In which we pay various pipers, or not, as the case may be

I feel that this is the calm before the storm. 

 

NSDA has clarified its virtual room situation. The bottom line is a cost of $6 per room, per day. That’s reasonable; after all, data access isn’t free, plus they get to make a dollar or two along the way (and they should). Having already used the jitsi software, I know that it works. It’s no-frills, but in a way that eliminates a lot of problems: for instance, no one other than the participants can be in a room, and there’s no recording. What will make things interesting is paying for it. A college will have an outlay of a few thousand bucks in advance, and I have a feeling that their admins are not going to like that. Some of them are already ham-fisted in their treatment of tournaments in general and money in particular. For me, the good news is that it’s not my problem. I’m simply the messenger. Six bucks a room, read ‘em and weep. End of story. 

 

To fill the empty hours I’ve created a spreadsheet for estimating expenses and determining cost per entry. It really only works when you’re relatively sure of your numbers. The point of it is to help you decide how much you should be charging. We’ll see what people make of it, if anything. I have a feeling most folks will charge what they always charge, and most people will pay it. Everyone will be so happy not paying for planes, trains, automobiles and EconoLodges that they won’t even notice. But honestly, if my spreadsheet is accurate, what it costs is what it costs, with a reasonable percentage of profit. No one’s going to be digging any goldmines over it.

 

I’ve also been collecting data on attendees, so far just for Da Bronx. I looked at the last 3 years to see who the regulars are. They get first crack when slots are distributed, minus an estimated 20% of the slots going to new people, primarily those who in the past were unable to attend because of expense. There is a thought abroad that a lot of programs are local not by choice but because of financial restraints, that is, they can’t afford all the auxiliary expenses like travel and lodging, both of which are now removed. One needs to create a thoughtful balance of regulars and newbies, especially if those newbies are especially deserving. Mixing that with caps is going to be…fun? Oh, well. That’s why I earn the big bucks. (Which I’m sure will be coming any day now. I mean, 25 years in, I know it’s just been a question of the banks finding a place to drop off the ingots. Even though I’ve been in the same place all those 25 years. Maybe I was misinformed?)