RRC Archives

Meadows wrote:LLR, Since money makes the world go round the what happens behind the scene at [I'm assuming] CT that money isn't a motivator for the owners? Seriously, if the reasons Pig listed are not motivators, then why charge at a comp? Why do I have to pay $8 each time to go in there and be run over by a birthday party of kids who aren't there to climb, but to annoy those climbers (and bring in revenue for the gym)?

I'm not pretending to know the mindset of the owners of any gym...and some gyms may make dough off of comps and kids...but wonder why LexRocks closed...or CT Lex...there's even another gym here in Cincy to compete with...you really think they make THAT much $? I'd say entrance fees and day passes cover operational costs and not much else...

...motivators are different from necessities...

it cost a gym $ to host a comp...they have to pay a fee to ABS or whomever to host a specific comp like that...that's one thing the entrance fees pay for

....there are many other nights when the gym doesn't have kids all over btw...at one time groups were scheduled around member nights for that purpose...you could always call ahead to see if groups are scheduled...

i was giving examples...I'm not in a bad mood
piggy didn't back up anything he said...

neuroshock wrote:

longlegsrule wrote:for example...I've been thinking about going to the Phoenix Boulderblast...

not this year

???

longlegsrule wrote:

neuroshock wrote:

longlegsrule wrote:for example...I've been thinking about going to the Phoenix Boulderblast...

not this year

???

You haven't heard I guess.

http://boulderblast.com/

awwwwwwwwww it's weird they still have stuff up for 2005 though....

Pigsteak, you wanted examples of winning and not having fun. we can look at my previous experience that shapes my idea that the act of winning is not fun in, and of, itself. I wrestled in HS, junior and senior it ceased to be fun because of the pressure of winning and colleges trying to recruit me for programs. I won plenty, missed out on a lot of fun. Granted, that was due to my immaturity and not being able to balance my life at the time. However, winning did not equate to fun. Same with skateboarding, which I have done for 18 years. I started getting good, sponsored, and lost perspective. The reason my emphasis was on fun is because that is the goal for me now. Being strong, winning comps, all that can be fun and beneficial, but when the reasons people climb get jaded behind success then it stops being fun. Hope this clarifies my opinion for you. Again this is just my opinion, maybe to you winning is the end all.

There is always next year (I hope) since I was planning on making it down there too. At the very least I'll be going there during my Christmas vacation.

i wanted to take a 2 wk trip somewhere...and PBB looked interesting for a 'stop over'

llr...see, even the PBC is stopped because of money..why doesn't Jim just let us come to have "fun"? I am not trying to be a complete a**hole, just poinitng out some of the inner workings of these things. Yes, I have helped and judged and recruited sponsors for comps. In fact, for three years I was the guy who had to get on the phone and beg our suppliers to send us free stuff, so that all the competitors would go home with at least a chalk ball. not much, but every year all 130 plus competitors have received at least a chalk ball.

top prizes are held out for the top tiers, because it is our belief that this will motivate people to train and climb harder, and not stay at the lower divisions just to steal the booty.

these experiences are when I managed a gym (1997-2000). Since then, I have volunteered to set routes and problems. But you can bet I don't do it completely for free. We get fed a nice dinner, plenty of beer, and paid in gear credit. Not a bad gig.

Yes, we want the climbers to have a good time, becasue that creates a goods vibe. But I can tell you, hands down, our gym does not make money off climbers. Birthday parties and boy scouts are the cash cow. Climbers add flavor, but the sole reason for a gym is to turn a profit. Without profit...no gym. It truly is that easy. All other things are just an added benfit.

I am currently working my tail off setting up our comp on Mar 5th (don't get excited, it is in Colorado), and I can say, at least in our case, we will loose our butts! Overhead is huge for a comp. Lets see.... $120 in printing costs (posters only). $350 for t-shirts, $500 for route setter (but we are getting Kevin Bradford), about $250 in staff wages, $200 in royalties to show Beyond Gravity. Add that to all the postage to advertise the comp and get sponsors, and your looking at about $1600 bucks for a small comp, and that does not include hidden costs like comp insurance, and the like. Again this is for a SMALL comp, as you get bigger costs just go up.

In our case we would need 80 people to sign up at the door, or 107 people to preregister, we will most likley get about 35. thus our monitary butts lost

Hey strum, I see you live in Alamosa...have you climbed in Penitente Canyon? Is it worth the trip? I wanna get down there this spring.