What is Tag ̓Em Tournaments and how did it get started?
Tag ̓Em Tournaments started back in 2009 after my partner Paul Deceglie and I ran a few fundraising baseball tournaments for our son’s travel team that Paul coached. We realized that we hit on something that was untapped in our area, not only the event itself, but the idea of fundraising for leagues that have been losing registration revenue due to the increase of travel teams and fewer kids playing Little League Baseball in the Northeast. Since the inception of Tag ̓Em Tournaments we have raised in excess of $500,000 for leagues throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, adding Connecticut in 2016.
Our goal is very simple—promote the game of baseball by playing the game of baseball. Pass on the enjoyment of the game by playing the game.
How does Tag ̓Em differentiate itself from other tournament organizations?
Tag ̓Em Tournaments is the only tournament company in our area whose main goal is to create a unique fundraising tournament designed to help struggling leagues utilize what they have available—baseball fields. There is certainly competition out there that runs great baseball tournaments, but our goal goes beyond just the event itself. We pride ourselves on the level of customer service we give to our teams from the moment they express interest in one of our events. We build relationships with coaches, parents and teams to make their participation in a Tag ̓Em event something to remember for everyone. We work with teams on things to do in the area of their event even after games are over, such as assisting them with hotels, restaurants and outside activities. Our full service goes beyond just playing baseball.
What kind of league or area is a good candidate for hosting a Tag ̓Em tournament and what would they need to provide in order to host?
Any league or organization can run a Tag ̓Em fundraising tournament. No complex is too small. When we work with a new organization, their responsibility is solely supplying the fields and maintenance of those fields for the duration of the event. Building long-term relationships with these leagues is a big priority for us. Without the support of the organization and their hard work, these events would not succeed.
‘The goal is very clear, promote the game of baseball by playing the game of baseball ‘ https://t.co/Y1OX9FNoJdpic.twitter.com/DEk5PIelIL
— Tournament Guy (@TournyGuy) December 5, 2015
What kind of experience can the host league and participating teams expect at a Tag ̓Em Tournament?
When Tag ̓Em Tournaments hosts a fundraising event, we handle that event from start to finish. Our website is full-service including a designated event page for each event, which includes field location links and registration links broken down by division. We process registrations and work with coaches to receive required documentation for the event such as rosters and team insurance.
For the event itself, Tag ̓Em arranges the schedule by division and uploads scores within 10 minutes of the conclusion of every game. The host league only needs to worry about complex maintenance and their concession stands, which is another aspect of their fundraising potential. Being that they will have a captive audience with teams, players, parents, etc., coming to their complexes, we encourage leagues to supply full-service concessions and set up vendors for the weekend of the event, in which proceeds go 100% to the league.
What are hosts saying about Tag ̓Em and how does a league get involved?
Relationships that we have built through the years have been the main reason for our growth. Being that we started this company locally in Toms River, New Jersey, where we are both from, we had built-in relationships with our local leagues. As surrounding towns saw how we were running successful events, we were contacted by them to see how our unique approach to fundraising could help their league. This trend continues to bleed into new areas every single year.
It has also extended to areas beyond Ocean County, where Toms River is located. As we run these first-class events, teams participating from neighboring states have seen what we do and how Tag ̓Em Tournaments works and ask how their league can benefit from a Tag ̓Em Tournament fundraising event. We can only grow through our reputation and going into our seventh year, we feel good about our success.
Here are a few of our favorite testimonials from some of our partner organizations:
“I love this Tag ̓Em stuff, the money keeps falling from the sky!”
—Tom Nerney, President – Brick, New Jersey, American Baseball League
“Working with Tag ̓Em has been a great experience. It’s been an easy fundraiser and given our organization better exposure. Tina and Paul make it easy to run a successful tournament!!”
—Dennis Maddalena, Hamilton A’s Board Member
If your league or organization is interested in hosting a Tag ̓Em Tournament, visit www.tag-em.net for more information. Tag ̓Em can also be found on Twitter @Tag_Em.
