Tournament Get Rained Out? What Should Be Done With Your Entry Fee?

The infamous "vanishing entry fee" after a tournament is cancelled.

I just returned from attending the Texas Section Tournament Director/Referee workshop (which is required for all tournament directors and referees of tournaments where the TD has not attended) and we had an interesting discussion about a prevailing question around the state of Texas:  If a tournament gets cancelled because of weather, what happens to your entry fee?

There is nothing more frustrating to a player or a player's parents to be told after a tournament has been cancelled that the tournament will be keeping their entry fees and there will be no refunds.  To say the least, this is not good for customer relations and customer satisfaction...

The discussion today involved a bunch of TD's and a bunch of referees so it was enlightening to say the least.  Throughout the discussion it was pointed out that the TD/tournament shouldn't lose money but then neither should the entrants see their entry fee simply disappear into the TD's pockets.  Since there was obviously no agreement on what should be done, here are some factors to consider when deciding this issue:

*  How much did the TD pay for balls, awards, and officials.  Of course they can always use the balls and there is no expense for officials if the tournament is cancelled in advance of the start time.  Judging from some of the awards that are given there isn't a lot of money expended on awards these days.

*  How much did the TD pay for renting courts for different sites.  This is a non-issue if the tournament is cancelled because of inclement weather.

*  How much should the TD be reimbursed for his time.

*  What was the amount of the entry fee?  Fees vary greatly throughout the state of Texas.

Here were some of the suggested remedies:

*  The TD should refund 50% of the entry fee to the entrant.

*  The TD should let the entrant enter the next tournament for free.

*  There should be no refund at all.

*  There should be a percentage of the entry fee returned directly to the entrant.  If this happens it would be good if the percentage was the same throughout the state.

*  The entrant should get a 50% discount at the next tournament sponsored by the same TD.

To say there is FOOD FOR THOUGHT would be a vast understatement!  Be sure to take the poll on the upper right of this page so we can check out what people think.