Am Cash Payouts at Tourneys!

I've heard that it is acceptabe for Am division players to accept cash payouts at sanctioned and non-sanctioned events up to a certain dollar amount and maintain ther Am status. If true, is this per tourney, or is the dollar amount cumulative?

[Chuck Kennedy]

Not true. Ams can accept cash in the new PDGA leagues without losing Am status but they will lose their Am status if they accept cash prizes based on their finish in a pro division in PDGA tournaments. Cash won in CTPs and ace pools does not cause Ams to lose their Am status. 

[Ghost]

...  For god's sake... If you want cash, don't be an Am...

[Boom Boom Dino]

well in today's marketplace the average advanced am or intermediate am who likes to play in a few tourneys every year has a lot of discs already and if they have travel to a tourney  gas, lodgings, entry fees  are a factor to whether thaey will participate or not ....... enter a pdga event and your stuck collecting mor e plastic .... enter a non sanctioned event and if they offer cash instead of prizes win a little dough to offset expenses incurred to participate. Way easier for the TD's too   cash is king.

[Dookville]

I am asking from prospective TD point of view. Having been a participant in tournaments and winning plastic, well, frankly I enjoyed the gift card to Subway that I won more. If I as a TD where to offer a real payout along with plastic and other prizes, I might make it more interesting for participant s. Just brainstorming and gathering info guys. Thanks.

[David Sauls]

You could always offer to buy back the plastic at cost, after the tournament.  Or lower the entry fees, which rewards everyone, and makes the plastic payout minimal.

[Dookville]

I was hoping to offer something right down the midlle. A moderate fee to play, a moderate payout if permissable, and a moderate amount of other prizes. That coupled with running the prize pool deeper into the ranks. This is just one thought, looking for others.

[Chuck Kennedy]

I always thought one way to provide some cash to Am payouts was to have cash prize CTPs limited to different Am divisions. The money (or merch value) paid in CTPs does count towards meeting payout requirements.

[Dookville]

That was near the top of my list. The last tourney I played, the CTP was a seperate event that everyone stepped up and took a throw at. As it turned out, 162 people took a throw and then stood around and watched a Pro ace the hole and win prizes that he didn't even look happy to get.

 

Thanks as always Chuck, I really value your input.

[patrick duncan]

Try putting on a tournament, i lost $1500 the 1st one i put on. and for the most part its a lot of work for a few hours of thanks.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Paying cash prizes to Ams is one way to lose more on running a tournament.

[Bruce Brakel]

There are ways to pay cash to ams if that is what you want to do. 

When I used to run tournaments I would offer to buy back my prizes at the same price I paid Innova and Discraft for them.  It did not matter to me whether I bought a Champion Orc for $8.50 from Innova or for $8.50 from Elliot Fu.

I have also run tournaments that were trophy-only with an optional cash payout sidegame.  I usually make the sidegame go by ratings other than the amateur divisional ratings breaks so that no one is cashing based on how they placed in their division. 

A former PDGA Competition Director told me that if I asked for permission to do this, I would not get it, and if I did it without permission, they'd change the rules to outlaw it.  If you do it, keep a low profile.  If you are paying the ams cash, word of mouth advertising is all you need on that. 

[David Sauls]

Back to the original post, a clarification that cash won in non-sanctioned events doesn't affect Am status with the PDGA.  Which means going non-sanctioned is another option if you really want to pay the Am divisions in cash.

On the other hand, I don't know how many Ams are really sick of winning plastic.  I believe those that post so are sincere, but my experience at tournaments is that they're in the minority.  Of course, they always have the option of playing up against tougher competition to reduce the amount of plastic they might be burdened with.  Or giving away their winnings.