Thinking about hosting a tournament
So basically I JUST got an account here, I have little to no idea how tournaments are set up, i was thinking about hosting a universal mail-in tournament, any tips on how to get it started?
Discussion
First of all, welcome to Redline Derby!
Being that you are still brand new here, and don't have a track set up yet, my first piece of advice is: DON'T. There is a HUGE amount of work behind the scenes to set up and run a tournament. You just got here, you haven't gotten your feet wet yet, and it is exhausting and more work than you'll want to do straight out of the gate..
Build some cars, enter some races. Participate in the forums. Ask questions--lots of questions! Let us see who you are, how you communicate .... let us see who Ducky IS. Be polite, be respectful: we just got finished kicking someone off RLD because he was being a complete a-hole to everyone on here. Talking smack is one thing--it's part of racing--but coming on here and "not flushing the toilet" is quite another. Don't be THAT guy.
As was mentioned, you're UK, so you're going to have to deal with customs and higher shipping costs, and longer times for your cars to get where they're going. Factor this in for any shipping, especially if you're shipping to the US. That being said, there's still a number of tracks outside the US that you can send cars in to race on.
One more thing you should be aware of: sometimes, your cars aren't going to come back, no matter how many times you message or email or call or even send a snail-mail. Hosts will keep them, for whatever reason, even if you've sent return postage. There are several hosts that have done this, and we have all been burned at one time or another. Sadly, this is part of mail-in racing. There is a measure of trust going on: if I send you a car, I expect it to be treated respectfully, and returned. If that does not happen, you get a black mark beside your name as a host, and word WILL get around that "Hey, this guy is keeping the cars we built." People sending cars to you will drasticaly drop off, as you will become known as a host that doesn't return cars. True, the cars are a buck and a half--that's not the point. The point is the principle of being honest and being held accountable. Don't be that guy, either. Personally, when I send out a car, I write it off: it's gone, period. Time to drill out another car and start over. The bonus for me is getting back the car I worked on and sent in. That shows me the host is honest and accountable, and builds trust so that I will race on their track again.
Above all, be cool and HAVE FUN!
-Bill, aka SpyDude.
- Basically, I look at every car I send to a race as not coming home. — Sunshine_City_Garage
- Pretty much sums it all up…couldn’t have said it better than SpyDude — Crazy_Canuck
- As they say on Reddit, "THIS!" Great comment — Chris_Hood
- SpyDude is Spot on! Honesty and Intrgrity goes a Long way. Bills right on the Hosting, A lot of work for a 10 minute video, Not including the Track, Scenery, Cameras, lighting, and so on it goes. just Race for now and see what tracks are out there. — Bent_Rod_Racing
I'm just happy for a place to race and a setup to do so, know/no way I have the chops for hosting, so Bless you guys that do.
Welcome Ducky, I'm fairly new here myself only been here a few months. People here are SUPER helpful, all you have to do is ask, it sure worked for me. I'm a bit more into the customizing and restoring end myself, I just sent away my cars to the first few races I've ever entered. Reading the past forum entries is great also, I'm still working through them.
Again, welcome aboard from Sunny Florida!
Jim @ Sunshine City Garage
Hey Ducky,
Firstly welcome and secondly, I am very new here myself, also new to setting up/hosting tournaments.
My track build is going to take a little time (though I have an idea which is going to be shared in DRN). I was speaking to a few people and I've decided to just run some "home races" with my cars to ease myself into it and get an idea of what I want and then go from there.
Not sure if that helps, but based on conversations that is the direction I'm going in.
Simmo
Welcome to Redline Derby. I don't have any advice to offer on hosting. I don't think I could do it. Good luck in learning the ropes of diecast racing!
This is what I did when I first started...
I entered a few races in and around the community...sent cars to California, New York, Australia, NewZealand, even England...(I'm in Canada)...learned a few things...then decided to built a track (Elevation Trail)...ran a test tournament with my own cars. Posted it to YouTube just so that people could see what it was like. Hosted a leg of the Frozen4Banger on it, then delved into the world of mail-in races...as SpyDude said, it's A LOT OF WORK... but your biggest hurdle will be going too hard and too big too fast...that leads to burn-out...and resentment...and loss of trust by builders...
take your time...don't rush the process
weve lost too many Hosts/Tracks/Channels along the way to count, but you have to have fun and enjoy racing and hosting. Don't do it for the "Views"...
Take everything on The Diecast Racing Iceberg elsewhere on this site to heart, and all that SpyDude said earlier here
It's like building a fire, hosting races and tournaments. After you are ready to film and produce, start with cars in your own garage, be they stock or modified. Lets folks get to know you as a host
Bienvenue and Welkommen to RLD!
As a new host myself I can share my recent insights and a formula to follow.
1. Build a track (I know Captain Obvious lol)
2. Run a lot of cars until you can do it in your sleep. This is important because once you add filming to the equation you will need to focus on that.
3. Run a series of small mock tournaments by yourself with your own cars. This will familiarize you with the process.
4. Set up a Youtube channel and start making videos of races with your own cars. This is where you learn the most. How to run a race and film all at the same time. You will also learn the process of editing videos.
5. Do a few "Decide your Ride" videos. This will teach you the organizing and communicating skills of dealing with many drivers at the same time.
Once you are comfortable with all of that, you will have a great chance of hosting a successful first race. Of course there is all the Redline Derby posting and message you need to do that goes along with it.
Good Luck and hope to see you hosting soon.
-Z
- most people underestimate the track, and the amount of test and tune that goes into that. and many hosts I suspect have lots of maintainance, too. the cars start to take the track apart from the forces. — dr_dodge
- Well said Dr. I would suggest most racers want to see their cars finish laps, test n tuning the track up to a level, takes time. Then over the years some owners have run heavyweights, and wow, that can pull things apart quick! Cheers — CutRock_R_Marc_D
- this is good advice- a few moths ago i did a temporary track with a tournament with some of my cars and let my friends on tiktok decide what car they wanted- but this is great advice thanks — DuckyDouseRacing
Welcome!!
Take it slow, keep your promises, return cars timely....but have fun, and you do you!! Watch other race tracks and find a method that works for you....
Treat this community right and we'll do all we can to welcome and help you!
~Georgio
Start slow, small and manageable. Enter a few races 1st to "get a feel" for how things go....it will only help you and build some credibility within the community. New hosts that come on RedlineDerby and announce huge tournaments with lots of requested participants tend to make the group a little gun shy. Also....being in the U.K. the available participants is usually smaller because of shipping cost/return shipping cost/customs.
Good luck! Welcome to RedlineDerby & I Hope to see you "on the track"!
Dutch