than Tony. Of all the tournament directors whose tournaments my son has played in, TC has always been the most fair, have done the best job of keeping the parents updated as to conditions, and has been the most reluctant to put kids on the field in adverse conditions.
If the tournament had been cancelled before the first games had been played you would have people on here complaining that the weather was ok Friday, and that games could have been played, and our team could have played somewhere else, how dare they cancel a tournament because of a forecast.
Bottom line is, until you have tried to organize something this large, you really don't know the costs involved. I would be willing to bet that Tony didn't make the killing that everybody seems to think he did. Every team entered the tournament knowing the risks involved with the weather and the rules concerning refunds. Yea, it stunk that the kids were looking forward to playing baseball and it didn't happen. Yea it stunk that some teams paid some money out of their budgets with little or no return. That is travel baseball.
Grabbing pitchforks and rakes to go after Triple Crown, while it may make people feel better in the short term, is really kind of counterproductive. Given the choice between TC and that other large sanctioning body out therwe, I'll take TC any day.
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 09:12:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Peanutsr
It is amazinng to me to see everybody on here ripping Triple Crown as if their main goal in life is to fleece a bunch of travel baseball teams.
From the three years my son has been playing travel baseball I have seen similar situations with every sanctioning body out there, usually worse.
I have seen tournament directors put two teams on the field in pouring down rain, play an inning, call the game, wait two hours, put the next two teams on the field for one inning, call the game, until every team at least started their first game, and then cancel.
Running tournaments is a business. Triple Crown still has to pay all their employees travel expenses including hotels, food, mileage, plus salaries. They have to pay the venues, at least for one day. Umpires, administration fees.......
You can bet that nobody wanted this tournament to make more than Tony. Of all the tournament directors whose tournaments my son has played in, TC has always been the most fair, have done the best job of keeping the parents updated as to conditions, and has been the most reluctant to put kids on the field in adverse conditions.
If the tournament had been cancelled before the first games had been played you would have people on here complaining that the weather was ok Friday, and that games could have been played, and our team could have played somewhere else, how dare they cancel a tournament because of a forecast.
Bottom line is, until you have tried to organize something this large, you really don't know the costs involved. I would be willing to bet that Tony didn't make the killing that everybody seems to think he did. Every team entered the tournament knowing the risks involved with the weather and the rules concerning refunds. Yea, it stunk that the kids were looking forward to playing baseball and it didn't happen. Yea it stunk that some teams paid some money out of their budgets with little or no return. That is travel baseball.
Grabbing pitchforks and rakes to go after Triple Crown, while it may make people feel better in the short term, is really kind of counterproductive. Given the choice between TC and that other large sanctioning body out therwe, I'll take TC any day.
Well said Peanutsr, I agree 100% |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 09:16:59
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Well said!
Also, don't lose sight of TC's relationship in the Slugfest. It is not their (TC's) tournament. It is an independent tournament that is first and foremost designated as a charity fundraising event. In the past, the Slugfest organizers utilized USSSA as the sanctioning body to organize and operate the tournament. Everyone complained about USSSA and the majority of suggestions were to eliminate USSSA and see if someone like Tony might come in and run the baseball portion of the event. Slugfest organizers listened to you and voila, TC comes in and makes the Slugfest look and feel just like a TC event (that most seem to prefer based on comments throughout this site). Now the weather washes the tournament and people upset with the refund policy (which wasn't a secret prior to anyone sending in their check) are looking for the highest tree from which to hang Tony.
I don't have any idea who set the tournament entry fee, determined that a gate fee would be collected, or if to adopt TC's refund policy or enact something slightly different with relation to the gate fee. I also don't know if Tony stood to make much money on this event or if he was paid a fixed, flat rate just to cover his expenses to organize and run the tournament. Frankly, I don't want to know, that is between he and the Slugfest. The bottom line is that Tony is due to be reimbursed for the cost of his time and travel. He also has opportunity cost lost, i.e., he could have stayed in Florida and run a for-profit TC event there or elsewhere this past weekend. Additionally, Slugfest has administrative costs to cover (T-shirts printed and not sold, fields, umps, etc). One thing is for certain, no one has gotten rich off any unrefunded gate fee or administration fee from this event.
Hopefully, after all this, there will still be some money left to donate to the true loser in this event, the Charities.
quote:
Originally posted by Peanutsr
It is amazinng to me to see everybody on here ripping Triple Crown as if their main goal in life is to fleece a bunch of travel baseball teams.
From the three years my son has been playing travel baseball I have seen similar situations with every sanctioning body out there, usually worse.
I have seen tournament directors put two teams on the field in pouring down rain, play an inning, call the game, wait two hours, put the next two teams on the field for one inning, call the game, until every team at least started their first game, and then cancel.
Running tournaments is a business. Triple Crown still has to pay all their employees travel expenses including hotels, food, mileage, plus salaries. They have to pay the venues, at least for one day. Umpires, administration fees.......
You can bet that nobody wanted this tournament to make more than Tony. Of all the tournament directors whose tournaments my son has played in, TC has always been the most fair, have done the best job of keeping the parents updated as to conditions, and has been the most reluctant to put kids on the field in adverse conditions.
If the tournament had been cancelled before the first games had been played you would have people on here complaining that the weather was ok Friday, and that games could have been played, and our team could have played somewhere else, how dare they cancel a tournament because of a forecast.
Bottom line is, until you have tried to organize something this large, you really don't know the costs involved. I would be willing to bet that Tony didn't make the killing that everybody seems to think he did. Every team entered the tournament knowing the risks involved with the weather and the rules concerning refunds. Yea, it stunk that the kids were looking forward to playing baseball and it didn't happen. Yea it stunk that some teams paid some money out of their budgets with little or no return. That is travel baseball.
Grabbing pitchforks and rakes to go after Triple Crown, while it may make people feel better in the short term, is really kind of counterproductive. Given the choice between TC and that other large sanctioning body out therwe, I'll take TC any day.
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 09:42:17
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quote:
[i]:lots of words:
All great points. If I came off as ripping Triple Crown, it was unintentional. They were my favorite tournament organization to play for. Just logistically we got into some really bizarre situations that upon further review I wouldn't put my teams into again.
Not their fault.... |
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TripleCrownAdministrator
240 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 13:21:53
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TO ALL COACHES, PARENTS, AND FANS:
I have to stand up and explain how Triple Crown is involved with the Forsyth County Slugfest. I was approached by Bill Moats and asked if we would like to be involved with the 2011 Forsyth County Slugfest moving forward. Triple Crown Sports was estatic that we got the opportunity to be involved with such a great event that benefited the Miracle League and the Childrens Network. I was always jealous of the event because for so many years it was tied to our main competitor USSSA.
The deal we worked out with the Forsyth County people and Bill Moats, was that we would offer our services in return for a flat fee from the tournament expenses. Triple Crown responsibilites included keeping the WHO IS COMING list of teams updated daily (that was a major job itself), doing the full schedule for all 246 teams (that took a whole week!), organizing all 3 umpire groups involved and giving each one of them their schedules, to supplying a Triple Crown representative set up at each park for the weekend.
Triple Crown did not take in any of the entry fees nor did they take in any of the gate fees that everyone is claiming in these posts. ALL CHECKS for the tournament were made out to FORSYTH COUNTY SLUGFEST and they controlled all money coming in. They are also responsible for all of the money that will be refunded back to the teams. Bill Moats and the Forsyth County Slugfest Committee decided to use our REFUND POLICY as a safety net long before we had any kind of weather. They have numerous expenses before any pitch is even thrown to start the tournament. Field costs, t-shirts, awards that were never used, paying Triple Crown (All of my time had to be compensated), all of their staff park people who had to work the fields, and the list goes on. This is all before any penny is given to the Charities that are involved. Many of you are seeing it through your tunnel vision of your team. Please understand "the whole picture" here!
It was very unfortunate that we got rained out this weekend. I can tell you now, that no one wanted it to go off more than Bill Moats and the people of Forsyth County. His comment was "It was like breaking up with your hottest girl friend ever!" I laughed, but he was right. With 246 teams and one of the biggest shows on stage in the state of Georgia in 2011, it was heart breaking to watch the rain all day on Saturday! So before anyone on here wants to hang me or Bill, just understand all of the details involved and ask yourself "What kind of decisions would need to be made if you were faced with such a HUGE task???"
Thank you for reading this post and hopefully I brought some light to the issue!
Have a great 2011 spring baseball season!
Tony VonDolteren
GA Triple Crown Baseball |
Edited by - TripleCrownAdministrator on 03/08/2011 14:13:49 |
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seminole tony
147 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 14:57:41
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Tony,
I really do appreciate all the work you do with organizing some of the better tournaments in Ga. I can't speak for anyone else just as a parent of a baseball child. I understand the cost of doing business and overheads, but before donating someone else's money to a very good cause, let each team make their own decisions. If I said donate your cost and have the slugfest donate their time and fields, you might feel as some of the teams that have lost lots of money. Gate fees should be pro-rated for for teams that played 1 game and full refunds to teams that never touched the fields. We are donating part of each teams entry fee already. Teams that played one game on Friday most likely did this to accommodate teams that could not play then, pro-rate their entry fee also. Pay the bills and take it as a lost evenly...Teams, Tournament Directors, Forsyth County. Keep everyone happy and coming back next year. Not doing it and you risk the chance of losing teams and the good name of the Slugfest.
The one most hurt will be the charities. Who do you think will take the blame for that??? No one will single out a team, it will come back on Triple Crown and Forsyth County. I think the charities will understand what has happened.
I am a business person and have donated heavily in the past to many charities but with the economy as it is now, people keep a closer eye on every dime. I have had to cut back on my donation because my sales have dropped and its just not available. I still do it but just not in the same amounts as in the past. The charities will tell you it has hit them the hardest. Expendable income is at a shortage right now. Stop all the negative reactions and comments now and make the teams feel that you are on their side.
Keep the Slugfests good name and do what I feel is the right thing. Again I'm only speaking as a parent and business person.
Thanks again for some great tournament and we will still participate in your events! |
Edited by - seminole tony on 03/08/2011 22:34:01 |
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itsbaseballtime
348 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 15:21:29
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Well said Peanutsr and Tony...
Tony, dont take comments on this board personally. Most that have not been involved with competitive travel baseball for very long Shoot First and Aim Second.
TC does a great job with ALL things it can control.
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Slugfest cancelled?
