Just a few views on this topic. The reason why the entry fee is $1500.00 is because the reward is a guarantee of $32,000.00 in earnings ( not profit ) for the 06-07 season. Thats a small price to pay, if you make it out of Tour Trials. I think Michelle hit the nail on the head when she said that Tour Trials is basically 5 PTQ's at $300.00 a piece. The good thing is that the expenses are relativly cheap compared to 5 weeks on tour. I averaged between $650-$800 in expenses during the weeks i didnt make it out of the PTQ. The weeks that i did make it out were around $900-$1100, depending where we are in the country. The majority of guys on Tour use priceline for hotel rooms, and if you travel a lot and arent using it you are wasting a lot of money. Other than New York, i havent pricelined a room over $55.00 in over 6 years. Tour Trials expenses should be :
$1300-$1500 entry fee ( depending when you sign up )
$100-$300 gas ( depending on where you live - or air fare like Nick said )
$200-$300 hotel ( priceline for 5 nights )
$150-$250 food ( if you are smart, you can save a lot of money here )
The smart way to do it is stay at the Extended Stay. The rates are very reasonable, you get a full kitchen so you can save a lot of money on food by cooking for yourself, and find a roommate to share expenses. If you are conservative you can keep your expenses as low as possible. My first year on Tour, my rommate and myself averaged approximatley $750 per week, and were very tired of ramen noodles by the end of the year !!! Its not glamorous by any means, but better than blowing $1200-$1300 per week for sure. As far as travel goes, unless you are coming from Nicks neck of the woods ( Cali ) i reccommend driving so you can travel with more equipment. That saves on shipping your bowling balls and you arent limited on how many you can take with you. Believe me at Tour Trials you will need everything you have !
As far as the taxes part, i keep a spreadsheet on my laptop to keep track of all of my expenses. I break them down into several catagories such as :
Entry Fee
Hotel
Gas
Food
Equipment
Clothing
Air Fares
Car Rental
Laundry
Entertainment
Supplies / Groceries
Misc
All you have to do is put your total expenses down, but you will need to save receipts and expense sheets in case you are ever audited. A little word of caution though, the government doesnt like it when you claim a loss for 3 straight years so unless you bowl enough to offset your expenses, dont waste your time here.
My feeling on the whole Exempt Tour / Tour Trials concept is very mixed. I love the idea of the Exmept Tour, just not the number of 64. It needs to be 80 or 96 to be effective and efficient. 80 to me is perfect because it would allow you to have 5 16 man brackets in an all match play format and a 5 man tv show ( or qualifying, cut to 40 and 5 8 man brackets ). 96 would be workable also, just more spots to be paid. The reason the PBA hasnt increased the field size yet is the simple fact of money. The PBA really wants all of the exempt players to make a profit every week and until the sponsor money starts rolling in at a higher rate, that isnt feasible. Sooner or later we will get there, just not this season. The PBA is the pinnacle of the sport and should be the aspiration of all younger players, but if the number stays at 64 i just dont think its reachable for enough people. Until the top stars start retiring, i dont see a lot of "easy" spots opening up. As far as the tour trials, regionals and PTQs go there are a lot of different way things could go. I personally dont like the Tour Trials concept at all. Its a 1 week crapshoot for a job last last the entire season. Someone gets hot for a week ( 4 of the patterns play close enough on some surfaces ) and they get to ride 1 weeks worth of work into a seasons worth of profits. Meanwhile you have guys bowling 25-35 regionals a year and 20 PTQs / majors to earn their job. I just dont think that its fair to give 9 or 10 guys a job based on 1 weeks worth of work. The smarter thing to do in my opinion is to give the top 2 point leaders in each region, and at least the 2 top point leaders in the PTQ race exemptions. Those are the guys that have proven they are willing to support the PBA. There have been several guys the last couple of years that have earned exemptions through tour trials that are either foreign players ( that didnt have to join beforehand by the way ) or guys that rarley bowl regionals and support the PBA.
Again these are just my opinions so take them for what they are worth. My feeling is the organization should support the members that truly support the PBA.
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Bowl up a Storm,
Jeff Carter
www.stormbowling.comwww.jeffcarterbowling.com ( coming soon )
Edited on 5/25/2006 0:26 AM
