Dave, Twizz called me up today and we had a quick talk concerning what you guys are trying to achieve down there.
From the figures you've supplied, it's true to say you are growing.
At the start of any new endeavour, it doesn't really matter how steep the growth curve is - what's important is the fact that growth has been sustained throughout the six years you've been promoting woodland events with no contraction.
You had your work cut out that's for sure because Ainsley's template for promoting his CPPS events couldn't be duplicated for woodland events/series such as yourselves purely because the catchment demographics are entirely different.
Ainsley's cherry-picking pool was already established and wanting/needing somewhere to play the game, and of course be treated fairly and professionally.
Ainsley didn't disappoint, he and his guys hit the ground running that's for sure and he managed to establish himself as the thousand-pound gorilla in his first year, no mean feat for someone who'd had no real experience promoting events like the CPPS - but to paraphrase a well-known maxim:- 'He built it, and they came'.
In your case, you not only had to build an event, you had to provide a very real alternative to open arena formats for players who had been waiting in the wings for just such an opportunity .… once they played at your event, they were hooked just like a lot of them were twenty years ago.
It's true to say your catchment pool was nowhere near Ainsley's numbers but that's not the point - the point is, you managed to take advantage of an opportunity that the vast majority of sports could never begin to emulate.
As James says, 'It's up to the players', they now have a viable option to play but they also have the responsibility to do what they can to maintain your event series.
From the figures you've supplied, it's true to say you are growing.
At the start of any new endeavour, it doesn't really matter how steep the growth curve is - what's important is the fact that growth has been sustained throughout the six years you've been promoting woodland events with no contraction.
You had your work cut out that's for sure because Ainsley's template for promoting his CPPS events couldn't be duplicated for woodland events/series such as yourselves purely because the catchment demographics are entirely different.
Ainsley's cherry-picking pool was already established and wanting/needing somewhere to play the game, and of course be treated fairly and professionally.
Ainsley didn't disappoint, he and his guys hit the ground running that's for sure and he managed to establish himself as the thousand-pound gorilla in his first year, no mean feat for someone who'd had no real experience promoting events like the CPPS - but to paraphrase a well-known maxim:- 'He built it, and they came'.
In your case, you not only had to build an event, you had to provide a very real alternative to open arena formats for players who had been waiting in the wings for just such an opportunity .… once they played at your event, they were hooked just like a lot of them were twenty years ago.
It's true to say your catchment pool was nowhere near Ainsley's numbers but that's not the point - the point is, you managed to take advantage of an opportunity that the vast majority of sports could never begin to emulate.
As James says, 'It's up to the players', they now have a viable option to play but they also have the responsibility to do what they can to maintain your event series.
