Stay to Play

[Softball scholar]

Hardly - in my world, we should all pay our fair share. If a team has 12 families all booking 5 nights, that's 60 total. In the case of the Triple Crown WS in Reno, only 40 nights are required, so the parents can organize - which is what you say your team did - and each take a discounted 5th night, with a few nights left over. Some may not wish to hassle with making the separate, discounted reservation, so in the end, it might work out to where your team meets its obligation with everyone who wants it getting a little relief from the mandated lodging fee.

Maybe with some coordination this could be done. We have four "stay to play" tournaments this year, and I never heard the coach or anybody mention the minimum required nights. Do they inform the coaches of this info. I think that's a piece of information that is kept under wraps. So what happens if you only reserve 39 nights and 40 are required. Does the team get "fined" the whole amount or is pro-rated.

Anyway stay to pay is still an unfair burden on the traveling teams, who were spending more money in the first place. The local teams under 75 miles don't have to pay the "stay to play" premium.
Its just not right.

Also what do teams do when they have parents that use RVs? Or what about if half the team lives under the 75 mile range?

 

[Rocketech1]

At the end of the day, travel sports are expensive and families need to understand that. They will spend 2K on a flat screen TV, but complain if they pay an extra $15 dollars a night on a hotel room. Hotel rooms are the least of my worries when you add up the cost of private pitching and hitting lessons, composite bats, monthly dues, summer softball camps, etc. but I will tell you that the money spent on your kids youth sports and sharing these family experiences is really priceless.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Maybe with some coordination this could be done. We have four "stay to play" tournaments this year, and I never heard the coach or anybody mention the minimum required nights. Do they inform the coaches of this info. I think that's a piece of information that is kept under wraps. So what happens if you only reserve 39 nights and 40 are required. Does the team get "fined" the whole amount or is pro-rated.

Anyway stay to pay is still an unfair burden on the traveling teams, who were spending more money in the first place. The local teams under 75 miles don't have to pay the "stay to play" premium.
Its just not right.

Also what do teams do when they have parents that use RVs? Or what about if half the team lives under the 75 mile range?

It depends on the tournament, but I would imagine that Triple Crown puts the required total out for all of their STP events. A lot of parents don't ever look into it or ask the question and are fine to simply go along with it when the coach says: "everyone has to stay in hotel x, y, or z". One of the potential issues I forgot to mention is that, when making that follow-up reservation, there are times when hotels will not or cannot guarantee you'd be able to book into the exact same room, so there is a chance of having to change rooms mid-week. It might not be worth the hassle to save $30-40.

If there were unique circumstances - say, a team having only 9 players and planning to arrive on Monday, because they're traveling only 2 hours to the tournament - I would imagine that a company like TCS would be willing to make an exception to the 40-night mandate or work out some number that didn't result in the team being fined the $500. It would certainly be worth making the phone call to ask them.

I understand what you're saying with respect to faraway teams having to subsidize the tournament for the nearby teams, but I likely cannot write up any rationale that will make you happy with that arrangement. I hate to be callous, but that reality falls under the "it is what it is" umbrella. I suppose I could say that the teams in the region are doing more to support the tournaments with their annual sales and property taxes which help provide facilities and infrastructure, but that's probably just going to p*** you off if I go down that path.

 

[JAD]

Showcases have become HUGE money makers for the tournament organizers and they are adding teams as fast as they can find field space....but when your team is playing another obscure team on a remote field, remember a valuable lesson from "The Incredibles"