Disappointing entry to Juniors Tournament in England

MOG

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MOG

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Nov 2016
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Hi,

I have just started running tournaments in Hereford in uk. We are a bit off the main road, however its not that far and we don't start until 10am to give people time.
I have run 2 junior tournaments so far.
First one has 24 entries, second one had 11 entries.
No we have the best venue IMO in the UK until you start talking national championships.
We play an a futsal arena pitch so you DON'T slip at all ever!
Court sizes are 11.5m by 6.9m 5 barriers by 3 barriers.
I don't think many venues give you that much room.
There are seats with a side view for 280 people and a café upstairs and showers and changing facilities.
And we run a progressive groups format, for example 40 entries;
round 1: 8 groups of 5
round 2: 8 groups of 5
then QF with KO
So you are guaranteed 8 games in the day and possibly 11 if you get to the ko stages and final, can you tell me another tournament where you get this many competitive games guaranteed.
Oh and last time there was a prize fund of £200
Sad thing is if the next one on October 1st is not better supported we wont be running any more juniors and will just run vets.

That would be a big shame!
 
Last edited:
says The sticky bit is stuck.
says The sticky bit is stuck.
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Hi Mog, your venue sounds awesome. Your dissappointment is in expecting a higher turnout for your events? That's always disappointing, but as a note of encouragement (of sorts) I can share some experiences in organizing event targeted at the young. Turnout is always somewhat erratic, and it takes stamina to get things going.

And sometimes you really, really put in the effort for a longer time; you make the best of local media, social media, you leverage the social circles of your relatives, club members, friends and so on. You offer incentives, provide high visibility, lower the threshold as much as possible, and still, getting traction is never certain.

Still, getting the attention of the young, igniting the spark there, it's what must be done; and sometimes it does work. It's a real challenge to reach young players, something that's on my mind very often and for which I would love to hear what works for others.
 
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Brs

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Brs

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Did you ask the players or their parents who played your 1st event and not the 2nd, why they didn't come back?
 
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In my town /600 000 population/ we have only 3 TT clubs /we have some more halls for TT enthusiast, but they are not sporting clubs/ and in these 3 clubs around 60-90 youngs are training. Every club organizes a lot of inside tournements and some tournements between the clubs. Youngs are happy with that, allthough there are no prize funds at all.
 
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From what I see in Norfolk. the problem is not so much from the tournament angle. The problem is getting large number of juniors playing at all. The main competition play here is the league, which, in the lower divisions, requires 10 matches to be played, often finishing after 22:30. This is a problem for youngsters during school time. At practice times, it is hard for the kids to get to play older more experienced people, so it is a little discouraging. My own club works hard to combat this, and my league team has 2 juniors who are very promising, but I feel this is not the norm. Unless you have a lot of juniors playing, it is hard to get well-attended junior tournaments (obviously). Even then, there are other, higher profile, sports that grab the attention for the schoolkids.
 
https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/tournaments/

As I see TT has a good base in UK.

My elder son graduated in the Uni of Southampton, my younger son the Uni of Bath, my daughter is attending the Uni of Leeds, and they all tell me that their universitys organize a lot of TT tournaments, some with prizes, and the Bath Grand Prix is about 1000 pounds, I think.
 
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