May 10, 2003 Hello Race Directors, The second edition contains a piece written by my partner (Dave Camire) on a subject called "Don't Let Your Event Go Down the Hopper". It will help you to determine the number of portable toilets you need for your event and how to use them effectively. There is an article by Susan Podolske (Groton Road Race Co-director) concerning her experiences with on-line registration. It is a must-read. In this edition I will elaborate on one of the Internet related tips presented in the initial newsletter. Tips on the design and components of your event page Remember I suggested you need a unique web address (url) such as www.youreventname.com. Try to keep the name as short as possible so that folks will remember it easily. I have used a company called http://www.spotdomains.com to find a unique name, register it, and host the event page all for a reasonable fee. There are many others with similar capabilities. When laying out your page, try to use a design that is unique and recognizable as being associated with your event or town. We will elaborate on this more in later issues. The home page is the most important page and should contain the following elements (at a minimum):
An example of the major pages:
Going All The Way…An On Line Registration Success Story. By Susan Podolske Every race director struggles with the best way to register participants for their event with the least amount of volunteer time and effort. At the same time, we all need to reach the maximum number of potential runners with the least expense. In recent years, one of the most effective tools for reducing race expenses and increasing participation has been the use of on-line race registration. The days of printing and distributing thousands of entry-forms could be nearing an end, if the experiences of the 12th Annual Groton (MA) Road Race are any indicator. The Groton Road Race is a community event presented by the Squannacook River Runners that draws runners from a wide area. Strongly supported by the town, over 50% of runners are Groton residents. We have 4 races, including a Tot's Trot, 2K, 5K and 10K. Only the 5K and 10K are scored (Winning Time chip system) and both races offer prize money and gift certificate awards to top age group finishers. Over 400 kids under age 7 run in the Tot's Trot and our total entry field averages 2400+ runners. As we began organizing our race in the fall of 2002, we looked at our history with on-line registration and decided it was time to save the expense of printing and mailing 25,000 entry forms. The volunteer hours we would normally spend distributing, following up on form placements and data entry were put to better use. With 54% of our participants using on-line registration last year, it seemed clear the runners were willing and able to use the technology. Our trust in the integrity of the system offered by Sign Me Up Sports (Afficient Corp) was founded on 3 years of stellar service. With the savings from printing and postage costs, we were able to absorb the transaction fee that most races pass on to the runner, as well as make the entry fee for on-line entries $1-$2 less than mail in entry fees. These incentives pushed our on-line registration rate to 80%, just as we had anticipated. The remaining 20% of entries were primarily entry forms that were printed from our web site, www.grotonroadrace.com. Initially, we relied on the bulk email option included with the Sign Me Up Sports tools to contact previous years' participants. Announcing the opening of registration January 1, we had a terrific early response. After the first month, there was a dramatic slow down in entries. A follow-up postcard at the end of February with our web address provided the answer, and in retrospect is a step we should have taken earlier. As in any situation where an event makes dramatic changes, whether it's a new racecourse, event distance or date, a drop in entries is to be expected. When we discontinued race day registration several years ago, we experienced a predictable drop in participation, however, just one year later runner numbers were as high as ever. Based on conversations with other race directors, the spring of 2003 has not been great for road racing in the northeast. Our long, hard winter, the poor economy and the conflict in the Middle East have all contributed to lower participation numbers in many events with strong numbers in the past. Given all of these factors, we are very pleased with the results and will definitely continue into the future without the expense and effort of paper form distribution. Don't Let Your Event Go Down the Hopper The following except is from Don Allison's account of the start of this year's Boston Marathon. "As the mass of runners made their way to their respective starting corrals, many fled from the street onto the front lawns, back lawns, bushes, and gardens of the homes along Grove Street, with one, single urgent purpose: to relieve themselves. Men and women together, many not even making even the slightest attempt to seek privacy, overran the property." My own observation was that there were more portable bathrooms in Hopkinton that morning then I have ever seen assembled in one location. Regardless the lines were still very long. How does a race plan for adequate faculties without breaking the budget? I know first hand how difficult this question is to answer. Last year while planning a major race I used the rule of one portable bathroom per 100 runners. I have used this equation for years and never experienced a problem. Unfortunately 20 portable toilets for 1900 runners were not adequate. At a cost of $125 per rental it cost the race $1.31 for each runner to relieve themselves. Here is what I learned from my experience.
FeedbackWe invite you to send feeback to us. We are looking at sharing some of your experience, advice and humorous moments with the rest of the race directors. We will also send a Cool Running hat every month to the most interesting submittal. Please be brief with your comments and send them to us for consideration.Advertisement At Cool Running we have formed a relationship with a company called MyPremiumStore (MPS). The purpose of the relationship is to offer you (at excellent prices) the opportunity to purchase in bulk, products you can use at your event and in your club. The products include clothing, bags, accessories and giveaways.
This months spacial feature is the wind shirt as seen here. It was used recently used at the Groton Road Race by all the race committee, as prizes to the award winners and sold to the participants. These products can have the logo of your club or the graphic from your event or have no logo at all. MPS will help you setup your own store within the MPS virtual mall and give it the look and feel of your own web site. They can also assist with graphic design. For more information check them out. Parting Words Free calendar listing. Include your event in the Web's most respected and comprehensive calendar of running events. Submit your race now. Free race results listing. Post your race results on Cool Running. Submit your race results now. Online advertising. Promote your event with one of our event advertising packages, each carefully tailored for events of specific sizes and needs. Review our event promotion packages. Paid link. Include your website or race application page on our race applications page for a modest fee. Contact us for rates and information. Your own mini- website. Build your own web page and registration form in minutes with Cool Running's easy-to-use, automated event builder. Your site gets linked in the event calendar and on our race applications page. Try this affordable service now. Online race registration. Along with our partners at Sign Me Up Sports, we can help you manage your race registration more easily and more efficiently by moving the process online. Contact us for rates and information. Custom Web design. Engage our designers to build your page from scratch, tapping our years of experience with effective online event promotion. Contact us for rates and information. Consulting. Our management team has lots of experience with successful race management. Let us help you navigate everything from scoring to insurance to promotion to merchandise. Contact us for rates and information. To subscribe to the newsletter: Copyright 2003, Cool Sports, Inc. All rights reserved. |
