Travel to watch tournaments

[boarditup]

Does anyone plan to travel out of state to be a spectator at a tournament this year?  I am hosting the Global Invitational near Grand Rapids, MI (Allendale, MI).  My first thought is few people would travel from outside of about a 150 mile area to be a spectator.  However, I really don't know.  Any thoughts?

[RichardDoane]

I'll travel to ski in an event, but have never traveled to just watch.

[ForrestGump]

I used to drive to Austin and Shreveport from Houston when the pro tournaments came there. But that was way back in the mid to late 90s. I'd probably still make that drive if there was a solid pro or invitational tournament with a top rate entry list.

[DW]

I certainly enjoy watching the best in the business, but realistically, I would rather ski than watch.  I actually would be thinking of taking the trip over to potentially watch a tournament at a new venue to kill two birds with one visit.

In my opinion, there are a few things that make watching a water ski tounament less attractive to say, a NASCAR race, college or pro football game, etc.  First, when attending a race, there is not only the race to enjoy, but a whole host of things to add to the experience such as souvenier trailers, a packed midway with a variety of entertainment, cars to go see and check out, perhaps a concert, a cool flyover, thus, making it not only a reason to go to see a race, but to get entertained with many other options.   Other sports do offer many of the same things, college football offers the connection to your alma mater and usually a pro game is reasonably close to home.

So, what does all that mean, perhaps to encourage spectators, the host needs to create alternate entertainment to keep the crowd busy, happy, etc.  The downside to all that, is those things all cost money which is certainly in short supply today.  I also think that water skiing is too much of a niche sport to cater to a large spectator crowd along with the fact that it really is not that exciting unless you are a hard core skier and really like to watch excellent athletes compete in a very repetitive sport.  I also think there is too much down time between runs and rounds to keep a crowd fully engaged.

[mopowpow]

We used to travel 250 miles to see the pro tour in the twin cities, but now they are all too far away.

[boarditup]

So....

 

More of festival/carnival atmosphere would help.  We are working on that.

 Flyover...hmmm...I think I can arrange a USCG helicopter demo (rescue swimmer, etc.)

 We were thinking of a kid's park with silly carnival games and contests.  Something to wear them out for an hour or so.

We are also working on beer and food.

 Keep the suggestions coming.

 Thanks!

 Karl

[Horton]

promotion promotion promotion. you could be giving away rides in an F16 but  people have to know about it before they can think about getting in the car to go.

[Old MS Accout]

Kinis. Thats all it takes. Zoom in and out of each commercial break. 

[ForrestGump]

The wakeboarders figured it out a long time ago. They have a party on the shore. Vendors. Boat dealers. Music. Announcers. They advertise on the local radio. The only time you see an announcer at a 3 event tournament is regionals, nationals, or the big dawg for the most part. People don't wanna show up and have no clue what the hell's going on.