[tennisbiz] Re: pro-am tournaments

The WA state chapter of Cystic Fibrosis holds a "Tennis Ball" fundraiser in
Seattle and Tacoma each year. There are local chairpeople (pillars of the
community) who form committees to seek donations of big prizes like vacations
(people's time shares combined with airfare, car leases, boat trips, catered
dinner parties, etc. to use as the Pro Am prizes. Smaller items like art work,
sports memoribilla, wine baskets, you name it ... are also acquired for a silent
auction. They then recruit people to pay $1,000.00 to play in the tournament
with one of the "pros" (local area pros and top players, usually no "big name"
pro players. There is a competitive flight and a "fun" flight for different
level amateurs. When they pay the $1,000.00 they also get a table for 10 at
the gala dinner/auction. The pro they will play with and his/her guest will
also sit at their table (for no charge). On Friday night, the night of the
gala, there is an auction for the pro/am teams as well as a silent auction for the
smaller items. The teams usually sell for between $1,000.00 and 3,000.00,
depending upon how many rich people attend and how strong the players are.

Once
you "purchase" a team, whatever place your team finishes in the tournament,
you get to pick from the group of large prizes which usually range in inflated
values between $1,200.00 and $5,000.00. The following day on Saturday, the
tournament is played. Whatever team comes in first, the owner of that team gets
to select from the prize pool first, and on down to the last place finisher.
They sell gala tickets for $100.00 each which includes the auction and dinner
followed by dancing. The gala is black tie optional, so it's a dressy affair
held at a major hotel. The tournament is played in one day, it's broken down
in flights and round robin pro sets are played. They usually generate about
$25,000 - $30,000. It's really a nice event, they have been doing it for
years in both cities. You might contact Cystic Fibrosis they might be willing to
share some info about their event.

 
Received on Wed May 19 2004 - 16:25:45 CDT