Road events - Are organisers dropping the ball or do we expect too much

[SEANSTEP]

3 hours ago, Michael Dewing said:

Yeah that makes a lot of sense actually.. 

my apologies..😉🤙🏻

Hey wait, I almost fell off my chair, someone apologised on THE HUB! I'm not even saying it was necessary, just flabbergasted that there is someone out there with the humility to do it.

[Skubarra]

On 11/7/2023 at 10:12 AM, The Ouzo said:

Reading feedback from a number of events over the last year or more there seems to be many complaints. Everything from timing, to parking, to seeding etc.

Are we expecting to much from organisers or are they dropping the ball ? And if its the later then why ? 

Have the costs spiraled out of control and organisers are cutting corners in order to host events ?

Most of these events where the complaints are coming from are not new events, teething problems should be well ironed out by now. Inexperience cannot be blamed either.

i know we have a number of people on here that have or still do organise races, as well as people that are well informed and or connected, so their input would be great.

My 2c - people have been complaining about races on the hub since the start, nothing new here. There will always be competent racing organisers and organisers getting a few things wrong.

On the parking shenanigans from this weekends One Tonner. What makes it disappointing is that PPA have been organising road races for years and they have a formula that works ok. Previous One Tonner venues at schools (Stellenbosch and Wellington) worked fine, I  imagine that they got the wine farm venue for cheap (or free?) which enabled them to make some extra money on the event. However an event with 1000+ riders and only one badly corrugated farm road as entry point was obviously going to create problems. Was it incompetence or greed that led them to just ignore this? Probably a little bit of both so they can't complain if people criticize them on this. 

[Bike Dewing]

48 minutes ago, SEANSTEP said:

Hey wait, I almost fell off my chair, someone apologised on THE HUB! I'm not even saying it was necessary, just flabbergasted that there is someone out there with the humility to do it.

Hahaha maybe I haven’t been a cyclist long enough.?!😳🤣🤣🤣🤣

💪🏼😃🤙🏻

[Bub Marley]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

I disagree on the social media aspect. Many many riders don't social media so it is an avenue of information fed to those who likely 'already know'.

Social Media is lazy advertising and doesn't actually break into new avenues or draw in fence sitters.

It is likely a necessary tool these days to stay relevant, but it isn't marketing. Many of the clique events with small fields and bigger entry fees can rely on the concentrated target market to sustain itself for a few years, but anything bigger needs to make sure it's seen and information is easy to access for those NOT in the inner sanctum of RH77 ECC Savage Lone Wolf Sakhos.. 

I just used social media as an example. The bigger point I was trying to make is they need to make more of an effort to get the event seen by more people. They need to market the event better and make people want to come and check the event out and participate in it.

[Jewbacca]

Just now, Bub Marley said:

I just used social media as an example. The bigger point I was trying to make is they need to make more of an effort to get the event seen by more people. They need to market the event better and make people want to come and check the event out and participate in it.

Agreed, but not via social media. Socials work as a small part of a much wider plan.

It's a dead end platform that feeds itself. I know plenty of people who are brilliant athletes who don't do socials.

Events need to find a way to put themselves in a place that is visual and accessible to those who don't IG/FB/Strava more than they work, family and play

 

[The Ouzo]

14 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Agreed, but not via social media. Socials work as a small part of a much wider plan.

It's a dead end platform that feeds itself. I know plenty of people who are brilliant athletes who don't do socials.

Events need to find a way to put themselves in a place that is visual and accessible to those who don't IG/FB/Strava more than they work, family and play

 

Agreed on all points.

Marketers have become lazy, and this is not specific to races or cycling.

[Duane_Bosch]

On 11/7/2023 at 12:03 PM, Jewbacca said:

IMHO the complaining is something that has crept into society.

There will be 500 of 507 things done brilliantly, the 7 will be highlighted and spoken about.

Ask someone how they are and 9 out of 10 will complain about something instead of tell you about good stuff going on.

I put it down to an influence from a few areas. Notably the media and social media. Look at the current World Cup Rugby. Most of the press has been about Wit Kant, Barnes/refs being poor, bad hotels etc and not focussing on the absolute radness that the Springboks have created a wholly unified team from multiple socio economic backgrounds and cultures who win for each other. 

They have also broken down the barriers of 'Quota' whiners, which I think is amazing! 6 years ago it was quota this and quota that. Now? Not a peep.

But the media and reporting is constantly on about negative, sensationalist and controversial topics so that people interact, fight and feed the algorithm with clicks and comments.

No one quite realises just how much the algorithms are influencing our lives

I 100% agree with you.

Unfortunately there's also the counter to this. When you actually need something done the only way to get it done is often to throw your toys and behave like a complete prat to actually be heard and for action to be taken.

I had an issue after covid with a travel company who will remain nameless. The only way to actually speak to a human being instead of being caught in an endless whattsapp loop was to create a hellopeter account and have a whinge on there.

[Bike Dewing]

16 minutes ago, Duane_Bosch said:

I 100% agree with you.

Unfortunately there's also the counter to this. When you actually need something done the only way to get it done is often to throw your toys and behave like a complete prat to actually be heard and for action to be taken.

I had an issue after covid with a travel company who will remain nameless. The only way to actually speak to a human being instead of being caught in an endless whattsapp loop was to create a hellopeter account and have a whinge on there.

Customer service has become an absolute joke.. the amount of times I find myself tearing my hair out just trying to speak to an actual person because my query isn’t listed on their b&$@sh$tt menus is horrendous..😭

[Danger Dassie]

Social media/media isn't the problem, the problem is how it's utilised and managed. 

As far as the original question goes on events "Are organisers dropping the ball or do we expect too much" 

It's relatively simple, the answer is both. However, to view this in context, we're also in the fortunate space where we have a large calendar of events and in general we've been pretty spoilt with events in SA. So a sense of expectation (sometimes entitlement) has developed, the flipside of this is that some people perhaps have lost the whole meaning behind events. Both as organisers and participants. 

I know someone that flat out refused to attend an event because of the goody bag, nevermind that it was a great moment to catch up with friends and celebrate. 

How does the saying go, grey men in grey suits who know the price of everything but not the value of anything? 

[ChrisF]

6 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I disagree on the social media aspect. Many many riders don't social media so it is an avenue of information fed to those who likely 'already know'.

Social Media is lazy advertising and doesn't actually break into new avenues or draw in fence sitters.

It is likely a necessary tool these days to stay relevant, but it isn't marketing. Many of the clique events with small fields and bigger entry fees can rely on the concentrated target market to sustain itself for a few years, but anything bigger needs to make sure it's seen and information is easy to access for those NOT in the inner sanctum of RH77 ECC Savage Lone Wolf Sakhos.. 

 

So what media do you suggest for advertising ?

 

 

- Mani Cycles in Worcester is a long time sponsor of events in the area.  They used to have leaflets on the counter ... yeaa I am that old.  Last year I went to them to get the details of events .... nothing, nada, niks.

 

- Hub .... nice portal to load events, zero cost ... still so many organisers dont use this option.

 

 

- Entry Ninja, and similar .... surely a group email once or twice a month can only benefit both the portal and the organiser ...

 

 

 

So many options.  And yet we hear from locals 2 weeks before the event of races ....

[cadenceblur]

4 hours ago, Duane_Bosch said:

I 100% agree with you.

Unfortunately there's also the counter to this. When you actually need something done the only way to get it done is often to throw your toys and behave like a complete prat to actually be heard and for action to be taken.

I had an issue after covid with a travel company who will remain nameless. The only way to actually speak to a human being instead of being caught in an endless whattsapp loop was to create a hellopeter account and have a whinge on there.

Spot on! I have gone to further lengths via LinkedIn! it’s a joke really , too many people just roll over and accept subpar products or service. 

[Bike Dewing]

46 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

So what media do you suggest for advertising ?

 

 

- Mani Cycles in Worcester is a long time sponsor of events in the area.  They used to have leaflets on the counter ... yeaa I am that old.  Last year I went to them to get the details of events .... nothing, nada, niks.

 

- Hub .... nice portal to load events, zero cost ... still so many organisers dont use this option.

 

 

- Entry Ninja, and similar .... surely a group email once or twice a month can only benefit both the portal and the organiser ...

 

 

 

So many options.  And yet we hear from locals 2 weeks before the event of races ....

I get absolutely spammed by a “de villiers cycling” about events and news I guess.. I don’t even really read them anymore.. I don’t even know how or when I signed up to receive anything from them.. but I get a ton of emails..🤷🏼‍♂️

[ChrisF]

Questions to those that were in the racing groups in let's say 2015 to 2019.

 

1. Were seeding that much "better" then ?

 

2. How many races had "full" road closures back then ?

 

3. Was registration, timing, etc back then better ?

 

 

Clearly easy enough to point out "areas for improvement" in the current setup, just wondering to what extent things may have changed ....

[Jewbacca]

3 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

So what media do you suggest for advertising ?

 

 

- Mani Cycles in Worcester is a long time sponsor of events in the area.  They used to have leaflets on the counter ... yeaa I am that old.  Last year I went to them to get the details of events .... nothing, nada, niks.

 

- Hub .... nice portal to load events, zero cost ... still so many organisers dont use this option.

 

 

- Entry Ninja, and similar .... surely a group email once or twice a month can only benefit both the portal and the organiser ...

 

 

 

So many options.  And yet we hear from locals 2 weeks before the event of races ....

I'm not getting paid to think about it.

I can tell you that the current setup isn't working though and it needs to change.

The core racers will race and say 'I knew everything there was way before the race' but they are on whattsapp groups, teams, know people who know people etc

Those who are potential racers simply pick up scraps, as you say, 2 weeks before if you're lucky.

Add the lack of information OTHER than the info for the racers, who already know everything, and you have 70% maybes who would probably love it saying 'yeah nah, this is too much hard work'

People far smarter than I need to figure out a way to appeal to the fence sitters and get them coming back.

MTB managed to do it 10 years ago. Marathon races were packed every weekend with people of all abilities. It was fun and there was a sense of friendliness in sucking.

Anyway, I've had my 55 billion rants about this. CTCT and the Cape Town Marathon seem to have a decent idea of how to appeal to mass participants who know they will be looked after on the day regardless of their level of junkness. I'd start at the back forward and not look at it from the front and perhaps include something for the back, IF the goal is to get more people to races.

One road access/egress points is also not a great way to get people back. THAT is poor planning

[milky4130]

What did we do in the days before Social Media?

I remember for me PPA was the 1 stop place to go to for events road & mtb, They had a niffty little pamphlet/calendar with all the spring road & mtb races, then a new one would come out for summer, autumn & winter if I'm not mistaken now. And boy those races were well attended in numbers. Flyers & posters at bike shops was a thing.

Edited November 8, 2023 by milky4130

[ChrisF]

27 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

What did we do in the days before Social Media?

I remember for me PPA was the 1 stop place to go to for events road & mtb, They had a niffty little pamphlet/calendar with all the spring road & mtb races, then a new one would come out for summer, autumn & winter if I'm not mistaken now. And boy those races was well attended in numbers. Flyers & posters at bike shops was a thing.

 

Jip, early 90's I got all my info from flyers at Peter Allan cycles.