swordmaster series a success!!!

[arcon]

None of you know me. And thats ok. Ive read every post here about this event(before and after). From what i can deduct the event was both a success and a failure. Yes, this sounds like a contradiction It was a success because the organizers followed through on part of their committment.(1000 dollar purse)and a completed event It was a failure because all goals were not realized(tv coverage/40 fencers. The latter(attendence) is a problem that most (all) new events contend with. If the organizers are guilty of anything its being to positive. Well ......what do you expect here? So they promised the "moon and the stars" and only delivered the moon.
Most successful people in the world start with a big dream and then attempt to make it a reality. Give these guys the respect they deserve for breaking new ground here. Those that are so quick to be critical and negative are usually those sitting back and just watching. They are not the real players in this world that make things happen. I salute you in your effort and i hope you'll have more success in your next tournament. Let the critics rant
and continue your dream. The earth is not FLAT and man was meant to fly.
arcon

[Wizardly]

This is probably a stupid question that may have been answered elsewhere, but one curiosity that nags at me is: were other tournament organizers contacted in order to entertain the notion of a venue change? Was any attempt made to piggyback on an already successful tournament, or was the idea of having the tournament in a mall central to the plan? It just seems to me that national coverage is pretty much out of the question (evidenced by the world cup and nationals), so why not try to get local coverage involved where you already know the strong fencers will show up? Perhaps with a little arm twisting include a second epee tournament with the prize money to encourage the epee fencers to stick around for the alternate venue?

[arcon]

yes, someone dropped the ball on the tv coverage .....but ill bet it doesnt happan at the next event. These guys know whats at stake. So give them the chance to pick it up next time.
Start a new business and see how many mistakes are made and how long it takes to make a profit and ensure credibility and stability. Personally.......id ignore the critics and just march forward. Success will have the last word.

arcon

[veeco]

From the pictures on the website, I'd give my "coolest uniform design" award to Jeff's red and blue stars uniform.

The other uniforms have some good ideas, but on the photos at least it looks a lot like the colors have washed out. It might take a while until people get really professional in their designs and we have all the top-8 fencers at these events with really nice crisp looking designs.

The pictures are really nice though, and give a good idea on what the tournament was like.

[oiuyt]

Originally posted by arcon
None of you know me. And thats ok. arcon

Not quite true. I met you at Coaches College 2 years ago. You just didn't know that I knew who you are.

-B :)

[Artisan]

Originally posted by fencergal33
Thanks for the support and back-up CVille and darius........


Of course we have room for improvement....so many things in the world do.........but we're listening, and I especially welcome comments, concerns, and constructive criticism. .... I want to know what I can do to get more fencers, or make the event run better, or to get more publicity, or anything else helpful. I inherited the position of answering questions, responding to e-mail, and taking care of registration functions at the actual event. I want your input as fencers, and in some cases, tournament organizers.

Thanks again for hearing me out.
-K

OK, trying to be constructive, and in light of the light turnout, here are some things that could have been done:

First event is over and done. Now you need triage and spin, not naive hype; calling it a "success" without explaination won't fly. From the prior bazillion posts, you've gathered this is a tough crowd here. A snow job will gain no support. Honesty, professionalism and enthusiasm stands a much better chance.
Website (this is your only interface to the public - your only opportunity to make the next event better. Put a professional effort into it. Its the only way to gain any credibility after a faltering start.)
-Put captions on the photos of the few people that did show up. Unless I was there, they otherwise mean nothing to me. Post more photos. Way more. Post video.
- Put results up, edit the "roster" and show what the standings now are - make it look like someone cares.
- Publish a press release or other commentary on the event on your web site. What other local publicity was there? Did the neighborhood rag print anything? Did the local evening news come out? On a Sunday night the local affiliates are usually desperate for something to put on in the Local Interest vein.
-Show venue photos that display some of your sponsors advertising. If I had entered and had gotten a few bucks of sponsor money from "Joe's Bar and Grill" to put their art on my jacket, it woulda been nice if "Joe" could at least hang a picture of me winning (or losing) behind the bar - especially since there's apparently no tape of the event. Improves the odds of getting sponsor money again. You want and need the support of fencers for this new "business. " The Fencers need your support as well. Provide materials for me to take to a potential sponsor.
- don't publish a bogus roster with entries like "Bernie" on it. Don't leave it up with 23 names on after the event has run with 12 people, some of whom aren't on the roster.
- when the tv cameras didn't show up, why didn't someone run home and get their camcorder? Or go buy one at the mall on a credit card and return it after 3 hours.... Fencers are used to watching shakey home video. Stream it on the website for free this time. People actually pay for it on Fencingfootage.com. It would look a lot less bogus than "Oops ... we forgot to get the cameras"
- do everything you can to get 40 people there, even if you have to drive a van full of novices from the nearest club two towns over...they'll all come back next year when they are better. So what if they are fodder for the A's and B's. Thats why you had two rounds, No?

People didn't show up in droves to compete because the event seemed questionable. What we've seen since is not a whole lot more encouraging. How will you overcome this perception in time for the next event?

[swordsen]

Good ideas one and all. Well except maybe bringing in the cannon fodder but an arguement could be made for that too. I suppose.
If you want to look professional you can't have a webpage that is way behind.

[fencergal33]

Thanks for the comments.....you are definitely right about the web site, and (not making excuses here) the webmaster unfortunately has a day job and two kids.....we all understand that some things take priority, but never the less, it will hopefully all get done by Monday.

As for the rest of it....great suggestions.
I'm working on press releases right now, as well as sponsorship packages, photo captions, etc.

Thanks for the input......and I promise you'll see that my work and ability to reply professionally is much greater than the person who had this ob before me.

-K

[DanInMI]

Great post Artisan!

[graphixaddict]

I think the people that are bagging on this event need to lighten up and give some praise to the organizers. I say its a start and thats whats important. they didnt have a camera crew or large crowds, but one guy walked away with a check for $1000 in his pocket. Its unfortunate in a sense because these events should be what we as fencers make them and it should not solely be the responsibility of the organizers to make an event a success. Every fencer within 100 miles of that event should have been there, just doing their part for fencing, whether or not they fenced epee. If you want to make fencing a success it is the responsibility of both the fencers and the organizers to work together and help each other out.
Graphix

[achilleus]

Originally posted by graphixaddict
I think the people that are bagging on this event need to lighten up and give some praise to the organizers. I say its a start and thats whats important. they didnt have a camera crew or large crowds, but one guy walked away with a check for $1000 in his pocket. Its unfortunate in a sense because these events should be what we as fencers make them and it should not solely be the responsibility of the organizers to make an event a success. Every fencer within 100 miles of that event should have been there, just doing their part for fencing, whether or not they fenced epee. If you want to make fencing a success it is the responsibility of both the fencers and the organizers to work together and help each other out.
Graphix

When the organizers of an event hype it up and promise money, 40 competitors, and cameras it's hard to call the event a success when they only deliver 1 of the 3.

It's impossible to the fault fencers for their caution, especially since one of the organizers promised many of the same things before and failed to deliver in a spectacular fasion.

An example of a successful money tournament? Take a look at Duel in the Desert (USFA sanctioned), filled with international competitors and nothing but good feelings all around.

The swordmasters series is a start, not a success, and the organizers have no one to blame but themselves for the criticism they have been receiving. They are guilty of overhyping, making promises they didn't deliver on, and being run/affiliated with someone who has done the exact same thing before (overhyped and not delivered on promises).

Hopefully they can get their act together and run a successful series of tournaments.

[fencergal33]

Just to let everyone know....... I'm still working with the webmaster for the website update. Results, point standings, and roster will all be updated by the end of the week. The photos actually have captions now for all who requested that change. Sorry for the wait on the rest of the stuff!

-K

[fencergal33]

Website update is now complete. Thanks all for your patience. Let me know if there are any other questions or things you'd like to see up there. Thanks!

-K

Sorry! everything except current roster for November event! My mistake!)

[Wizardly]

post a link

[fencergal33]

www.swordmasterseries.com

[oiuyt]

Is it just me or did the points system change? (actually I know it's not just me)

The entry form link still goes to the bio form not the entry form in one of the two spots on the website (enrollment page).

What actually is up with the "additional prize" money? It's got a prominent place on the front page but no mention elsewhere. It was stated here that it is the money kicked in by the sponsors, altough the value hasn't changed since the website opened (on would expect that 10% of sales would have resulted in some additional money to that fund). It was also stated that it was an additional prize for the winner above and beyond the $1000, yet it was clear that Arne was not given this money.

Nice touch with the oversized prize check.

Nice stars Jeff.

-B :)

[The0ne]

It definitely waasn't a great success, but for fencing tournaments, the fact that it didn't bomb is a success of sorts, i think. Now just make it foil and it'll be interesting!

[noodle]

you guys really need to get a more professional web designer.

it wouldn't cost much to find someone who could do it better than how its done now, and a well designed site will probably draw more people (at least from here). maybe offer free entry/sponsorship?

[wflaschka]

The website shows a marked improvement over the first version. Congratulations! It can be improved, but then, websites can always be improved.

you guys really need to get a more professional web designer.

I concur. I'll go one further...

If you'd like, post or send me your process for creating and editing the web pages. If my own approach is close to yours, and yours is simple enough -- then it would be feasible for me to quickly rebuild the site and send it back to you, as something you can maintain easily in the future.

I'm already quite over-committed to other projects, so my help wouldn't be on-going and the new layout would not necessarily be incredibly beautiful... but the website would be web-standard and easy to update (provided you have a web editor and uploading software). At the very least, more surfers would have their expectations met.

Samples of my (more dedicated) work include OxfordFencing, What Is Fencing.

I make this offer to show that the fencing community is interested in supporting an honest effort. With all the critiques, there is also some volunteerism. You may be satisfied with the website as it stands, or you may not have time to give it a radical new appearance, and wouldn't mind some assistance. Let me know.

[HilandDoug]

Steve Kamke gets my vote for coolest outfit!