Pro Am Tournaments

[cazmac1]

Doe's anyone know how I can go about organising a Pro AM at my club.
The manager is keen to put on a tournament and I've said I would look into it for him. The club has 12 tables that are in need of some TLC.
What are the standards required for this type of event.
Can anyone put one on.
Do you require Professional refs.
what kind of Prize money is require.

[jonplayer]

Pro Am

Hi, Advertise it on here for a kick off. £20 quid entry with round robin format will give everyone a gauranteed few matches. Then straight knockout for last 16.

You need £500 winner to attract some decent players.

[cazmac1]

what about the other details. IE Ref's.
It sounds like a good Idea to avertise it on here and £500 pounds sounds like a good first prize. Has anyone done it this way before and what was your turn out.

[MasterBreak147]

£10 entries are a good starter as most novices and red hot players will be attracted to the event, people with families take great care with there money and £20 is a tad steep on top of traveling expenses.
Northern snooker centre easly hits 40 entries most of the time for around £170 for winner (all entries paid out) so don't worry about it not being too big of a prize as allot of players thrive on the match practice rather on the cash prize.
Where would this be based if i may ask, north or south ?

Most pro-am's don't bother with ref's so don't worry about that players are more than capable to do it.

[Terry Davidson]

I can't speak to the British environment as I've not been there playing since the late 80's, but in organizing tournaments here one thing the players do appreaciate is tables in decent nic. Also, decent balls are a must just to make sure it's a standard playing field.

With 12 tables I wouldn't expect the owner to re-cloth them but as long as they're not worn through at the top pockets at least have them brushed and blocked every day for a week before the tournament with perhaps the odd ironing thrown in if they happen to be thick cloths and not WOE 6811.

Most tournament players are used to refereeing themselves although it might be handy to have a ref for the finals. It doesn't have to be a paid ref just someone who knows what he's doing as the players do appreciate the services of a ref

Terry

[cazmac1]

Hi, thanks for the advice. the comp is going to be in london. I would love to play in one of your comps. when are you next planing one and where are you based.
Cheers cazmac

[jonplayer]

A comp in London would be cool. I've been looking out for local comps but not heard much. £10 entry will get you some good players but not 'pros'. A bit more of a prize pool will draw better players as long as it is well advertised.

[cazmac1]

It just seems there is no real action in London, where players want to improve by testing themselves against better players. I love the buzz of a good tournament. I'm sure with the right advertising and prize money that I could bring the players out of the woodwork. Are you in London Jon and where do you play.
Ps: if anyone is interested in playing and would like to provisionally enter with no commitment, it would help me in persuading the club manager to get some of the tables if not all re-clothed and put some prize money into the pot.
You can PM me with no obligation or just reply to this thread.
If I get a positive response I will look to put it on in May. This will provide time to organise the event Properly.
I will update this thread when I reach 16 or more players. Ideally 64 would be nice

[Terry Davidson]

The only date I would be available to play in London would be January 25th and maybe I could sqeeze in Saturday 24th if I can convince Nic Barrow I've been a good boy and should be let out of school one day early.

But if you hold it on those dates in London I would definitely play as I don't have to get to Heathrow until Tuesday at 10am or so.

Terry

[cazmac1]

Doesn’t seem to be much interest in this thread, either there are no London base players on this forum or they are just not interested in playing this kind of tournament.
Can any one suggest other possible means of advertising? The club manager has said he would pay for advertising.
The club I play at is Riley’s in Shepherds Bush, West London. If I can make this work, I might be able to sell the idea to Riley’s Management and get them put on regular Pro Am tournaments across the country. I believe that Riley’s have around a 180 clubs.

Suggestions Please

[Cossie]

I run these type of comps on a regular basis and I would advise:
1. Start small say £10 entry and make it 100% payout, aim for 32 players with prize money of say winner £150, runner up £70, Semis, £20 and then put the remaining £60 into a losing first round plate comp.(clubs like this because it keeps players in the club)
2. Find out what your local snooker leagues are and advertise it to them, you should get 32 easy. (try and get the entry money up front)
3. Once you have the 32 entries then ask Rileys for the sponsorship, you are guaranteeing them business.
4. Make sure you get contact details for all the entered players and then you can tell them about the next one.
5. If it is a success increase the numbers next time around.

Don`t try and run before you can walk and have look for one of the many software programs available for running comps. There are a few out there.

[John From London Town MBE]

I'm over in London in January on business & as they say, 'Have cue, will travel'.

Count me in.

[cazmac1]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds good to me.
For those people giving specific dates that they can play I'm sorry but I won't be able to build a tournament around your availability, I think January would be a bad time for a comp anyway. I will start planning now and will advertise times dates and format after Xmas.
Watch this tread for updates

[jonplayer]

Hi Cazmac, yea I'm just outside the belt south west. I'd play in a torny if there were some realy good players turning up. The last one I went in demoralised me. I was giving away 70 points a frame and got beat in the semis by a fluked black.
Your right about the lack of interest, London seems to be a bit of a blank now for snooker, or I just don't hear of tornies taking place. I think the royal Marsdon has quite a bit going on but I've never been.

[magicman]

I used to TD tournaments and ran a h/capped series of 8 comps in a season with the top 16 at the end of the year going into a free 'masters' comp. I've also organised pro-ams before.

If you aim for a series of competitions, say one a month, every sat/sunday then people know the competition is on and can arrange things accordingly. £15 entry is reasonable as it doesn't cost the earth but gives you plenty of prize fund. Try to get local sponsorship. Try to get the host club to give you free table light or as cheap as possible. Produce flyers and send them round to snooker clubs in the area. Post your comp on as many online sites as you can. Let local league secretaries know and send them a flyer or ten. If the standard of the tables are poor then most decent players will turn up for one comp and probably not bother much afterwards so either organise one comp only, or get the tables sorted.

If you intend holding the comp at a club with only 12 tables then I wouldn't bother with a plate comp as you'll have your work cut out getting through the main draw as it is, dependent on entries of course. Especially if you intend to make it a pro-am where the rounds are normally best of 7 or at least best of 5. To get a decent pro-am turn out you would need a little sponsorship or the free light from the club allowing you to pay out all the entry fees as prize money. Pro-ams can be £25 entry at least. Some are £50 or even a £100 to enter. It all depends on what your goal is. Are you looking to set up one big comp with a few 'names' entering? Do you want to rejuvinate the club? Or are you just looking for a tournament to play in locally?