In defense of organizers...particularly MTB.

[Wendell]

I have been around as a MTB organizer ( and participant) for a while now. I see the complaints aimed at fellow organizers, I also read about event cancellation...HOW can we fix this? I wonder if many of you know how full the racing program actually is? There are clashes on most weekends and I have been at the receiving end on a number of occasions. I put my planned events for 2015 through to CGC some months back and I still don't know if they have been approved...when should the programs be available? 

 

We simply ask for a bit of co-operation and the MAIN co-operation we ask for is to enter ON TIME. WHY you may ask..well

a) SPONSORS are almost as hard to find as a cure for a common cold! There is a cure but you have to go find it....BUT if you cannot ensure the numbers on presenting an event to a potential sponsor then there is little or NO interest in sponsoring an event.

b) CATERING IS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE.......if we put a closing date for entries, this is simply ignored and phone calls ALWAYS comes days..weeks..before the event asking if there will be entries on the day... WHY??? I imagine it is because the riders (potential riders ) don't want to take the chance of themselves NOT riding and loosing their entry fee. I have been told that riders only make their decision to ride the week before the event and then they can choose which event they will be attending.....but never mind when the organizer has done the "Full Monty" and no one arrives..it's HIS loss

 

ORGANIZERS need to lay out capital...they take ALL THE RISKS...if it rains..no-one arrives. So the catering that has been laid on becomes "Charity food". The work done in trail preparation and marking simply goes to waste. All the advertising and promotion goes down the tubes...the medics, timekeepers, marshals, car guards long hours organizing and planning all just goes to waste...HOW many times can an organizer endure these losses.

 

I have had this exact experience on a number of occasions...in particular the endurance events such as the 6hr, 12hr and 24 hour.... I reached a point where I said "NO MORE". ...but the PASSION I feel for riders enjoying themselves outweighs my losses...trust me..there have always been losses. The simple "THANK YOU" after an event makes me come back for more..and more and more.

 

HERE is my appeal... what must I do and where must I advertise events being held at THABA TRAILS so that I no longer hear after the event..." I never knew about your race" You guys know all the answers and that is why I am asking you to help me help you... THANK you for reading this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HOEKVLAG]

Hi Wendell

 

I understand your frustration, but unfortunately I do not have the answer. I am involved (as part of our cycling club) in organizing a small race on the East Rand in order to raise funds in the community and have experienced all of what you mention. It has come to the point now where we are considering cancelling the event for next year as it just is not worth all the time and effort for very small profits.

 

As a rider I almost exclusively enter on-line. I prefer doing smaller races that are not oversubscribed, because I HATE waiting or having to go slowly through sections that are so much more fun at speed. Hence, I would rather go and do them on days when its not a race.

 

I realize that the 2 paragraphs above are in contrast and I am concerned that these type of races are going to die out as nobody wants to go through all the trouble just for the fun of it.

 

I do not think there is an easy answer to this conundrum.

[MTBc]

I heard about your event through social media - a FB group I'm a part of posted the event about a month ago, with a bunch of people that know each other having a chance to ride together. I think that between there and here, it should give pretty good coverage.

 

Another channel that I get a lot of info about events through is newsletters. Most of them are based on who runs the online entries / timing for events - when I register for an event, I'll leave the "subscribe" checkbox ticked so I can hear about the entries.  Maybe this could extend your reach a bit.

[Stretch]

Good post and thank you for your hard work and effort. Some things to consider

1 If your event is excellent and top notch then it will sell itself. This has to be done over time. Take W2W, Sani and Epic they are sold out each year. The little races have to follow suit and make sure that they are flawless then your entry problem is solved.

2 Here in the Cape we have a dodgy calendar. It may be just because we think we are special here. However one weekend I have counted up to 4 races and then nothing for 3 weeks. Well the math is easy on that one.

Again thanks to you and all the guys who sponsor races. If the race is awesome believe me it will be talked about. If not I am afraid the thing may not last longer than oscar's jail time!

 

you know what the reason is for that..you have WC MTB competing with PPA. In KZN almost all events are CSA affiliated and KZN MTB plans the calendar at the beginning of the year so there are no overlaps and a race every weekend. Irrespective of all the negatives that CSA might bring...the calendar is definitely a positive

[GLuvsMtb]

Here are some comments from a social rider that do about 2 to 3 multi stage races a year. I presume that referring to catering etc that you are a multi-stage event orginiser. 

1. Discount early entries. The math here is simple. Calculate what your up-front cost is (deposits for venues, caterers, media adverts, etc) and see how much discount you can give the first 50% that enters. You may end up discounting the first 50% with 20 to 25%. Alternatively offer the first 50% an extra value-add (VIP tent access or bigger tents).

2. Try to get a long term commitment from your sponsors. It is not good when an event chop and change title sponsors every year. 

3. Reward the guys coming back the following year (see #1). Offer them early entries at a discount or have an extra incentive in the goodie bag for these guys. Repeat business is the secret behind Sani, Epic and W2W. 

4. Differentiate your race with some unique selling point. I loved the luxury tents at W2W this year. Expensive, yes, but I got the best of both worlds in that we were in the village, but were sleeping on proper beds. Others offer VIP guest house options, camper van options (both Epic) etc.

5. Invest in some infrastructure (mobile or fixed) in the race village. Sani did this very well at McKensie and now Jolivet. The trees planted at Jolivet and the flush toilets at McKensie are a few examples. Another is the side walk that was built at Jolivet to serve as bike path and keeps the pedestrians safe in that area.

6. Invest in the trails. Here the Epic is notoriously bad in that they use current trails and it seems like they are not interested in funding trail building (I understand that Lourensford terminated with Epic after Epic was not willing to invest in the trails). Other races like W2W invest hugely in the trails and we see the all-year benefit, others invest in trails for their exclusive use (Sani2C).

7. Be realistic with the numbers you wish to attract to the event. Consider the constraints placed on you by the logistics, trails and market and work with a realistic number that can comfortably accommodate all of the constraints. I did BC Bike race last year. Their big constraint is the Ferry that takes riders and crew from the main land to Vancouver Island and back over to the Sunshine coast. They only make 550 entries available and these are typically sold out in 2 hours or less. I think races like Epic, W2W and Sani2C push their numbers beyond what is comfortable, but they seem to get away with it with various mitigating factors (Epic with their clover leaf routes, re-using race villages, Sani with permanent infrastructure and W2W with 1 village only). Pioneer would never with its current format accommodate 1200 riders. 300 to 400 works for them, so work out what your comfort zone is to make a profit, give sponsors the desired exposure and most importantly the riders an unforgettable race. 

 

8. Engage with media, riders, supporters and sponsors regularly. if you have passion and energy, a solid support crew, and correctly execute every aspect of your race plan you are 99% there. 

 

Probably more than my 2c worth, but the last aspect is 

 

9. Look at the event from the participant, media and sponsors' points of view to assess and make changes where required. 

[MarickH]

I feel your pain and the only advice I can give is: go back to basics. 

 

What are you doing? Marketing! So market your event. There are so many channels available for marketing nowadays it makes your head spin. Use them!  

 

Go on Facebook, join the groups and pages that fall within your realm, and advertise frequently. Only advertising on your own page is not enough! Then go on Twitter and do the same. Go on the forums and advertise your event there. 

 

Use language skills and marketing lingo to entice people. Don't just call it a 20km MTB race, call it the dust-devil, shredding event of the century! 

 

Also, make sure that wherever you refer people to go (website, probably) is properly set up. The content must be clear, and well laid-out. You will always have people asking questions, but you can reduce this number by making sure that you provide as much information as possible about the event. There is nothing worse that visiting an event page and the information is lacking, this will make people leave without registering.  

 

Also make sure that the links for registering are clear and repeated on the page. Don't put the registration link right at the bottom, in a small, obscure space. Make it clearly visible with a bright button that says REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT.

 

I agree with what was said above, entice people to enter. Get a sponsor to sponsor a worthwhile gift for the first 100 entries, or for all early entries, or whatever. 

 

Working hard on an event is futile if you don't maximize your marketing! Marketing is continuous. You can't advertise an event once or twice and expect results.

 

If all else fails: do a survey. Ask the people where they heard about you, and where they would like to find out about future races. Do post-race surveys: did the riders enjoy themselves, would they come back, why?

 

At present, before the POPI Act comes into full-force you can still use email addresses like a crazy-person, take the opportunity and create a newsletter (free, online) and send it out.

 

Basically: market, market, communicate, communicate!

[Wendell]

VERY CONSTRUCTIVE...and a huge "thank you". I will be hosting a series of XCO events next year. the aim is to progress from the "XCO NOOB" on the first two events, then two slightly more intense events and the final will be THE RACE.. I will take all the advice received here..thank you.

[Johny Bravo]

VERY CONSTRUCTIVE...and a huge "thank you". I will be hosting a series of XCO events next year. the aim is to progress from the "XCO NOOB" on the first two events, then two slightly more intense events and the final will be THE RACE.. I will take all the advice received here..thank you.

Sounds good.

[Lurch the stalker]

VERY CONSTRUCTIVE...and a huge "thank you". I will be hosting a series of XCO events next year. the aim is to progress from the "XCO NOOB" on the first two events, then two slightly more intense events and the final will be THE RACE.. I will take all the advice received here..thank you.

That is a very interesting concept, starting easy and working up in difficulty. Keep us up to speed on that.

 

Just a comment on expecting people to ride multiple events through the year...nobody will pay the same for each race as something like Epic, Sani2C, etc. as long as it is affordable I think you should get some good responses.

[DJR]

I have the utmost respect for anyone "crazy" enough to get involved in actually organizing a cycling event and I thank you for it.