Event Pre-Reg... what to do?

[twistedwankel]

3 weeks until the event, and it's full! @#$%!

So this makes me think more about it. Since both venues now have the necessary firm caps:

Is there anyway to open registration the first one or two weeks to people with at least 2 events in the last 6 months and the last two weeks to "anyone with a license"?

Kind of like being "on the list" to get into the nite club or having to wait. Unless of course this becomes an accounting nightmare for the movers and shakers.

Just hate to see someone actually in a class points race get left out.

[Loren]

We've been talking about doing something like that, Doug. It's getting to the point that we may have to.

[buddy bodean]

Kind of like being "on the list" to get into the nite club or having to wait. Unless of course this becomes an accounting nightmare for the movers and shakers.

...can we have a secret handshake too?

[garage west]

...can we have a secret handshake too?

Hehe

We can use the Evans family greeting -->

[Loren]

Wouldn't it be ironic if... the Porsche, BMW and Corvette clubs will allow anyone to register for their events... but to get into a FAST event, you have to be a member?

I'd hate to have to do that. But, on the other hand, like Doug, I'd hate to have our regulars not be able to register because we allowed a bunch of first-timers to register within the first week of registration.

Just to put a little factual info into the discussion, I dug this up a couple weeks ago when Steve and I were discussing:
September event @SPC: 13 days to 65 entries.
October event @BVL: 17 days to 60 entries.
November event @SPC: 15 days to 65 entries.
December event @BVL: 16 days to 60 entries.
January event @BVL: 7 days to 60 entries.
February event @SPC: 10 days to limit of 48. (members only)
March event @SPC: 6 days to 60 entries.

We usually pick up a few new "regulars" from our Novice School, so I don't expect this situation to get any better without some sort of intervention.

What to do?

[Jamie]

You're looking at the wrong end. We define membership as anyone who's done four events in the last year, and by your own count, we had 58 members last month. Just from looking at names, at least half probably make 8-10 events. It's not the first-timers or even the "almost members" filling the ranks...it's the regulars.

I think the answer to this is to do nothing. There's no mystery in getting into an event: sign up within a week of registration opening. The regulars have an advantage in that respect, because they know where the schedule's posted, and they know when registration opens. The window, at this point, is just not that tight...no one's forced to hover over their keyboard the night registration opens. For those who are uncertain about their schedules, we offer the "out" of being able to withdraw and gain an event credit, and we've historically been very generous about issuing those even for last-minute withdrawls when it comes to work and other real-life conflicts. If we offer "early registration" or some other restricted advantage for members, we'll still have people missing it because they weren't paying attention to the date.

Maybe we should give every member a "membership card": a FAST refrigerator magnet with the registration and event dates.

[Loren]

That is a valid opinion, Jamie. And Steve isn't too far from feeling that way, I think.

I'm on the fence, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Personally, I have no trouble remembering to register for our events 30 days prior... but, I have no life and I eat, sleep and breath FAST. I recognize that some people are busier than I am with family, work, school, or some combination of all of that. They might think about it on Friday, and then registration opens on Saturday... and they're busy with the fam and work until Thursday. What we're seeing is that registration is on a trend to very likely be FULL within those 6 days.

And maybe we don't need do anything about it. Maybe people will adapt to this situation and the problem will take care of itself.

But, I think we should definitely discuss it. So, if anyone has an opinion on the matter... let's hear it.

[Rosko]

I missed registration, as I have a couple of times before. And yes, it is definitely because of so much going on, three small kids, wife, work, blah, blah, blah. But everyone has stuff happening in their lives. The onus is on me, and other people like me, to remember registration.

I think when people say, "I don't have time for X", it's because X is not a priority to them. FAST and autocross is a priority to me, so I'll adjust - maybe put a reminder on my phone or something.

Anyway, as one person affected by this subject, I sure appreciate the FAST movers and shakers discussing it. Thanks for bringing it up, Doug. It's a nice thought, but it could lead to bad things for the club.

[Jeremy]

Raise the caps, get less runs or get more efficient at running events and maintain the same number of runs.

[Cpt_Rum-bo]

I agree with lives getting in the way of what's important , but I'm sure people forget to add the reminder to remind them about registering for the event. So registration opens and fills up before you remember to do it. How about sending emails out to the "members" at appropriate intervals reminding them to register. That way, the important stuff won't get missed because life got in the way.

[buddy bodean]

I agree with Jeremy (I am sure that's a first).

Forget the volunteer chairs and have a dedicated professional paid(?) team who run the event every month. The Corvette club does it like that. Not saying it is the save-all-be-all system, but it seems to work. They still have work assignments for the course workers.

Our current Registration seems to run pretty smoothly 'cause you have a dedicated person doing it every month.

You can still have guest course designers that submit course plans for approval.

[Loren]

I hear ya, Jeremy.

Here's my take on that.
1. We don't want less than a pretty consistent 5-6 runs. We think that's fun. (see "F in FAST")
2. More efficient running takes a lot of work to do consistently. And when you fail at it, event QUALITY takes a nosedive. (you either end up with way less runs, or running really late, or otherwise making folks unhappy) We pride ourselves on running high-quality events, and doing so with minimal effort so that it's fun for everyone... including those of us who organize the events. There's something to be said for the almost "cruise control" nature of our events. Easy is good.
3. We can't raise our cap at Brooksville, they won't allow it.

What's truly interesting is that I'm learning that it's not just our club that's seeing increases in numbers. In spite of the economy, it seems that more and more people are learning about autocross via the internet and coming out to give it a try. There were well over 50 drivers at the PCA event last weekend... 10-12 of them were from FAST. Another 10-12 were newbs. Clubs that have traditionally seen 25-30 entries as a "good turnout" are pretty regularly seeing at least 10-20 more drivers these days.

[Loren]

I agree with lives getting in the way of what's important , but I'm sure people forget to add the reminder to remind them about registering for the event. So registration opens and fills up before you remember to do it. How about sending emails out to the "members" at appropriate intervals reminding them to register. That way, the important stuff won't get missed because life got in the way.

I'll look into this. I can probably add something to the website that will allow people to subscribe to an email reminder system. An opt-in kind of thing. I like it. This could very well be all that we really need to do at this point.

[Loren]

Forget the volunteer chairs and have a dedicated professional paid(?) team who run the event every month. The Corvette club does it like that. Not saying it is the save-all-be-all system, but it seems to work. They still have work assignments for the course workers.

Not sure about Corvette club, but I know that Gulfcoast works that way. They sort of have "employees". And it works for them. When you get burned out and want out, you open your position and they find someone else to do it.

It could be done, but to be able to pay anyone anything worthwhile (even just $100/event, which would be less than $10/hour), we'd have to raise our entry fees by $5 or more. The club does okay now, but we all like having money to spend on fixing equipment, buying new equipment, and generally being one of the best-equipped clubs in the area. I wouldn't want to take away from that just to allow budget to pay some "permanent staff".

Buuuut...

What does this really have to do with the issue at hand? We're talking about pre-reg limits and the possibility of "regulars" being bumped by first-timers. Who's running the show is not much of a factor there.

[Jeremy]

I agree with Jeremy (I am sure that's a first).

*high-five*

I don't agree with the rest of your post though. I have learned to like the rotating positions every event.
Although I would have said the same thing as you a few years ago.


Loren:What does this really have to do with the issue at hand?

I think he is saying efficiency could be increased with a permanent staff.

[Loren]

Loren:What does this really have to do with the issue at hand?

I think he is saying efficiency could be increased with a permanent staff.

Oooh, I get it now.

Not really looking to change the world here, guys. Just want to be sure we're adequately caring for that group of people we call members.

[nc4me]

I missed registration, as I have a couple of times before. And yes, it is definitely because of so much going on, three small kids, wife, work, blah, blah, blah. But everyone has stuff happening in their lives. The onus is on me, and other people like me, to remember registration.

I think when people say, "I don't have time for X", it's because X is not a priority to them. FAST and autocross is a priority to me, so I'll adjust - maybe put a reminder on my phone or something.

Anyway, as one person affected by this subject, I sure appreciate the FAST movers and shakers discussing it. Thanks for bringing it up, Doug. It's a nice thought, but it could lead to bad things for the club.

I agree with Chuck 100%. The onus is on the "members" to register. That being said...

I also agree with Andrew. I think an email reminder to people that want to opt in for it would solve most of this.

I do not think we should cut the amount of runs and therefore do not agree with Jeremy. He's just wrong on this part and I completely agree with Lorens response.

[Loren]

Jeremy was just tossing out an idea. You have to understand his "autocross should be available to the masses" philosophy. He's like to see us have no limits and allow all comers. Which would be nice to be able to do, but most of us like our current program the way it is.

[twistedwankel]

Raise the caps, get less runs or get more efficient at running events and maintain the same number of runs.

Be interesting to see how many people still show up at SPC with 3 runs and stay to work their shift? No lunch break either other than their "rest" period. NOT.

Been there for years (up north in limited season with established fun private club) with simply a 9am deadline and had to send people home who didn't set their alarms. Most folks would pay $20/yr membership fee to save $5/event. 30% didn't care and showed up at the last minute depending on the weather.

Still had over 100-120 entrants to do a 45 second course once per month with no lunch or water provided. The SCCA in the same town had trouble getting 60 people to show up as they had the "stigma" of snobs + needed a big fee to enter without card and membership fees were $45/year back then not $85. So SCCA is dead on Suncoast now because of the $85 fee and $40 for non-members AND they let race rubber and 'bone stock' rule their classes (and the people who did all the work got burned out). Hmmmmm. They have a PAX class in 2012 but NO west coast org and who wants to run in a PAX class with street tires for $85 and only get 4 runs with fun runs in the pm? No one. I'll run PAC or BMW and do that straight up AND get a nice lunch.

Let all that show up compete if they register by 9am. Divide the time by the number of competitors = 3-4 runs MAX.

If you can live with only 3-4 runs then this is what will continue in SPC. Brooksville will still have the issue of 65 drivers and 10 guests. Delete guests? Pay for a cop or two? Delete the "World Famous Fast Lunch"?

Remember when Steve offered an "autocross credit" when it was raining and bitter cold last year and the people overwhelmingly voted to freeze their asses off and continue the event in the rain? It defies logic.

People really like FAST. They like the people who run it. They like the lunch. They like the restrooms and the shade with fans. They bring their friends and family there. Brooksville is legend to people on the East coast. "You can run your tires to the cord with so many runs on that concrete."

FAST is a legend in it's own time because of the people who run it.

SCCA is in limbo right now because they didn't provide shit for their members, cost a bomb, provided nothing and never encouraged young competitors to get involved in the day to day operations. :yawn:

I will give a "Booty Call" when I'm going somewhere from here on.

[Jamie]

Our current Registration seems to run pretty smoothly 'cause you have a dedicated person doing it every month.

The current registration runs pretty smoothly because it's largely automated through MAE. The events are programmed in advance (we programmed the whole year in) and registration opens automatically. Unfortunately, the mass e-mail function is manual, and although you can add events to your personal calendar, I'm not sure it reminds you when registration opens. I'll test that out, though -- just dumped the year's events to my calendar, and will find out if I get a notification for April next week.