Re: Prize format
I wouldn't be a fan of the 1,2,3,11,12,13,21,22,23, payout at all, and while I agree with Dean, prizes have kept alot of people coming back and sparked the interest of new shooters to particular matches with insane prize tables... but prizes should not be any sort of entitlement by any means. Yes it's nice if everyone can walk away with a prize or two that may offset partial cost of the entry fee, bullets, travel etc. It's a fine balance of preformance and reward. If I shoot like ass but still walk away with a pair binoc's or custom knife, I don't feel so bad about my preformance. However, as matches with insane prizes grow so does the entry fees, 250, 275, 300 now... is it justified...having been on that end, I'd say yes, cause it's alot of damn work. It has become more and more of a business model, Sponsors are supporting the shooters, but really they are also padding the bottom line of the directors who put them on, and without them many matches simply just would not happen, so we all need to be thankful to those that support our matches.
I've been flirting with running a tier entry system.
No prize table means less work which can also translate to less entry fee.
Realistic conservative examples below, e.g.
$75 entry eligible for trophy only (low cost great for new shooters)
$150 entry eligible for trophy and cash payback. (payback includes 50% of all entries)
25 shooters*$150= $3850
20 shooters*$75= $1500
45 shooters Total=$5350
$5350*.50%= $2675 payout
1st $1000
2nd $500
3rd $300
4th $200
5th $150
6th $150
7th $150
8th $150
Middle of the pack award $75
I think you could nearly double the entry and have the same turnout but double the cash.
Also it would not be hard to drum up a few nice prizes for raffles, door prizes or additional stage winner prize awards.