On Sunday of this week, 16 August 2009, WMF Delegates Conference will decide the budget of years 2010–2011. Here I make a last-minute effort to explain some most important details, which many delegates will be uncertain about, what to decide and why.
WMF needs new member countries, but it also needs to keep the existing 40 member countries alive and interested, so that they will not die off. How will WMF budget 2010–2011 affect the existing 40 member countries of WMF?
Executive Committee has proposed an expensive budget, which would set new economical burdens on the member countries of WMF. Higher membership fees, smaller shares of sponsorship money, and also anti-doping costs might be paid by member countries.
I took it as a starting point in my own budget proposal, that no new economical burdens should be set on WMF member countries. I want to ensure that the existing 40 member countries will have economical chances to stay actively involved in minigolf sport, both nationally and internationally.
The total sum of the budget is an important detail to think about: What will happen to small and inactive minigolf countries (like Moldova, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Singapore etc.) if WMF raises the membership fees and reduces the sponsorhip shares of member countries?
All sponsors of WMF are companies that sell minigolf balls or minigolf courses. How will the elections and budget discussion affect the interests of WMF sponsors?
Nobody wants to play beton, eternite or felt minigolf with a golf ball. Absolutely nobody. Minigolf ball companies have nothing to worry about on the European market. I want to promote minigolf sport also in Spain and Ireland during the year 2010. These economically strong countries would certainly be integrated in the European style of minigolf, as they visit European Championships and other European tournaments.
On other continents the American style of adventure golf has the best potential to grow to new countries. It is not an economical threat to WMF, if we collect 2 or 3 EUR tax per year from adventure golf players. The license of USPMGA is 40 USD, so this would mean 10% increase in their yearly player license. Not a big problem to anyone, and everyone understands that the money goes to development of our sport.
When countries outside of Europe have some active competition players, European minigolf companies can enter the market by installing European style minigolf courses in these new countries. Nobody will use a golf ball on European style minigolf courses. The existence of European style courses automatically creates a market for special minigolf balls too, if the country has active players who play competitions.
It is a typical situation of risk investment: you build a beton or felt course, and then you expect revenues for your investment. If the investment does not pay off, then you must find some other product that sells better. Simple market economy.
19,000 EUR per year to bring 20 new countries to WMF. Is this a realistic project?
Life will teach, what is realistic and what is not. 19,000 EUR per year will certainly bring more new interested minigolf players than 0 EUR per year.
If new minigolf countries will not become interested to play minigolf competitions with the limited sums that are budgeted for the project, it is possible to cancel the 4,000 EUR travel budget of tournament leaders to three continental championships. These tournaments can be arranged independently by WMF member countries and registrars (Brazil, Australia, Nigeria), without a babysitter travelling from Europe. This saved 4,000 EUR could be used for money prizes awarded in the planned tournaments, if it seems to be necessary for generating enough public interest in the tournaments. Money prizes like 150 EUR - 100 EUR - 50 EUR are interesting pocket money in any country, and very big sums in poor countries.
There will always be negative skeptics, who don't believe that this or that project will work. Looking at the purposes for which Executive Committee planned to invest money, I am sure that this proposed global growth project would produce better results than the purposes proposed by Executive Committee.
Is it really possible for WMF committees to make good decisions by e-mail, without travelling to personal meetings?
Yes, I am 100% sure of that. Minimizing the travel budget would not cause any visible effect in minigolf sport or in the quality of WMF decisions.