I am an accountant by trade and often wonder about that the income statement of a race would look like. I feel like the registration fees for races in my area have really gone up in the past few years. What is the cause of this? and what percentages of the race fees go to what expenses? I wonder if some of the race directors could provide a little insight into this. I feel like this is applicable to tri’s, runs, crits, and other types of races.
I am wondering that the catagories of expenses are, and a ball park that is applied to each. I know every race is different, but I would just like an idea.
For example, some of the sprint distance Tri’s in my area cost $70 or more for a race that will take 1.5 hours. Where do these fees go? Some categories may include:
-Security
-Equipment rental
-Insurance
-Charity
-Swim cap and T-Shirts
-Road Closures
-Waste Disposal
-Other things that I am missing?
I am on my second year of organizing a 10k/5k for a charity for a client. I am the race director. My take on why race fees are going up. Insurance, more SWAG (Finisher Medals, Better Shirts). The runner fees cover the cost. Sponsorships is where we make money for a charity. I do this as a volunteer. Our first year we had 340 runners and raised 10k, the second year we had 550 runners and net 28k. Keep in mind I own a marketing company and did everything out of my company for free. The first year we would have lost money without $15k in sponsorships. The second year was $24k in sponsorship. The finisher medals cost us $6 a piece, timing cost us $3/runner, shirts are $11 a piece. Police presence was $2/runner. Insurance was $1.25/runner. Generator rental. All the other expenses, it adds up. I realize this is a 5k/10k run. We are priced at $35/$40 for early registrants. The other hard variable is people tend to register for this kind of race at the last minute. Finisher medals have to be ordered 8 weeks out. The nice cast ones all come from China.
I wish I could find a sprint for $70, most are ~$120+ here.
I know promoters of a variety of races, they are not making much/ any money generally.
Obstacle and mud racing seem to be doing pretty well.
Having been involved with putting on races over the last 10 years, I’ve seen costs increase in the following categories:
InsuranceT-shirts/swagFood for the finish lineFuel - seems to affect everythingPayroll - public service, permits, police/safety, etc
It only seems natural that the prices of races go up with all the increases to input costs to host an event. Then add in the fact that many races are now run for profit where for many decades they were primarily fundraising events for local charities, and the rising costs can be attributed to paying salaries and rewarding investors. Ironman has always seemed ungodly expensive despite some serious shortcomings with regard to event staffing and safety (Ironman Utah in 2002 comes to mind), but they control that market - it’s pretty much the only game in town for that level of triathlon.
Ultimately, it is the race director’s responsibility to keep the costs down where they can or exceed your expectations with a high quality event. Adding expensive registration processing to an already expensive registration fee only seems to be salt in the wound so at a minimum RD’s should seek out affordable registration options if it’s not done in house.
Here’s a response I gave to an earlier thread asking about cancelled races and refunds and how much RDs make out of a cancelled race (short answer: not much).
I’m RD for a long course race our club puts on. Not for profit. The only people getting paid are suppliers and contractors. All our figures are available to club members so I’m not giving away any state secrets.
Our approx costs are $100,000. We get around 400 entries at just under $200 each. The shortfall is made up from sponsorship and grants from local and state government. Our club made a small profit from last year’s race which goes back into providing equipment and programs for the club.
There are very few costs that would not be borne if the race was cancelled at the last minute (ie weather event). We spent $14,000 on shirts which are ordered 2 months before the event when you have about 30% of your entries in. Medals were another $7,000, Caps $7,000, Equipment hire (bike racks, crowd barriers etc) $5,000, timing $6,000, road closures $6,000, first aid $1,500, coke, watermelon, ice $2,000. 6% of all entry fees to Active. All of these costs and more still have to be paid.
Doesn’t leave much for refunds, does it? Even if you offer credits on next year’s race, all of those costs I mentioned are recurring so you would be massively eating into the following year’s budget if you offered free or discounted entry to affected competitors.
If putting on events was about making money, why are most race directors not driving around in flash cars and living in mansions?
The best way to find out the true cost, and returns, from putting on an event is to put one one yourself. We’ve always said we’re a revenue stream for 3rd party suppliers. Their the ones who appear to be making the money.
And of course, no one makes you enter any event more than once. If the RD is doing a good job, and most do, then you will see the value in the event fee and come back a second time. For me, it’s not just about putting on an event, it’s about making the whole experience a great one. It’s not about the money, it’s about ensuring the entrants have a real good event experience from go to whoa.