Quoted from Joe_Blasi:annual dues are better and less work for the local TD's also it cut's down on legal issues. But what to do about the people at events who just play and don't really want to pay to be ranked?
There needs to be some kind of middle ground from yearly fees to per per event.
The challenge with annual dues is they miss the mark on the objective of fueling the prize pool... where a 'per event' fee helps scale with growth.
Seems easy enough for me to grasp both goals with just calling it a 'per event' fee that scales with the # of players. I think this satisfies all needs EXCEPT for Josh's concerns about IFPA accounting (which.. I'd say.. tough'en up.. since he outlined the overall goal is to be a paid system anyways).
It's easy to understand as a "per event submission" model
Q: I want this count to towards SCS points, how do I?
A: register and submit the event, all IFPA sanctioned events in the state will count.
Q: how many 'events' is my league/tourney/whatever?
A: easy, if you registered it once, it is one event... one fee per player. Points consequences are handled by the usual WPRR logic.
Q: does my performance count towards SCS/WPRR?
A: easy, if the event is registered, yes!
Q: What is the fee per event?
A: The fee scales with the size of the event based on # of players participating. (gives an option for future extra options to charge for promotion, etc as well)
Q: Who counts?
A: Easy, if the event is registered, all players are eligible
Q: How is the fee funded?
A: That's up to the event organizer. TDs can fund events from their own pocket, player entry fees, sponsorships, whatever.
Q: How is the fee collected?
A: Paid when the event is submitted by the TD to IFPA
Q: What does the fee do?
A: The fee funds the initiatives of the IFPA whose purpose is to promote competitive pinball. Currently those programs include the WPRR ranking system, IFPA website, and an initiative to build prize pools for the SCS/Nationals IFPA events.
Seems concise and well bounded if you outline it this way IMO. This gives TDs the flexibility to fund the fees how they see fit, it gives IFPA what they want in terms of a fee that scales with the amount of play/points people are eligible for, and is easy to articulate. I outlined it above as people not having the option to opt-in/out at an event because I think that is more inline with the objectives AND streamlines things. But that is an item that could be modified easy enough without changing the overall picture (but complicates scoring of entries for events that may have multiple meets).