WFFC 2008?

[goobersnuftda 0]

I believe the problem with the WFFC is the same as happens in all sorts of other businesses if you don't keep on track of things. If you are #1 you are only there until you mess up then someone else will take your place.

Our company used to go to many trade shows. Eventually the promoters got so out of hand that they wanted to more profit from fees to be on display. They started at $400/booth then over 10 years creped up to $2,500. In the end, the only people who would be on display are the squeegee mop people, investment councilors and quickie food processors. And these are trade shows that started out as commercial equipment/farm dealers. The extra profit is to come from admittance fees NOT the displays. We all stayed away and the trade show suffered and never recovered because of the type of people it then attracted.

So too is the situation for Norton Anti Virus. They lost focus and became way to huge, fat, bloated and overpriced. 120+ meg RAM for a memory resident program, are you mental !!! Along came AVG and picked up where the predecessor had failed.

When I was at the WFFC and talked to many of the vendors, the majority of them were all complaining about the increase in price to be on display. Many said they would not come next year and true to their word, many did not. Once the skydiving companies stop coming, your “boogie” is nothing more than the same planes that are at other DZ but just at the same time.

The overwhelming complaint was the WFFC attendance fee. Many people do not or can not show up for the whole 10 day event. Whether they were there for the weekend or just a handful of days, they paid the same admittance price as someone who was there from beginning to end. That kept people away as well.

I hope the WFFC can pull it togehter but it looks like other boogies like Summerfest and Skyfest have taken over.

[agent_lead 0]

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I believe the problem with the WFFC is the same as happens in all sorts of other businesses if you don't keep on track of things. If you are #1 you are only there until you mess up then someone else will take your place.

Our company used to go to many trade shows. Eventually the promoters got so out of hand that they wanted to more profit from fees to be on display. They started at $400/booth then over 10 years creped up to $2,500. In the end, the only people who would be on display are the squeegee mop people, investment councilors and quickie food processors. And these are trade shows that started out as commercial equipment/farm dealers. The extra profit is to come from admittance fees NOT the displays. We all stayed away and the trade show suffered and never recovered because of the type of people it then attracted.

So too is the situation for Norton Anti Virus. They lost focus and became way to huge, fat, bloated and overpriced. 120+ meg RAM for a memory resident program, are you mental !!! Along came AVG and picked up where the predecessor had failed.

When I was at the WFFC and talked to many of the vendors, the majority of them were all complaining about the increase in price to be on display. Many said they would not come next year and true to their word, many did not. Once the skydiving companies stop coming, your “boogie” is nothing more than the same planes that are at other DZ but just at the same time.

The overwhelming complaint was the WFFC attendance fee. Many people do not or can not show up for the whole 10 day event. Whether they were there for the weekend or just a handful of days, they paid the same admittance price as someone who was there from beginning to end. That kept people away as well.

I hope the WFFC can pull it togehter but it looks like other boogies like Summerfest and Skyfest have taken over.

well said...

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www.facebook.com/agentlead

[loudtom 5]

Come on Don!!!!!

WE REALLY NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the call Clint...
lt

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[upndownshop 0]

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WFFC has been replaced with SKYFEST which will be in Chester SC this June. I'm planning to be there

Hey Rky you beautiful Chica youmuah.... Is there a list somewhere that WE could compare the TWO boogies with each other so that ALL fun jumpers, jumpcraft owners and VENDORS can see for themselves?

I didnt make last years SKYFEST, but I had heard that the turnout was low???? Or maybe it was the SUMMERFEST in Chi~town....

DON'T get me wrong peeps, I aint trying to BASH boogies, but like I said over in BONFIRE, the WFFC has been the one boogie that SEEMS to pull jumpers in from all over the globe...

Ok, I realized I needed to edit this because I put a little too much passion into it. Skydiving, Events and Equipment have been a major part of my life. The last 8 years has buried me even deeper than ever before. This stems not only from SkyFest or my time as a Mfr. Rep, but also from my 7 years at the WFFC. The Convention was always a tough one because it usually fell within 1 week of SF. So one can only imagine doing 10 days of hard work in South Texas heat and humidity; then having to be at Quincy or Rantoul 5 days later for another hard 10-12 days, then on to the next event. The last three years of SF and the Convention were even more difficult due to several reasons. So I apologize for my previous lengthy post, my passion and dedication overrode my fingers. LOL

In a nut shell for those that commented:
The last two years SF has reached over 300 registered (no decline, which was surprising)
The last three years we pulled from 11 countries
Obtained more AC support than most if not all (this includes all the fu fu AC)
15 Mfrs attended each year since 2003 with 2007 topping out at 19, thus allowing us to offer the largest gear auction in the country

Does the amount of AC make an event bigger or better? No. Can Mfr support make a difference? Absolutely it can, in most cases. I do not believe that Couch Freaks or Lost Prairie “need” their support, due to their vibe and number of years running.

The WFFC was always a thorn, not only for myself but I think I can say this for most major Mfrs. that attended. What many people may not realize is the amount of work and money it took for the Mfrs. to attend. I read comments about the jumper registration prices being high especially for only a few days. Of course there are other complaints that accompany the WFFC from their customers. I tend to get amused when I hear these complaints from the jumpers. Not taking away from its possible validity, but more from what they don’t know. This not only applies to the Convention but for all major events, boogie or not. The only other event that makes me work as hard as the WFFC is…..of course SF. Jumpers complain of a 69.00 registration, no discount for less days, the jet didn’t show, the showers were too far away, it rained, there was construction on the main entrance to the event, I could not read the sign to get me there, my girlfriend didn’t put out. What ever. How about folks like Beth and the many volunteers that bust their ass for months, for nothing! How about the Mfr who probably spent $10,000.00 each year for this event! How about the reps who suffered under the tents protecting their products from you and the elements, or chasing their demo equipment half the night because one forgot to return it? Or for being there at 8am every day with the shop open, no matter how late you kept them out chasing their gear, or whomever?

Here is my point; why did we do it, why did we invest our time, money, heart, and sweat? Because it is the WFFC, because it was the largest skydiving event in the World for over a decade! Oh and what else did we do it for? Come on, if you know me you know the answer? YOU! Please don’t think the Mfrs made a profit each year at the convention and that’s why they were there.

The last day of the 2006 WFFC there was a meeting held that lasted for 3 hours; several key players were involved and we were assembling a committee for WFFC 2007. It was a difficult decision to be able to commit to the WFFC at the level I would expect of myself. I finally committed and changed my dates for SF and was creating additional “events” inside the Convention in hopes to drive more jumpers there. Well, unfortunately we all know what happened. As 2008 approached, SkyFest was beginning a new venue and I was uncertain when or how much I would be involved with WFFC. As luck would have it with SF and SD Carolina I am certain I can give the support the WFFC deserves, if the opportunity arises. I have contacted Don in regards to what I would be able to offer to support his event. I do believe there is hope in increasing their numbers but we are on borrowed time and every passing day only makes it worse. The WFFC needs to be “reborn” IMO.. But I am afraid that if it doesn’t happen soon, very soon, we will lose a big part of Skydiving history. If its not already too late.

Boogies like WFFC, Couch Freaks, Summerfest, LP, Dublin and SkyFest draw large crowds for different reasons. The WFFC cannot survive with only 400-450 jumpers, not without reducing amenities to the size of the other events. Don has a tough decision to make and time is very short, I wish him and the WFFC a bright future and I hope I can be a part of that.

Well I tried to reduce the post......


Chris
________________________________________ In Reply To ________________________________________
I think that event organizers that get all happy when another event shuts down because they think it means a windfall for them may be mistaken
________________________________________

I agree completly. The WFFC shutting down in 2007 may have boosted Couch Freaks and Summerfest by a small margin, but that would only be due to location.
Other events nationwide will not have a major flux in attendance from the loss of another.

[GPorter 0]

Hey J,
Good to hear you might be on board for WFFC if it happens. It's devotion and innovation like this that make events like Skyfest and WFFC possible. I agree that WFFC needs to be reborn and carried on. I think many people were heart broken to not have the convention last year. I also think that there are many people that would support WFFC this year even this late in the game. Thanks for your support and Rock on Skyfest and WFFC 2008 (Please Don!).

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I purpose "WFFC, The Reunion".

If Don does not want to do it I will. But I won't pay a dime for the privilege. There is no reason why we can't have a good sized boogie there. It will never be what it use to be. Skydiving is growing all over the world and quite frankly there are some pretty cool aircraft to jump over the pond.

[upndownshop 0]

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I purpose "WFFC, The Reunion".

If Don does not want to do it I will. But I won't pay a dime for the privilege. There is no reason why we can't have a good sized boogie there. It will never be what it use to be. Skydiving is growing all over the world and quite frankly there are some pretty cool aircraft to jump over the pond.

FYI there is reunion planned that is older, and larger dating back before the WFFC. Its a year and a half out, wanna help?

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Can I get free registration and a t-shirt?

[upndownshop 0]

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Can I get free registration and a t-shirt?

Sure you can, but the parking spot runs $70.00

[peek 20]

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WFFC has been replaced with SKYFEST ....

My dear, nothing can replace the Convention. If you think this then you must have only been there for a small number of things it provided.

Not that this is a bad thing. If so then yes, any number of events would be able to replace it for you.

[Thanatos340 1]

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Can I get free registration and a t-shirt?

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Sure you can, but the parking spot runs $70.00

Cool. Can I get the same deal? I will just ride with Spence.

[dragraceit 0]

I can’t go another year with out WFFC I’m in!
Hey Sarah I will be I the 5th tent to the left of the
Rolled over golfcart

[sunshine 2]

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Can I get free registration and a t-shirt?
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Sure you can, but the parking spot runs $70.00
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Cool. Can I get the same deal? I will just ride with Spence.

I want the deal too, i'll just sit on J's lap.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[Madison 0]

Jim Rasmussen and myself are definitely in.
We'll be camped across from the swoop pond, like every year, for the whole strech and doing CRW.
I appreciate the fact that they've always been very accommodating for CRW jumpers.
Good jumps from great aircraft. Fun camping rain or shine. Good food, friends, family and a shit ton of silly string raids from the golf cart on all drunkards alike!
That'd be great! We've been going since Quincy, so please bring it back.
And no worries J, we'll make SkyFest as well.
CRW Skies,
April Schuldt

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

[racine 0]

I've been in this sport long enough that I shouldn't still be a WFFC virgin, but school and other things got in the way. Bring it back so I can see for myself what everybody loves so much.

Packy

Think, then type.