Three Alaska sports clubs that are owed money by Count Me In have filed a petition to force the Bellevue online registration company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, Campfire USA Alaska Council and Matanuska Soccer Club -- which together say they are owed $174,401 -- filed the involuntary bankruptcy petition Dec. 22.

They are among some 220 clubs and organizations across the country that are owed about $5 million in outstanding online registration fees, money that Count Me In Chief Executive Terry Drayton said in an exclusive interview today with TechFlash that he is working hard to repay.

Drayton -- who admitted today that Count Me In did not keep financial statements until about seven months ago -- was unaware of the involuntary petition at the time of today's interview, said company spokesman Mark Firmani. Drayton was made aware of the filing when press reports appeared this evening in Connecticut news outlets. Firmani said the company had not been served with the court documents, which can be found here. (PDF)

During the interview, Drayton did address the possibility of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the 48-year-old tech executive said he would pursue that only as a last resort.

"Bankruptcy is always an option. If you look at it, and there are lots of people who counsel it, it would be the easy way out is to basically put the Count Me In Corporation into bankruptcy," he said. "And if we do that, though, what we guarantee is that all of those clients aren't going to get paid. For me, it is the last option. The only way we will do that is if people continue to file so many lawsuits that we couldn't afford to defend them.... And so that is why when we talk to clients, we go: 'please save your money. I know you are mad at us, but if you file a lawsuit all you are doing is reducing the likelihood that you will get paid.' ... If a whole bunch of people sue, we will have to Chapter 11 it and then they will get nothing. That doesn't make any sense at all."

Chapter 11 bankruptcy lets a business reorganize and continue operations, while Chapter 7 generally involves liquidating assets.

The involuntary Chapter 7 petition was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, with the case assigned to Samuel Steiner. The Nordic Skiiing Association is represented by Peter Slinn of Stoel Rives.