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Post by John Wilson on Mar 4, 2013 10:29:07 GMT -5
Dying? In a sport where it has always been easy to know everyone, I can't keep up with the new faces. I try as hard as I can to meet and learn the new pullers who come to events and I can't keep up with them all.
But everybody can't be everywhere. The price of apples has gone up and income is a lot harder to come by. People's careers have been hit hard and starting a new job every other year means you don't have vacation days in the bank. $1/gallon gas is gone forever. The 90's/2000's model of flying to one event just so you can qualify to fly to another event is fast becoming nostalgia, at least for the foreseeable future. Promoters need to get that notion out of their heads. It can work regionally, but if you doubt what I'm saying then please refer to the clip Gary posted.
If you think the sport is dying, I am here to disagree. What is dying is that model of promotion. Get out more. See what you are not seeing.
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Post by Jeff Janes on Mar 4, 2013 11:43:28 GMT -5
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten"
In two years we have grown the sport in TN to over 60 active pullers (Pulled within the last 3 months) and have close to 100 members of TAA. Many of us travel within 5 hours of our home on a regular basis, and most of those are novice hungry to grow and learn the sport. We WILL have over 100 novice entries and have the biggest ladies class the state has ever seen come April 27th at Appleton's Harley Davidson and will continue to grow. I have seen several novice make their way into opens in the short time I have been involved in the sport and I hope to add 20 new pullers to the team this year.
Change what you're currently doing if you care to make a positive impact on the sport.... Add on the class that in previous years didn't do well for you to and try and market that specific type of puller (ie. women's or left handed novice)
I say about 25% of the new folks get past the newbie pains, costs, and thumps to come back to pull another day.
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Post by Kirk Wickizer on Mar 4, 2013 16:32:00 GMT -5
Get rid of Friday night weigh-ins. Any distance beyond a couple hours forces a hotel stay and other costs associated with the extra day. Along with the dollar savings, Competitors would walk around a little closer to weight and cut down on the starving and dehydrating prior to weighing in.
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Post by David Owens on Mar 4, 2013 18:25:04 GMT -5
Get rid of Friday night weigh-ins. Any distance beyond a couple hours forces a hotel stay and other costs associated with the extra day. Along with the dollar savings, Competitors would walk around a little closer to weight and cut down on the starving and dehydrating prior to weighing in. gotta disagree with you on this Kirk people have been watering down to make weight in sports for longer than we have been alive and getting rid of a friday night weigh in will not change that, it WOULD mean that you would have to armwrestle in a more dehydrated state ....maybe thats more fair? but for many, they will still choose this over bumping up a weight. I take advantage of friday night weigh ins when I can as I walk around about 6 pounds over weight, but I can easily make weight and pull the same day I just have less time to recoup my fluids and carb load.
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Post by Kirk Wickizer on Mar 4, 2013 21:12:10 GMT -5
Dave, the dollars associated with the hotel stay, and if far enough away, knocking off work for travel time etc..gets cost prohibitive for some if competing on a regular basis. I believe this is a big deterent in sluggish economy. Maybe you are correct that people would be less hydrated without time to replenish, but it does cost less.
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Post by John Wilson on Mar 4, 2013 22:33:21 GMT -5
I don't see any issue with Friday night weigh in so long as there is also a Saturday weigh in before the event. That way, people who do pay loads of money to fly in can weigh in and then get some sleep and a good meal in them before they pull. If you are local there is nobody forcing you to show up on Friday night.
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Post by David Owens on Mar 5, 2013 1:13:51 GMT -5
I don't see any issue with Friday night weigh in so long as there is also a Saturday weigh in before the event. That way, people who do pay loads of money to fly in can weigh in and then get some sleep and a good meal in them before they pull. If you are local there is nobody forcing you to show up on Friday night.This ^
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Post by CHRISTIAN BINNIE on Mar 5, 2013 5:44:37 GMT -5
Yeah, fri night weights ins should stay so guys weigh in fri night to make weight at, oh let's say 176lb,then compete on oh let's say, I dont know, 185lbs on sat, then jump for joy that you won 176lb class. Lol.
Hey, that's fair..
Btw, shouldn't the ones that b I t c h about having to pull someone 10-15 lbs heavier then them b i t c h about that too...lol
Or when a promoter comes on here and asks what classes he should have at his next meet and gets bombarded by cry babies who's classes got omitted because it was combined and it isn't fair they compete against others who r a few lbs heavier then them.
Kind of like having 3 Nats, sit down Nats, novice Nats, ...ok not the same but I was on a rant roll...lol
Ok ok , so boxing and MMA does it, so that makes it right...lol
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Post by andystidham on Mar 5, 2013 7:01:51 GMT -5
friday weigh-ins is a must !
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Post by John Milne on Mar 5, 2013 10:10:29 GMT -5
friday weigh-ins is a must ! and.. No
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Post by John Milne on Mar 5, 2013 10:15:41 GMT -5
Yeah, fri night weights ins should stay so guys weigh in fri night to make weight at, oh let's say 176lb,then compete on oh let's say, I dont know, 185lbs on sat, then jump for joy that you won 176lb class. Lol. Hey, that's fair.. Btw, shouldn't the ones that b I t c h about having to pull someone 10-15 lbs heavier then them b i t c h about that too...lol Or when a promoter comes on here and asks what classes he should have at his next meet and gets bombarded by cry babies who's classes got omitted because it was combined and it isn't fair they compete against others who r a few lbs heavier then them. Kind of like having 3 Nats, sit down Nats, novice Nats, ...ok not the same but I was on a rant roll...lol Ok ok , so boxing and MMA does it, so that makes it right...lol I can't believe I'm saying this but I couldn't have said it better myself.
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Post by David Owens on Mar 5, 2013 17:34:36 GMT -5
Yeah, fri night weights ins should stay so guys weigh in fri night to make weight at, oh let's say 176lb,then compete on oh let's say, I dont know, 185lbs on sat, then jump for joy that you won 176lb class. Lol. Hey, that's fair.. Btw, shouldn't the ones that b I t c h about having to pull someone 10-15 lbs heavier then them b i t c h about that too...lol Or when a promoter comes on here and asks what classes he should have at his next meet and gets bombarded by cry babies who's classes got omitted because it was combined and it isn't fair they compete against others who r a few lbs heavier then them. Kind of like having 3 Nats, sit down Nats, novice Nats, ...ok not the same but I was on a rant roll...lol Ok ok , so boxing and MMA does it, so that makes it right...lol I see this point, if the reason for saying do away with Friday night weigh ins was in the interest of fairness. Then again I don't see crying about someone being 10 or 20 lbs heavier either. More to the topic, I don't think Friday night weigh ins has anything to do with turnout since as john pointed out nobody is forcing people to show up on friday
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Post by CHRISTIAN BINNIE on Mar 5, 2013 18:48:08 GMT -5
Awing ISN'T fair CAUSE...
1) Weigh ins on fris 2) Those that r "FAST"..Which means going on "READY" 3) Slipping on purpose to go in the straps, CAUSE, WAIT FOR IT, "straps tell no lies" LMAO thats the BIGGEST LOAD OF BS in this "sport"...LOL
Just some of the reasons
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by David Owens on Mar 5, 2013 21:46:50 GMT -5
Awing ISN'T fair CAUSE... 1) Weigh ins on fris 2) Those that r "FAST"..Which means going on "READY" 3) Slipping on purpose to go in the straps, CAUSE, WAIT FOR IT, "straps tell no lies" LMAO thats the BIGGEST LOAD OF BS in this "sport"...LOL Just some of the reasons ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Lets add people pulling from positions where only an arm break would result in a pin for you. Seriously Steroids are running wild and you are all a bunch of cheaters! ;D Everyone who top rolls is a hand wrestler and should be exiled ;D All the hookers start carved worse than my 3 year olds jack o lantern!!! ;D Centerline......wtf is that??? All you elbow fouling machines should just retire! Christian Binnie is really mean!!! And you are all weak! Or so I have been told Lmfao
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Post by CHRISTIAN BINNIE on Mar 6, 2013 5:27:15 GMT -5
Awing ISN'T fair CAUSE... 1) Weigh ins on fris 2) Those that r "FAST"..Which means going on "READY" 3) Slipping on purpose to go in the straps, CAUSE, WAIT FOR IT, "straps tell no lies" LMAO thats the BIGGEST LOAD OF BS in this "sport"...LOL Just some of the reasons ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Lets add people pulling from positions where only an arm break would result in a pin for you. Seriously Steroids are running wild and you are all a bunch of cheaters! ;D Everyone who top rolls is a hand wrestler and should be exiled ;D All the hookers start carved worse than my 3 year olds jack o lantern!!! ;D Centerline......wtf is that??? All you elbow fouling machines should just retire! Christian Binnie is really mean!!! And you are all weak! Or so I have been told Lmfao Agree on the carving in....AND anabolics ....AT WAF, cause its illegal there, no where else, yet.. "Hand"wrestlers needing to climb over ur thumb.. And I am NOT mean, it's a shyness...... ;D
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