Early Bird bonus for tournaments

[Pipey]

As Joemanji says, the bottom line NAF position is that incentivising registration (payment and/or rosters) with small bonuses is acceptable. It's basically a house ruling, therefore it should be done with restraint - as per the approval guidelines.

I'd add a few thoughts (not too far from plenty of views already expressed):

-A TO should act with discretion when it comes to new coaches or coaches who do not frequent the NAF site / TFF etc. and consider awarding the bonus anyway to these guys (share Joe's concern on that point).

-Payment in advance is a little controversial as there is a risk of punishing those with cash-flow problems. Though I know full well that TOs need money in advance so the event's finances can be planned. Tricky one. Again, discretion would be advisable in the event of a coach simply being unable to meet a deadline because of lack of cash.

-Incentives that don't involve in-game benefits are something I would also encourage and with a bit of imagination I'm sure TOs could come up with cool ideas to encourage people to pay up front.

-Pre-loading score with races is helpful, and I think it's perfectly reasonable for a TO to ask for races in advance, and to incentivise this.

-As to the indecisive roster tinkerers ... there is always a deadline i.e. the morning of the tournament at latest. So why is it any different if someone moves that deadline forward a few days? You've got to choose at some point, so why does it matter? If a TO feels this would aid organisation at the event (either through time saving, and/or to prevent possible advantage through coaches knowing other races in the field - incredibly rare to see anyone attempt to get an edge this way but yes it has been known!), then it seems reasonable and I fail to see how it could have any negative effect.

[Glowworm]

But where would you draw the line on who gets tickets? Say you need 20 coaches to break even, do you give raffle tickets to the first 18? 20? 24?

Maybe not a "who" rather a "when" if you need 20 people to break even and can get more to pay a month in advance that's great.

I "raffled" a team at Crumb ( as your aware) and to wouldn't have been that difficult to say give 2 tickets to all early bird payer, 1 to people who payed on the day..

I had no issue with the additional CL/AC at Exciles, came up maybe once, didnt make a difference ( to my results anyway )

I do however think charging more for the same tournament based on a payment schedule ( or for any reason) is quite bias, I'd hate to pay more for my 6 games than everyone else...

Just my ( back on topic) thoughts....

[Spiky]

I think a penalty instead of a bonus could be more fun. I could imagine Frank drawing the names of 2 late entries to participate in a bush tucker challenge or something similar at the Thrudball

[scs.sam]

I do however think charging more for the same tournament based on a payment schedule ( or for any reason) is quite bias, I'd hate to pay more for my 6 games than everyone else...

Just my ( back on topic) thoughts....

I concur with you on the above point you swayed me in the car last weekend with a valid argument.

As for your back on topic thoughts I have created my first ever thread on the subject of NAF financial assistance for TO's here viewtopic.php?f=34&t=38785

Hopefully I won't get trolled too much.

I havent been able to give prizes this year due to low numbers, so it could be a bit risky due to increased costs in buying them in

If you want the Early Bird payments in a month or two early you should have a pretty good idea of attendance before hand and can buy accordingly - and it doesn't have to be much either for say the recent exiles three nice miniatures would have been enough to get people motivated and only cost around £10-12. If you have a painting friend even better - The single painted minis at Thrud's charity auction were very popular.

[Vanguard]

From personal experience of organising club events (although not BB) I know how nerve wracking it can be to fork out cash without the guarantee of it coming back in. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is deposits - asking coaches to pay a fiver to confirm their place. There's still no guarantee you'll get the rest, but it's a lot more likely. It's eases the cash flow for the organiser slightly, while re-assuring him that he has coaches in sufficient numbers. For coaches with cash flow issues, you're not asking for the full amount up front.
Personally, I don't have an issue with tiered pricing based on how far in advance you pay. It's common in many areas (rail and air tix, hotels).

[scs.sam]

Personally, I don't have an issue with tiered pricing based on how far in advance you pay. It's common in many areas (rail and air tix, hotels).

I think the issue is if you find out you can come last minute or you discover the BB scene for the first time that some people will be put off by the idea of paying more money for the same 6 games. That being said you're right that deposits have not been mentioned yet and you put a solid argument forwards for their use. I don't think many people would object to finding £5 early to show their commitment and hold a place for them.

[Magictobe]

Paying less when paying in front has to be advertised well.

If you state that you pay less when registering early, people find this OK.

When you state that you have to pay extra when registering late or on scene, people think this is not OK.

[stanrichardson]

Geordiebowl recently did staged payments

It worked well, I did not hear any one complaining about it

I think the difference was £5 from paying very early to paying on the day