Open Meeting Entry Fees

What would you pay to attend an Open Meeting?

Last weekend I had a choice of 2 events both were for 2 day open meetings.

One was for a singlehander and the entry fee was £31.50 (including harbour dues) and the other was for a double hander and the entry fee was £35.00.

I would usually exopect to pay £15 to £20 for a singlehanded 2 day event and up to £25 for a 2 handed event.

Needless to say with the weather forecast I stayed at home and saved my money.

why are you so tight?

it is not just what you are getting out of the Open Meeting.  It is what the hosting club gets out of it too?  You make your choice and supply and demand will do the rest.  why should a singlehander be so much cheaper?  Bar takings will be less so that needs to be compensated for, and a full race/safety team will still be required.  OK maybe less water used in the showers, but so what.  The club also needs to be prepared for the situation that the weather is poor and the turnout is accordinly low.

finally did the entry fee include anything else eg evening meal or a levy payable to the class association?

hope you enjoyed your club racing instead.

I've been to 2 open meetings this weekend in the British Moths. Frampton on the Saturday cost £6 and included a bacon butty (cheese in my case as I'm veggie) for lunch and a hot supper afterwards Excellent value!

Sunday I was hosting the Moths at Whitefriars. We charged £5 for the day, with a lunch of soup, ploughmans, fruit, home made cake and various other bits and bobs. We broke exactly even in running the event, which was the aim. The club enjoyed having the Moths there, the Moths enjoyed being there, and I enjoyed putting the event on, so there was no need for profit. I was lucky enough to be able to sail, too, as we ran it in conjunction with club racing, so the complete race team for the day were already in place.

So, both events excellent value, with no pretentions of being grand events. A sea event will always cost more because of the extra fuel needed to lay courses and provide rescue cover. I've been to expensive events where the event has been so well run with plenty of added value to make it seem like a holiday for a weekend, and others that just take your money and make you feel unwanted. I vote with my feet in those cases, and don't go back. Luckily, they are less common then the good ones.

Our facilities have improved immensely over the years, for juniors and adults. I don't really see this as the point of holding open meetings, though, as unless you really set out to sting your visitors, the amount raised will be a drop in the ocean, and people will start avoiding coming to visit, so rather defeating the exercise.