How much should a sportive cost?

thebouldwhacker

While I understand the cost of food, insurance, tee shirts, certs etc etc can be substantial the cost of sportives seems to vary widely. for example in 2009 Kilkenny was €20 with great support, food etc where as West Cork 200 was €50 with perhaps less support. Add in travel, accommodation etc and they can be very pricey.

In these times of lower wages etc how much can one justify on spending on such an event, especially now as there are so many to chose from?

blorg

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

While I understand the cost of food, insurance, tee shirts, certs etc etc can be substantial the cost of sportives seems to vary widely. for example in 2009 Kilkenny was €20 with great support, food etc where as West Cork 200 was €50 with perhaps less support. Add in travel, accommodation etc and they can be very pricey.

In these times of lower wages etc how much can one justify on spending on such an event, especially now as there are so many to chose from?

IMO they should all be around the €20-25 mark MAX, more really isn't justified. Audax events are a fiver and while they generally don't provide any support for that the Mick Byrne 200 provided buckets of food and that was only €10.

The West Cork 200 was a great route and they did well for their first go but it was well overpriced.

Kilkenny probably the best value of last year.

The less said about the Wicklow one the better!

Chips Lovell

Cost of sportive = (5c x Xkm) x Y, where X is the number of kilometres and Y is the average number of sandwiches available per participant.

penexpers

Best value for money sprotive is Ring Of Kerry. No entry fee (just whatever you raise in sponsorship) and great support on the day.

I think the most I paid was 45 for Tour of Kildare (including CI license). Support wasn't great on that one.

I agree with blorg, 20-25 max is how much it should be.

Lumen

I would prefer that costs just cover the organisational and safety aspects, plus maybe tea/coffee.

I don't like crappy sandwiches, and would prefer to bring my own or cough up per item at an open Farmers Market type stall setup where I can eat proper hot food like pizza, kebabs, felafel, wurst etc.

There was a great little pizza van at Dublin Zoo a few weeks ago with a little wood burning stove in it. Another 50 or so of those ought to do it.

thebouldwhacker

blorg wrote: »

Kilkenny probably the best value of last year.

+1

And the ROK.
All the support staff were great, a friends chain broke, the guy who fixed it stopped short of giving the bike a full service and would take no payment.

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

..felafel, wurst etc.

Well, la di da.

Chips Lovell

I'm fairly free and easy, but I think what an acceptable cost should be depends on where the money's going. If part or all of the money is for charity, I don't begrudge them it. I think the IVCA uses the W200 as their main fund raising event and god knows I'll be a member soon enough, so I don't mind giving them a few bob either.

I wouldn't be one of those people who judges an event by the food. I'm there to ride. An auld sandwich or two is grand. It saves you having to bring your own or hunt for them after every petrol station sandwich around has been bought by the first 100 riders.

What I don't like is being asked to raise a minimum amount for the charity concerned (a very low minimum is OK). There are so many charity events on during the year that I think it's a bit much to insist that everyone should show up with €100 or whatever. There's a limited pool of people I can hit up and a limited amount of times I can do it.

I'm also not a fan of overly tight organisation. Wrist bands and swipe cards and registration queues wreck my head. I'm very fond of the Ring of Kerry for that reason. Just raise as much as you can and show up on the day. It always seems very relaxed.

thebouldwhacker

Lumen wrote: »

....hot food like pizza, kebabs, felafel, wurst etc.

There was a great little pizza van at Dublin Zoo a few weeks ago with a little wood burning stove in it. Another 50 or so of those ought to do it.

" while the pizza and kebabs were nice and the felafel was succulent I got stuck at the wurst stall for an hour!"

ROK ON

I would pay for
1 showers/dressing rooms
2 mechanical support
3 hydration
4 good marshalling.

Food - I can get my own.
Medal - I have enough from actual competitions so won't pay for one.
Timing - I can keep track of my own.

An interesting and challenging route with good support is all I ask for. You can keep your mouldy sandwiches.

An end of event bbq/beer garden would be nice but I wouldn't expect it to be incl in price.

tunney

What's the point in sportives?

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

I would pay for
1 showers/dressing rooms
2 mechanical support
3 hydration
4 good marshalling.
...

5. Coke.
6. Hookers.

Lumen

tunney wrote: »

What's the point in sportives?

There is no point. That's the point.

Chips Lovell

tunney wrote: »

What's the point in sportives?

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Lumen wrote: »

5. Coke.
6. Hookers.

Toblerone1978

When you're a slow coach like me, the roads being marked is also a nice thing!

I find that the sportifs run by cycling clubs are probably the best - I'm thinking Slaney CC and Carlow CC sportifs in particular. If no medals or t-shirts are being offered as part of the package (and being a vain person, I do like gaining a medal), I think the max should be €25.

blorg

el tonto wrote: »

I think the IVCA uses the W200 as their main fund raising event and god knows I'll be a member soon enough, so I don't mind giving them a few bob either.

A lot of clubs hold randonees as fundraisers but they also manage to charge less and give better value for money.

blorg

tunney wrote: »

What's the point in sportives?

They are cycling's equivalent of a marathon, large mass participation non-to-quasi-competitive events. On the continent this is really a pretty close analogy. They are chip timed and there are placings and prizes. The lead guys are genuinely racing each other like in a running marathon, while 99% of the rest of the participants are out to attain personal goals, personal bests, etc. rather than racing each other.

Here, largely due to the extra headaches for the organisers involved in anything that might be classified as a "race" they tend to just be for the 99% of the rest looking to compete against a standard they have set themselves... or indeed just to complete. Just like 99% of competitors in a marathon. For racing cyclists it can be a pleasant day out and often very good training; some of the smaller ones in particular have been pretty much race pace.

Whether you are competitive or not it is great to get out on a bike with thousands of other cyclists to attack a challenging route whether that be Wicklow, Waterford or the Alpe d'Huez.

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

A lot of clubs hold randonees as fundraisers but they also manage to charge less and give better value for money.

If you were guaranteed the turnout of the W200, would you not charge more?

imola94

Lads I was wondering if there is a calendar somewhere that lists these events for the year ahead. Started cycling towards the end of last year and would like to participate in a few events this year. Cheers

jwshooter

imola94 wrote: »

Lads I was wondering if there is a calendar somewhere that lists these events for the year ahead. Started cycling towards the end of last year and would like to participate in a few events this year. Cheers

can the powers that be start one . dates,prices , difficulty ,etc

Lumen

jwshooter wrote: »

can the powers that be start one . dates,prices , difficulty ,etc

Off you go. Anyone can edit.

Chips Lovell

Cycling Ireland has a lot of them on its calendar. Download the spreadsheet and click on the "Leisure Tab" at bottom.

Esroh

Last year I was over the organisation of the Club Sportive.
3 routes
We charged 35 euro

3 feedstations and post ride BBq
6 support vechicles
Road and Signage markings.
Event Posters(pre event promotion)
Event T shirt


In the end Charity and Club were left with 500 euro each

There is a list of things Riders felt would improve the event but this will cost money so not sure if We can cut our price to between 15/25 euro.

RobFowl

tunney wrote: »

What's the point in sportives?

They're like triathlons except you don't get as wet and the shorts are longer

Captain Havoc

Carlow CC Humpy Hundred, Sorrento CC Mick Byrne, Fermoy CC were events that cost me a tenner and I was well fed and watered. ROK you pay what ever. Burren CC was €30 or so but was extremely well marshalled and had loads of cake. €40 for Naas I thought was very steep.