04-05-2015, 01:16 AM
Who'd be a tournament organiser? %-(
As the organiser of the Ayr Congress I've read through this thread with interest. Like others I appreciate that there are many views and many sides to the topic of prize money in congresses and its distribution. When I started the Prestwick Congress (which evolved into Ayr) five years ago I spent a considerable amount of time considering this particular topic before deciding that the option to be adopted would be equitable prize funds and entry fees across the sections.
The impetus for starting the congress was the apparent issue at the time of there not being as many weekend congresses during the year as there had been. The principle behind the original Congress was to provide an opportunity for as many chess players as possible, of all abilities to play a weekend of competitive and enjoyable chess. This remains the case.
Over the following five years the congress has slowly developed and decisions were made on many fundamental aspects of the event. I have to admit that many of them were based on what I enjoyed about congresses and what I wanted to see the congress achieve.
The great majority of players will leave without a prize and will have had to spend more than there entry fee to play, in some cases considerably more but at the start of the event everyone has paid around about the same entry fee and everyone has a reasonably realistic chance of winning the same first prize.
There are additional prizes on offer to try and encourage participation from particular groups.
Junior Specific Prizes
Veteran's Prize
Women's Prize
I have also made a small concession to titled players of free entry, as recognition of the achievement they have made in obtaining a title. This isn't a great amount and is probably no more than a token gesture but it has been offered from the outset, when the event was first held at Prestwick Airport.
Originally, it was partially offered as I thought that the presence of titled players may encourage others to enter the event but in all honesty, looking at the numbers in the various events throughout the years, I'm not sure it does. The Major and Minor numbers haven't moved much and the only year that the Open saw a significant increase was the year when we managed to bring over GM Sarunas Sulskis.
Despite this I've retained free entry for titled players as I do think that it is nice to say well done and recognise the achievement, even in a very small way.
Prize money and the main entry fees have remained largely the same but I have tried to add to the congress in other ways which make it an enjoyable experience for all, regardless of whether participants win a prize or not.
As I said, I've made decisions on fundamental aspects of the event which rightly or wrongly have taken the congress down a route which means it may not be all about the prize money and more about the weekend experience as a whole.
The event is held in a centre of town hotel, which I hope provides nice, comfortable conditions to play in. I've brought in more live boards to allow more games to be broadcast on the internet so that those that can't make it, for whatever reason, can enjoy a small part of the tournament.
I've brought in the big screens which allow players to see what's happening on the top boards without having to jockey for position close to the board.
I've introduced a commentary/coaching team with two of our younger coaches running the show over the weekend in a fun but informative way. This seemed to be an enjoyable part of the event for both adults and children alike.
I'm sure there are other aspects of the event which have changed over the years and hopefully for the better.
I don't know whether at aged five the event is now experiencing growing pains with all the discussion about prize fund distribution and incentives to develop players and encourage improvements. There's certainly lots of food for thought and I will take all the criticism and comments from both sides on board when deliberating over what happens next season, while keeping in mind that the principle behind my organising events is to provide an opportunity for as many chess players as possible, of all abilities to play competitive and enjoyable chess.
David Congalton
As the organiser of the Ayr Congress I've read through this thread with interest. Like others I appreciate that there are many views and many sides to the topic of prize money in congresses and its distribution. When I started the Prestwick Congress (which evolved into Ayr) five years ago I spent a considerable amount of time considering this particular topic before deciding that the option to be adopted would be equitable prize funds and entry fees across the sections.
The impetus for starting the congress was the apparent issue at the time of there not being as many weekend congresses during the year as there had been. The principle behind the original Congress was to provide an opportunity for as many chess players as possible, of all abilities to play a weekend of competitive and enjoyable chess. This remains the case.
Over the following five years the congress has slowly developed and decisions were made on many fundamental aspects of the event. I have to admit that many of them were based on what I enjoyed about congresses and what I wanted to see the congress achieve.
The great majority of players will leave without a prize and will have had to spend more than there entry fee to play, in some cases considerably more but at the start of the event everyone has paid around about the same entry fee and everyone has a reasonably realistic chance of winning the same first prize.
There are additional prizes on offer to try and encourage participation from particular groups.
Junior Specific Prizes
Veteran's Prize
Women's Prize
I have also made a small concession to titled players of free entry, as recognition of the achievement they have made in obtaining a title. This isn't a great amount and is probably no more than a token gesture but it has been offered from the outset, when the event was first held at Prestwick Airport.
Originally, it was partially offered as I thought that the presence of titled players may encourage others to enter the event but in all honesty, looking at the numbers in the various events throughout the years, I'm not sure it does. The Major and Minor numbers haven't moved much and the only year that the Open saw a significant increase was the year when we managed to bring over GM Sarunas Sulskis.
Despite this I've retained free entry for titled players as I do think that it is nice to say well done and recognise the achievement, even in a very small way.
Prize money and the main entry fees have remained largely the same but I have tried to add to the congress in other ways which make it an enjoyable experience for all, regardless of whether participants win a prize or not.
As I said, I've made decisions on fundamental aspects of the event which rightly or wrongly have taken the congress down a route which means it may not be all about the prize money and more about the weekend experience as a whole.
The event is held in a centre of town hotel, which I hope provides nice, comfortable conditions to play in. I've brought in more live boards to allow more games to be broadcast on the internet so that those that can't make it, for whatever reason, can enjoy a small part of the tournament.
I've brought in the big screens which allow players to see what's happening on the top boards without having to jockey for position close to the board.
I've introduced a commentary/coaching team with two of our younger coaches running the show over the weekend in a fun but informative way. This seemed to be an enjoyable part of the event for both adults and children alike.
I'm sure there are other aspects of the event which have changed over the years and hopefully for the better.
I don't know whether at aged five the event is now experiencing growing pains with all the discussion about prize fund distribution and incentives to develop players and encourage improvements. There's certainly lots of food for thought and I will take all the criticism and comments from both sides on board when deliberating over what happens next season, while keeping in mind that the principle behind my organising events is to provide an opportunity for as many chess players as possible, of all abilities to play competitive and enjoyable chess.
David Congalton
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