With a week and a half to go, the Becky Cup is shaping up nicely! I wanted to give an update.
The medals (which had a bit of a snag in the proofing process), came out great. Super great! I only got the proper amount of medals, none extra and no special “birthday girl,” medal which now I maybe regret. These puppies look awesome and I want one. Guess I’ll have to get one the old fashioned way: win it. *mic drop*
I might only win one, but I can play with them all now!
Other things? Well I finally ordered the shirts. I chatted with the manufacturer for about two days before I ordered them, making sure the proofs and materials and colors were right. I didn’t tell them I was a foreigner this time, so we didn’t have any weird English miscommunication. They must have just thought I was a weird Chinese person (or a 8-year-old kid) but it worked.
The shirt design. I won’t get the shirts until a few days before the tournament starts. Fingers crossed they come in time!
And what about the people?
Well, so far 20 of my friends have signed up. There are a few who are still waiting till the week before to make sure they can attend, so I expect about 5 more last minute bookings. Also, online a few strangers have “bookmarked” the event and I expect at least one or two of them to register.
And that’s all, or so I thought. Then I chatted with my teacher. Turns out he has been signing up people as well, directly, and he he has at least six, maybe more, who registered. I’m pretty surprised because I wasn’t expecting any strangers. This is just a fun birthday thing, and honestly it’s a bit expensive for pretty much no prestige. I know even my friends are doing it for the fun of it, not the competition part.
The bulk of the players are from my regular group, but surprisingly almost 10 strangers have registered!
The price?
It’s 130 RMB per person which is a little over $20. You might think that’s cheap, but in China, it’s a lot for just a few hours of entertainment. The shirt alone is $8 and the court fees, and professional photographer and things like water (each person gets 2 bottles included) adds up. The actual cost per person is about 133 RMB but I will just cover the extra myself. Unfortunately it’s not the kind of tournament that “scales up.” The more people come, the more the cost increases (I need more shirts, more courts, more water etc. Only the photographers fee doesn’t change.) People have been asking me if I’ll make money, but I won’t. I’ll be out money by the end, but I’m okay with it. As long as everyone has a good time.
I have a few surprises up my sleeves as well, but I’m not gonna announce it online yet. You’ll have to wait 10 days until the tournament happens to see what those are. Hee hee. But no matter how you shake it, it’s gonna be an awesome birthday.
