EOD - subject to map availability - arrrh!

[Sloop]

MDOC have been doing print-on-the-day for several years.

Trying to print all the maps that way is not too clever, as one-off speeds are slow and if there are serious issues you have no event.

However, using an A4 laser for top-ups is very sensible and effective, the main drawbacks being the weight of the printer and its need for a reasonable environment - so this isn't always feasible. And of course, care with colour tables, etc, is needed if a different printer did the pre-printed maps, else the playing field may not be entirely level.

[Tim]

Alternative solution 2 - I'll buy the kid's maps in advance - either for the base cost of the map or for the difference in the cost of pre-entry and EOD - and I'll pay a top up entry fee if they run. I risk less, organisers are not out of pocket for the unused map.

Pre-entry £4 and the risk I loose £4
EOD £5 and the risk we travel and there is no map and no run
Map booking fee £1 + £4 EOD top up fee = £5 but I only risk £1 but guarantee their run

[ryeland of doom]

As a somewhat unfit and very injury prone person, I have lost a lot of money on pre entries. If the legs don't get me the colds will. I tend to make only 50% of the events that I enter.

I was always happy to preenter the bigger events (SOL etc) but have so far resisted what used to be the colour coded events. While paying a bit extra is fair and no problem, an extra £5 will be a stopper.

The increase in preentry requirements is already a factor in quite a strong cutback in my orienteering activity. In my case the odds are against me when gambling entry fees.

[denbydale]

Alternative solution 2 - I'll buy the kid's maps in advance - either for the base cost of the map or for the difference in the cost of pre-entry and EOD - and I'll pay a top up entry fee if they run. I risk less, organisers are not out of pocket for the unused map.

Pre-entry £4 and the risk I loose £4
EOD £5 and the risk we travel and there is no map and no run
Map booking fee £1 + £4 EOD top up fee = £5 but I only risk £1 but guarantee their run

Sounds like a sensible solution

[plain lazy]

Alternative (Working) Solution 3
Up in the North East (of Scotland) we have been using an Early Email Entry system where anyone wanting to pre-book a map can do so by emailing their details (Names, courses, age classes, BO number etc) to a specific email address. These are logged, the number of maps allocated in advance, but no money changes hands until the event.

If the weather is poor, and you don't show up, no big deal, there are more spare maps for EOD folk. Your map is kept reserved until 12noon and then offered out to any EOD folk if you fail to show.

The system lets the organiser know how many folk to expect in advance, the planner and controller know how many maps to print (they always add extra to this number) and the competitor knows he/she can rock up to the event to run their course and just pay on the day.

It just works.

[mikey]

CHIG do the same thing and it seems to work really well.

[Snail]

What is really annoying is when clubs advertise a closing date, and "EOD - subject to map availability", but then continue to process pre-entries after the closing date - possibly openly but sometimes without advertising that they do that - so using up the excess maps.

Then even if you are first in the queue for EOD registration you are told: "Sorry, no maps left". (And we can't be bothered to ask competitors for maps back...)

It might just be acceptable if the club made it clear what it is doing - so that people can decide not to waste their time travelling.

[Sunlit Forres]

When I'm doing entries for my club, I order the maps based on the number of pre-entries at the official closing date, the number of entries at previous events and any local 'intelligence'.
Sometimes (depending on my other commitments) I will extend pre-entries up to a limit of how many maps there are for each course. I always order plenty spare maps for W/Y/O but tend to cut it much finer with the more technical courses on the premise that those who enter them are more experienced and know the risk of not pre-entering. The date/time I finally close entries is always equal to, or later than, the published time, and depends on what else I have on (ie when I can find the time to do all the labelling of EMIT brikkes, allocate start times etc etc). I will always leave this as late as possible.

I then put up a list on the web of how many maps are remaining for each course once entries have finally closed. This is so that people can make an informed judgement about whether it's worth coming for an EOD at the last minute.

The problem then is that some people e-mail asking for late entries which causes significant extra work. I'm a soft touch and accommodate them (which then means going in and amending the "maps remaining" tote). Maybe I shouldn't.

The message is to always put yourself in the organiser's shoes when asking for things outside the published entries criteria. A token of appreciation when you arrive at the event never does any harm (it happened to me once, and it's great for morale!).

[Snail]

The message is to always put yourself in the organiser's shoes when asking for things outside the published entries criteria.

That's exactly why I don't email asing for an entry after the closing date. If for some reason I can't enter by the closing date I wait until the event, expecting that if I make the effort to get to registration early there will still be maps available - for all courses.

The problem with continuing to process entries after the closing date is that it actually encourages everyone to try it on, making things more difficult both for entries secretaries and for those people who respect the system. And it may not increase the overall participation - for every extra "guaranteed" entry you may put off more than one person by having fewer maps for EOD. If I've made the effort to get to an event for EOD I will usually run some course - even if not my first choice (except in the situation in my earlier post...) - but if I know in advance there aren't any maps for my preferred course I might not bother.

[frog]

I don't mind processing entries after the closing date provided people give a reason and are grovelly. I'd rather do that than have someone travel for an hour with kids and there not be any maps and I find it less stressful than loads of people turning up early desperate for an EOD map. If more people attend our events then that's good news, similarly I'll stretch the start time window to accomodate folk with other stuff on (as long as courses can still close at the same time and it doesn't disadvantage helpers, so yellow course or experienced person on green fine, novice on blue no)

[awk]

The approximate norm that I've experienced over the past year or two is that most events with pre-entries (Level As excepted) tend to allow pre-entries up to one week in advance. After that entries tend to go up £1-£2 but you take the risk of not getting a map for the course you want.

I can't see a problem with that: it's a straightforward, user-friendly approach. Most organisers print of slightly more spares for W,Y,O, given that there's not a lot of flexibility, and given those are the courses that most newcomers will be accessing (more experienced can always run up or down a distance or so - I certainly have on a number of occasions). Printing a few more than expected isn't going to break a club's bank.

If one wants to guarantee a map, then pre-enter: simples. It's not exactly excessive for a junior, and will thus only start getting potentially pricey if minds are regularly changed in the last week. If one is prepared to take the chance that occasionally the exact course isn't available, and is prepared to go through the admin hassle on the day, then leave entries until then - something we do and used to do with young offspring. I can't recall an event when we weren't able to manage something that we all enjoyed.

Of course, if organisers are prepared to put other processes in place (emailing to reserve maps, on the day printing), then that's brilliant, but it's all extra icing.

[alanbrett]

CHIG do the same thing and it seems to work really well.

We (following the example of some of the Irish clubs) have been using Google Drive's "Forms" to allow people to register online.
Previously we had a more clunky plugin on our Wordpress based website trying to achieve something similar.

The Google Drive form can be embedded in a webpage and doesn't require any logins by those entering. The entry list can be displayed on the website if you choose to share a worksheet using the available functionality. Of the 70 or so that used the form for our last event, all bar two showed up on the day (and one had indicated the possibility that he would not in his comments).

There were a few glitches, in particular because of the number of people changing courses on the morning of the event meant that the queue to 'pay and go' (having registered online) were briefly longer than the EOD queue.

We have learned a few potential ways to improve that we will use for the next event in an effort to refine the system. In particular, spreadsheet formulae could be used to indicate the number of maps remaining etc.

We don't close registration till as late as possible on the night before - it all saves volunteer effort on the day in typing in entry forms. The data is saved in a spreadsheet format which you can make suitable for import to your SI software.

One fewer volunteer needed per event might mean we could put on an additional fixture over the course of the year.