I agree with WF the prize money is brought to the table by the sponsors. Entry fees are just a guarantee that boats will attend. There are some events that use the fees to offset the cost of the regatta. But, these are not "pro" events.



In a Pro series (which anytime you get paid to sail according to ISAF your a pro). The entry fee does a few things... 1. gives a general idea how many boats will be there. 2. A higher fee insures that "serious" people attend the event.



Two things as an organizer that you don't want to happen is: 1. no one shows up or few people do

2. That the teams that do are not prepared or that less capable ones are detracting from the event. (ie breakdown during the event, cause crashes due to inexperience, are not "professional" in conduct) All of which shows poorly on the sponsor who is the person carrying the costs of the event and has their name dragged down in the process.



One thing that I heard when we did research on pro-sport events that I thought was funny. ---- "The surest way to get kicked off the PGA tour is to scratch your crotch --- you can do it in baseball, but banks and insurance companies don't want to be thought of as crotch grabbers" That is a direct comment from a major PGA offical. Goes to show what you have to think about when your thinking about sponsors and thier thought processes.



Steve