Sportive entry fees - RIP OFF !

[screenman]

I do not think may organisers could take the losses Tata have with their car making in the UK. Maybe the cost went from £18 to £32.50 to cover some of the losses from the first event.

I would like to add that I have no idea if an organiser makes a profit or a loss, it would seem that some of the people complaining might not have the answers as well. I cannot see that running an event would be a great money spinner, if it was we would all be doing it, seems like a lot of stress for little reward.

I have never organised an event for money, but when I ran reliability trials from my house we normally had 60+ turn up, this may say more about the wife's cooking than my organising skills.

 

[jimboalee]

I do not think may organisers could take the losses Tata have with their car making in the UK. Maybe the cost went from £18 to £32.50 to cover some of the losses from the first event.

I would like to add that I have no idea if an organiser makes a profit or a loss, it would seem that some of the people complaining might not have the answers as well. I cannot see that running an event would be a great money spinner, if it was we would all be doing it, seems like a lot of stress for little reward.

I have never organised an event for money, but when I ran reliability trials from my house we normally had 60+ turn up, this may say more about the wife's cooking than my organising skills.

What losses?

Ford got JLR into the loss making situation. Ford sold us to TATA and since the sale, we've sold every car we've made. We now have a healthy order book.

JLR have weathered the 'credit crunch' and this recession through intelligent scaling of its production.

If you notice, Tata's share price is bouncing along quite nicely and has recovered from the winter 09 low.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11722091


Yes, we're taking on people; and its why I'm geting a 5% payrise . 1 month's increase in my salary paid for that Land Rover Tahora MTB I bought in April...

 

[screenman]

Profits this year losses the last I think, maybe the organiser of the event is going the same way. I must admit that I only Googled for my information.

I must say it looks like they are making an obscene profit now, maybe they will reduce the price of their vehicles even lower.

 

[Kestevan]

Just as a point on interest - Cheshire cat entry in 2010 was 28.00, next years event is 32.50 Not exactly an extortionate increase give inflation and a forthcoming VAT rate rise.

If they'd tried to double the entry price, then I would have walked away without a qualm, as it is I entered.

 

[dodgy knees]

jst reading a few comments it seems everybody is slating each others preference to cycling, we all love cycling or we would,nt be doing it, so why dont we jst do our thing and stop slating each other.

 

[gavintc]

jst reading a few comments it seems everybody is slating each others preference to cycling, we all love cycling or we would,nt be doing it, so why dont we jst do our thing and stop slating each other.

Oh My God, but that other lot, ride weird bikes with strange looking saddles and wheels, and just look at how they dress. And don't get me started on the food that they eat - totally weird. Nope, I am happy in own little world.

 

[PaulSB]

I have to confess I've only skimmed much of this but think I have the general drift. Personally I NOW feel sportives are too expensive for several reasons:

many do not offer value for money and do leave one with a feeling of being ripped off

here in the north-west those I've ridden often turn out to follow much of established NCN or other signed routes. So little effort on behalf of the organisers in that instance

some turn out to be a solo ride rather than an opportunity to chat etc.

Having said this when I first began riding sportives it give me an opportunity to push / test myself over greater distances etc. etc and definetely gave me the encouragement to go further.

Now I've joined a club, £25 pa, I have many different opportunities to ride in events, groups, Sunday rides which I enjoy far more than a sportive. I have also ridden the occassional audax. I don't think I would have done any of this with out riding those first sportives. The question I can't answer is if I was a beginner would £25-30 seem good value? When I started years back £10-15 was the going rate.

 

[e-rider]

Just as a point on interest - Cheshire cat entry in 2010 was 28.00, next years event is 32.50 Not exactly an extortionate increase give inflation and a forthcoming VAT rate rise.

If they'd tried to double the entry price, then I would have walked away without a qualm, as it is I entered.

that's a 9% increase - more than inflation and most peoples' pay rise. But as you say, not too extortionate. The base fee sounds high to start with though, and a 9% increase year on year would clearly be unacceptable.

My best guess is that demand will not start to drop until the cost exceeds £50. Afterall, go and see a big pop band at a large venue and you'll pay £50 a ticket and people are lining up to do that - and it only lasts 2 hours. Perhaps the difference is that there is no option of doing that for free, whereas we can all cycle the same roads for free if we wish. Still, plenty of people out there who like the experience of sportives (or do it because it's fashionable) and have plenty of disposable income - you can see this by comparing the number of years (or months) they've been cycling and the value of their bike (£2k+ in many cases).

 

[Garz]

I think PaulSB has summarised a mutual feeling that would mirror my experience. They were there as a challenge when I used to think 100 miles was just a realistic target, now having done a few the novelty has worn off but the experience you gain from them is fantastic. They are in a way a stepping stone to pushing your fitness levels up and achieving mileage goals.

The cheapest was £15 and the most was £25 I think, however one of the events recently announced it's 2011 ride will be jumping up to the £30 fee which was quite disappointing. I guess if they made these fees more transparent so you knew where the money was going it would be easier to digest but to bump up a price without proper justification would definitely sway me to give it a miss.