My question is; how much added cash would it take to attract touring Pro women to a B-Tier event?

I have a local business sponsor in Western Colorado who has told me that as long as I have at least 2 FPO signed up, for the Montrose Open, she will put in $300 for FPO added cash. I have gotten good local sponsorship in the past for my tournaments so I figure it should not be too hard to add at least another $200 this year.

Last year, Burl and Valerie J. just happened to be coming through after the Japan Open and it was great to have them play our tournament. The guys who don't travel to larger events were very impressed by their level of play and how far they threw.

We have always encouraged women to play our tournament and we a get larger turn out from all levels of women than most events in Colorado. I�m just trying to take our event to the next level. It was a real bonus last year talking to sponsors about having two of the top women in the world at our event. I�d like to be able to do that again this year and in the future.

I guess this is a bit of a fishing post as well, but if there is interest from Pro women, please let me know (reply to PM) and I will actively pursue this angle of significant added FPO. Also, if $500 added is not a notably appealing amount, how much would be?

The 6th Montrose Open this year will be August 18-19. I know we will lose some players to Europe for the European Open but maybe we would be a good stop on the way back West after Worlds?

Thanks in advance,

Max Maclay
Montrose Open TD

Max,

At our A-tier (Eric C. Yetter Champions Cup), we usually have only 1 or 2 women. This is mostly due to our date being in September, when many touring players are starting to head home and a lack of local Pro women in the area.

This past year, we had 9 club members each give $5 for each Pro women competitor we would have. This brought their entry fee from $60 down to $15 (that they would have to pay out of pocket). We advertised this greatly, and we then had 9 women come out. The payout was great, because their entry fee was still $60 (even though they had only paid $15), and we added cash as well.

This is somewhat different than your situation, but it shows that if you give them an incentive and talk it up enough, the women will come.

Good luck.