Cage - I love you and your site but I do disagree with this policy, I appreciate you are making a living and this is a business but the tryout dates are the single most important info we can get from this site and it seems like there should be some way of allowing it as part of a discussion without allowing full fledged advertising.
Information is what drives most of us to this awesome site
There are ways to get tryout information into the community without advertising.
- Clubs that advertise free tryouts can post here on BOTC. See the Hitmen tryouts on the Tryouts Forum. (You are aware that this is how the True Blue club started, right?) Clubs that do NOT charge the community are free for you to see. So while you disagree with the policy, ask yourself who is advocating for the lacrosse community at that point? You will quickly see that BOTC is supporting the community.
- Search all of the clubs on the right side of our display manually and pull information that suits your needs. Ironically, if you go to before November 2010 when we launched, most readers would not have had a clue on their options. Furthermore, second and third grade developmental programs have begun to emerge thanks to BOTC placements.
Leverage the BOTC Tryout Index to expand your search conveniently. The Index provides a view of the clubs by dates, genders, and age groups.
Whether you agree or disagree does not matter - you are anonymous and it is our advertisers who have stepped up to the plate to support the forum. You hit the nail on the head when you said that BOTC is a business - the clubs are a business also. Why is BOTC expected to provide free services when the clubs themselves do not? Are you pressuring your local club to lower tryout fees?
Write me a private note at cagesage@backofthecage.com and we can discuss your objections further.
