AZB & members -> sponsor players

Roy Steffensen

Roy Steffensen

locksmith
Silver Member
Lately we have seen many players posting here trying to get sponsors. Players such as Gabe Owen, Mike Davis, Craig Riley (the one) and John Schmidt comes to mind.

I have noticed that a lot of the regular posters on AZB have joined the AZB Members Club. For this they pay a yearly fee of 34,95 $.

What if we could make this Members Club something "bigger"? Say that for example the yearly fee was 100 $, and 70 $ from each member would go to sponsor top players that are members on AZB?

For example, AZB can in advance say that for US Open in 2009, 2 top players, and regular posters, will be sponsored by AZB. (Entryfee, hotel).

How to choose players? Make a qualifier at DCC (or give the spots to the posters on azb that finish highest in DCC 9-ball. This year it would be Mike DeChaine with 3rd), or by polls open only for the members of the Club.

By doing this perhaps more of the top players will try to post more often here on AZB, more people will probably join the club which means more money to AZB, and it will be a little bit more fun to follow tournaments. (Interesting to see which AZB'er who finish highest in DCC, and fun to cheer on this player in the Open).

A deal with the sponsored player can for example be that if he/she wins more than 10 000 $ at the Open, 10 % will go back to AZB and the Club, and it will all be spent on Budweiser's at the AZ Room during next DCC ;)

What's your thoughts? Any other, better ideas?

I believe this could be fun, and if AZB Members Club could do this I would be member.
 
I don't have a problem with people coming on here and knocking on doors for potential sponsorhip...

I would be much more willing to sponsor people that actually contribute to the forum that might not otherwise have an opportunity to play in events.

John Morton (aka: Rude Dog) is prime example.

I would much rather the sponsoship support our own contributers rather than pros that will probably get professional sponsorship anyway if they really market themselves.

I would love to see more post (from more than the few pros that do) sharing view points on various aspects of the game from "pro" players...I rarely see it though (other than the normal posting pros)...most of the pro content has some sort of agenda behind it (which is fine...they need to earn also) but I would like to see more of there thoughts on pattern play, technique, etc as well to at least trick me into believeing that they actually care about the board...(other than to make a buck or two) :)

Joe Tucker and Blackjack are prime examples of pros that seem to actually care about the board just as much as making a buck....If the board were to sponsor a Pro player, Iwould rather see them get a group sponsorship if needed.

(JMO) :)
 
Roy Steffensen said:
How to choose players? Make a qualifier at DCC (or give the spots to the posters on azb that finish highest in DCC 9-ball. This year it would be Mike DeChaine with 3rd), or by polls open only for the members of the Club.
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I think this would have to be done by polls.

I am sure there are at least a few regular posters that may have knocked Mike out or finished as high as him had they had the opportunity to go play in the first place.

I am not saying I would have finished better than him, but I did not get the opportunity since I did not go to DCC since it is not in my budget... Since this seems to be the place, I will ask..... "Anyone want to sponsor me at the next DCC?... (or the US OPEN);) ;) What the heck.....I mean hey...I have snapped off a few prestigious weekly events in my day...:rolleyes: ...and I was one of the 5 on the team that won the most recent BCA state championship...:rolleyes: (I will clear my PM box for all the replies)
 
i think this is a great idea, but the sponsors should receive a certain percentage for their sponsorship. say split up a certain percentage (40 or 50% ) for the AZB sponsors and give them the chedder back...this would entice more people to sponsor players.
 
How about instead of sponsoring players we put the money as added money into a tournament.

Also we could do something like on cue raffles, the seller could charge an extra $10.00 per ticket over the normal ticket price generating $420.00 extra every time a cue is raffled to put into the tournament fund so the seller still gets his fair market value for the cue.

Plus we could just take outright donations towards the cause.

128 players @ $100.00 entry plus the AZB forum added money would make a strong tourney once a year.
 
It's a great idea, but if my money was involved, I would like to see something in legalese that these players sign and abide to.

That said, I really don't see AZB getting involved in something like this.

Barbara

Roy Steffensen said:
Lately we have seen many players posting here trying to get sponsors. Players such as Gabe Owen, Mike Davis, Craig Riley (the one) and John Schmidt comes to mind.

I have noticed that a lot of the regular posters on AZB have joined the AZB Members Club. For this they pay a yearly fee of 34,95 $.

What if we could make this Members Club something "bigger"? Say that for example the yearly fee was 100 $, and 70 $ from each member would go to sponsor top players that are members on AZB?

For example, AZB can in advance say that for US Open in 2009, 2 top players, and regular posters, will be sponsored by AZB. (Entryfee, hotel).

How to choose players? Make a qualifier at DCC (or give the spots to the posters on azb that finish highest in DCC 9-ball. This year it would be Mike DeChaine with 3rd), or by polls open only for the members of the Club.

By doing this perhaps more of the top players will try to post more often here on AZB, more people will probably join the club which means more money to AZB, and it will be a little bit more fun to follow tournaments. (Interesting to see which AZB'er who finish highest in DCC, and fun to cheer on this player in the Open).

A deal with the sponsored player can for example be that if he/she wins more than 10 000 $ at the Open, 10 % will go back to AZB and the Club, and it will all be spent on Budweiser's at the AZ Room during next DCC ;)

What's your thoughts? Any other, better ideas?

I believe this could be fun, and if AZB Members Club could do this I would be member.
Click to expand...
 
Roy Steffensen said:
What's your thoughts? Any other, better ideas?

I believe this could be fun, and if AZB Members Club could do this I would be member.
Click to expand...

My thoughts are this.

Not every member enjoys the same financial freedom that some fortunate souls do.

Though they would LOVE to contribute to such a worthy concept, they may not be able to.

When the membership of AzBilliards came to the fore, it was met with mixed reviews and some very strong opinions.

Nobody wants to feel like they can't be part of the IN CROWD just because they cannot afford to partake in it.

If there are some who can afford to deposit $100 per annum towards a pool player fund, that would be wonderful.

Not everybody can do it is what I am trying to say.

JAM
 
JAM said:
My thoughts are this.

Not every member enjoys the same financial freedom that some fortunate souls do.

Though they would LOVE to contribute to such a worthy concept, they may not be able to.

When the membership of AzBilliards came to the fore, it was met with mixed reviews and some very strong opinions.

Nobody wants to feel like they can't be part of the IN CROWD just because they cannot afford to partake in it.

If there are some who can afford to deposit $100 per annum towards a pool player fund, that would be wonderful.

Not everybody can do it is what I am trying to say.

JAM
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I agree with you 100%.

If we (as a group) were to sponsor a player - and I was to contribute, I would look at it as an investment. What would be the return on that investment for me personally? That may sound harsh, but I have sponsored players in the past, and I do it to help them out, but at the same time, I do it to promote my business and services.

Like JAM said, for some of us money is real tight at the moment. This is the first year that I have not sponsored a player on one of the regional tours, and it seems a bit odd for me not to be doing that - but I could not afford to do it this year.

I would think that if this were to be done, that the player should be an active member of the Azbilliards community.
 
Thoughts on player sponsorship from AZB

Mike Howerton and I have been talking for several months on how AZB could assist the pros. The area where we see the greatest weakness is that many of our top pros do not have the funds to travel overseas for World Championships. This is why you sometimes see players who are well down in the rankings representing the USA overseas. The players above them simply cannot afford to make the trip. The idea that the top players have sponsors to cover their expenses is simply (except in less than a handful of cases) a myth.

The BCA provides a travel stipend for World Events that helps somewhat. But they are not a bottomless fountain of money. Their GenerationPool.com tournament cost the BCA more than $200,000 each year and that is a big slug of cash. They also pay $10,000 each year to be the North American member of the WPA and they pay out more than $20,000 per year in these travel stipends.

But the economy has not been kind to the members of the BCA. You have seen pool rooms close all over the country and sales of discretionary expense items like cues and tables is down as the economy rots on the vine. Looking to the BCA to increase their budget for the pros is simply unrealistic. So it may be time for the fans (and we at AZB are fans) to get involved in helping America get the best players into international events. What Mike and I have talked about is:

1) Accepting donations from our thousands of readers to go into a pro player travel fund.

2) Accepting merchandise from manufacturers (cues, tables, instruction, etc) that would be auctioned off on AZB (raffles are illegal, sorry) and all proceeds placed into the fund.

3) Then using these funds to assist in sending our best players overseas. For instance, the BCA provides $1,300 to each player who goes to the WPC. But hotel and air actually runs about $2,500. If AZB and its readers could create a large enough fund to provide the players with another $1,200 then their travel costs (except for food) would then be covered and we could send the best we have overseas.

Problems: There are three overseas events that come to my mind immediately where we need greater US representation. These are the World 8-Ball, the World 9-BAll and the World 10-Ball. To sponsor an average of 10 players to each of these events would run about $75,000 per year. That's a big chunk o' change and it may prove difficult to raise that much. It is actually more than that as the stipend from the BCA is $600 and it still costs $2500 to go there. Do not hammer the BCA for this. When they first established the stipend the only overseas championship was the WPC and they allotted enough of their budget to assist that event. Since the other events have come about the economy has not allowed the BCA to fund them as much as they would like.

Some players DO have sponsors to cover their costs. What do we do about these players? Do we not include them? That does not seem fair. Perhaps we ask their sponsors to voluntarily opt their players out of the plan and rely on honor to solve this problem. I cannot think of a single sponsor who is not honorable.

One more thing: We would keep an open set of books on this plan that anyone could see at anytime. No hoodoo. Quickbooks. (The computer accounting program.) And a large decision has to be made. Do we try to raise this money year after year or do we raise a lot of money first and then invest it and disburse the profits from the investments each year so that the fund never eats into the initial principle and therefor funds itself forevermore? Realize that even if we invest it in something like the Canadian oil Trust that pays a 10% dividend then we would need $1,000,000 in the fund to generate the $100,000 or so we would need each year to fund the pro travel.

Give us your ideas and thoughts, please.
 
Deleted because it's a REPEAT, due to the slow forum that happens EVERY SINGLE MORNING between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., EST. LOL!
 
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Blackjack said:
I agree with you 100%.

If we (as a group) were to sponsor a player - and I was to contribute, I would look at it as an investment. What would be the return on that investment for me personally? That may sound harsh, but I have sponsored players in the past, and I do it to help them out, but at the same time, I do it to promote my business and services.

Like JAM said, for some of us money is real tight at the moment. This is the first year that I have not sponsored a player on one of the regional tours, and it seems a bit odd for me not to be doing that - but I could not afford to do it this year.

I would think that if this were to be done, that the player should be an active member of the Azbilliards community.
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And I agree with you 100 percent! :smile:

This has been done in the past, successfully: Walter Kochs (Black-Balled) and John Morton (Rude Dog).

I don't see what's wrong with the old system, personally. No legally binding contracts required either! LOL! :D

Nominate the AzBilliards members, who your pick is to go to the U.S. Open. The members can campaign and provide a little portfolio of their capabilities. Anybody who can afford to donate will send the funds to a designated source. Last time, it was AzHousePro. Voila, an AzB-er goes to the U.S. Open.

If I had to pick an AzB-er this year, who I'd like to go to the U.S. Open, it would be JimmyM. Oh, I wouldn't mind nominating Blackjack either. I must include JHendry (John Henderson) from California too. Then there's Nine Ball (Josh from Florida). Now that I think about it, there's quite a few members that I would contemplate for going to this year's U.S. Open. :thumbup:

This forum is slow as a snail this morning. :angry: I click SUBMIT REPLY, and nothing happens for minutes.

JAM
 
Jennie

If we were to do the US Open sponsorship again, there are many other Azbilliard forum members/players down here in Florida that would have a better chance than I would, including Josh Hilliard, Donnie Mills, David Uwate, Adam Wheeler, and James Roberts.

Jerry

I have a few ideas that I will send to you later today - or you can call me. I believe that AZBTV can be an awesome source of revenue for this website if used correctly. Myself, I would be willing to help devise something where we could provide matches - instruction - interviews - accessed for a monthly fee - and we could also sell advertising.

My point is, that there needs to be more return on the investment than a keychain. I would be more than happy to purchase advertising space on AZBTV and help out with it in any way that I could - with match commentary - lessons, player interviews, etc.

I think its a process of sitting down together and finding ways to get the most out of the resources we already have in place and use them effectively to generate the revenue required to do this.
 
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Jerry Forsyth said:
...Give us your ideas and thoughts, please.
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It is a very sound plan, Jerry, to sponsor a pro player.

Unfortunately, there aren't many pro players who participate on a frequent basis in this forum. I know we have John Schmidt, Larry Nevel, Danny Harriman, Grady Mathews, Corey Harper, and a few others.

In recent times, Mike Davis and Gabe Owen posted, looking for stakehorses a la John Schmidt. Hey, it worked for John, and so it could work for these fine players as well. It sure does reveal, though, how difficult it is today for pro players to attend tournaments.

The million-dollar tournament of Allen Hopkins is NEXT MONTH. Though there are qualifiers around the country in progress, I am kind of a Doubting Thomas in that I can't see very many players forking out $5,000 entry fee, knowing there will not be a million-dollar purse. The only way there can be a million-dollar purse is if there are 200 players who paid $5,000 as their entry fee. THIS IS THE BEST TOURNAMENT CONCEPT to come to the fore in a very long time, but just like the cases of Mike Davis and Gabe Owen, our country's top pros, not many of our finest players can afford $5,000.

Personally, though I am definitely PRO pro player --- two "pros" in a row with different meanings, pun intended :grin: -- I kind of would rather see our community here on this forum fund a REGULAR AzBilliards forum member, one who contributes to the forum and participates here on a regular basis, to go to the U.S. Open, where they don't have to be "ranked" and/or "invited" to compete.

If we were to take on funding pro players, supplementing their BCA stipend, I am 100-percent positive the plethora of opinions on how the AzBilliards' donated monies should be handled, which pro should get selected, et cetera, will be scrutinized to the Nth Degree, ad nauseum, like most topics do in Forum Land! :thumbup:

I wouldn't want to be the AzBilliards accountant for this job! :smash:

That said, I can swing both ways, pro player fund or AzBilliards member fund.

However, if I had my pick between us funding a pro player or an AzBilliards forum member, I lean towards the AzBilliards forum member. :)

JAM
 
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Johnnyt said:
How many AZ members are from the US? Johnnyt
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I think I can safely say we're in the majority.

Best pool website on the net: AZBILLIARDS. Made in the USA.;)

JAM
 
I would like such a fund to support a pro player who contribute to the forum. By doing this it will create more activity here from the pro players.
 
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