Niall Fitzgerald MiLP Tournament Summary (6/18)

Hey guys,

 

Don’t know everyone’s email on the SBSE thread but played in my first MiLP event this weekend & so just sharing thoughts & observations. First & foremost, despite missing a key player (Joey) Snake Eyes took the gold in the DUPR 18 Bracket. 

 

General:

  • Held at a public tennis & pickleball facility in Camden, SC (2 hours outside Charleston). c.100 players total in the event. 14,16 & 18 DUPR brackets. 
  • Only one ‘vendor’ there (GABA - a paddle company, giving away free paddles & offering 40% commission for ambassadors- which has to be their entire profit margin). 
  • Most teams travelled c.2 hours to play. 
  • Zero advertising for MLP or any other company. 
  • $60 entry fee per player - not sure the splits of where the $6k goes (DUPR, tourn directors, facility etc)

Positives:

  • Everyone loved the format (including those who complained about rally scoring in the week(s) leading up).
  • The DUPR rep in SC is doing a great job across the state building a community & tournament schedule. Assume (hope) you have similar guys all over the country. 2 other guys ran the event on the day, didn’t catch their names, but they ran the event well (think they were coaches at the club)
  • Having general conversations with players/teams there, they would be/are willing to travel (flights/hotels etc) for MiLP events. Older/retired folk were already planning next event, renting houses, building vacation around it etc.

Opportunities:

  • Generally speaking nobody was aware/cared about the MLP Event (San Clemente) running at the same time. Realise 100 people isn’t going to make or break your viewership numbers, but imagine playing an amateur tennis or golf tournament while the masters or Wimbledon is on & nobody watching/talking/caring about it etc. Sort of like working at Northwestern Mutual and not shaking down your in-laws. ‘Players tent’ with MLP on TVs at a minimum. 
  • Nobody in attendance that wasn’t playing. Could have easily doubled or tripled attendance with food trucks, music, beer tents - advertising locally, players brining spouses/families etc. I see that as a miss of adding MLP fans (previous bullet). 
  • Couple of teams there were videoing their matches, likely for Instagram or something. No videos taken by MiLP or DUPR. 
  • No MiLP or MLP branding at the event - no information about next event etc 
  • As for DUPR (The App & Rating) - I’ve a long list but I’ll spare you for now. 

General feeling after the tournament - the product (MiLP) is a good one, but raw. Needs direction, purpose & alignment with MLP. Clearly how the MiLP will run is up in the air. However, it seems to me that controlling/managing these ‘satellite/local’ tournaments & utilizing them as feeders for the bigger MiLP events would create a real path to profitability. I’m guessing that is where the draft idea came from (ie. you play X number of tournaments in the year you are eligible for the draft). Alternatively, I see a model where players become eligible for their state (or larger geographic area) teams to compete in the bigger MiLP events. Playing devils advocate - I don’t yet fully understand how us recruiting players to play for SBSE a few times a year turns into a business. 

 

Niall