Championship – Prize Considerations for 2004
Author: Jim Krycka
2003-12
At lot of thought was put into the prize
structure for all events in 2004 (including the championship). The
details are included in the materials for the October 2003 Board meeting and
posted on the web. The general thinking behind the proposal that was
adopted was:
1.
Based on a projected attendance and other factors a
limit of $11,600 was set for all 2004 events.
2.
Months with 4-section, 4-round events pay out
$800. Two months with 3-section, 5-round events pay out $1000, and two
"big money" 3-section 5-round events pay out $1600. One
"big money" event is the Stanley Crowe Memorial and the other is in
the spring.
3.
Part of the 2004 schedule proposal was the creation of
the club championship as a separate 5-RR section and held as part of the spring
"big money" event. The remaining three sections would use the
standard $1000 pay out (Open $500, Upper $300, and Lower $200), leaving $600
for the club championship section.
4.
The club championship pays out more than the Open
section held the same month so that the top players will not likely lose money
by playing in the championship. Another way to look at it is that the
Championship + Open sections for March 2004 will give $1100 in prizes to 6
placements, though the field is divided into two sections.
5.
Affordability is a key factor. For 2004 we will
give out $11,600 in prizes vs $8600 per year with the previous schedule.
While attendance has risen, the percent of entry fees paid out in prizes has
also risen this year.
6.
The prizes for Open section participants vs non-Open
section participants was adjust a little bit for 2004 to give a higher
percentage to the non-Open section players. After all, they generate most
of our revenue.
7.
In the process of developing the 2004 event schedule,
the championship prize fund generated diverse comments such as "players
should play for the honor not the money, don't give out prizes" to your
viewpoint that the prizes should be disproportionately large. In the end,
most people seemed to prefer a payout for the club championship in line with
(or a little above) the Open section payout.
8.
8 The
qualification process for the club championship is based on performance during
the previous year and setup specifically to allow for the possibility of an
U2000 player to qualify by consistently doing well in the Upper section (and
even earning a little credit by getting a first in the Lower section, as
Sonnenstuhl did in earning points in the Upper and Lower sections as he
improved throughout the year to finish 9th in the qualification
standings). However, in recognition that it is extremely difficult for a
class player to qualify, we decided to crown an MCC class champion as the
highest scoring U2000 player in the Open section that is played in parallel
with the annual club championship.
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