Discussion: NAOC and Classic Champs

I'm reluctant to ask this during all the excitement from WOC, but does anyone understand why registered attendance for classic champs and NAOC is so low? At present - 3 weeks before classic champs and 4 before NAOC, registration is as follows:

Classic Champs: 166
NAOC: 262

Is this due to insufficient advertising? Are people uninterested in attending these meets? Are the locations unappealing? Or is there some other reason I'm missing?

What numbers were you expecting or think are warranted?

Clem, you should sign up.

I will. I have my tickets. Don't worry--before the deadline.

This was a good reminder, Sam and I have now signed up.

Same boat as Clem for me, pretty much - since I missed the earlybird deadline for at least one, maybe both, of those, there's nothing to be gained from entering much before the regular entry deadline and it'll save trouble all around in the event I do break both my legs in the next few days.

There was no earlybird deadline for the Classic Champs.

We will give full refunds for canceled entries until the close of registration (Mon 9/05 midnight AK time), so risk is low. However that policy is not posted anywhere, yet...

Unfortunately, I'm only going to be able to make NAOC, but in some respects, I'm more excited about the US Champs venue, because of its history. But, both should be excellent orienteering.

I hear there is a big Frenchman who will be in attendance, and possibly also a petite Canadian.

In other words, both of the 4th place finishers from the WOC middle.

This is what I have been seeking for years - two top-class events on consecutive weekends in the same general area. I'll be there. I'm sorry it does not seem to be working out for many others.
I think the late entry information coming from the Classic event was a deterrent for some. Also the fact the events are during the school year forced at least one family coming from Florida to choose one event over the other.
For those who find the two events in row are not enough there are the Quebec Champs in the Montreal area the weekend after NAOC. 16 days and 1000 miles, much of it with Fall colours/ colors at their best!!!!

Hayden & I will be at both, just haven't done the registration yet. I suspect a number of others are in the same boat...

Sounds like an absolutely awesome week or two. However, a very bad time of year for me and impossible for me to attend any of it at all. October would have been infinitely better.

Isn't it a bit earlier than typical for both NAOC and a fall US Champs? Dunno.

Too many people put off registration till the last minute, even though they know they are going. This makes things very difficult for organizers to plan for and deal with. I've always thought that early/regular/late pricing was insufficient incentive to get people to sign up earlier rather than later. Now that we use computers for these sorts of things, why not set an opening price, then hike it by $1 a week, or something like that? Everyone has their pain threshold. Assuming, of course, that procrastination is the principal issue.

Planning is increasingly more difficult when one competes with school and college schedules and has to minimize the impact of travel on education, as well as the impact of travel costs on life itself. Makes procrastination more excusable as one can always pretend one was still weighing one thing against another...

It has been my experience as a many-time registrar that the close of registration date has the most impact on workload.

I was all ready to register for the US Champs right after I'd registered for NAOC but registration hadn't opened yet. And then we were on vacation ... and busy ... and I'm very aware of the deadline and will enter before then. I'm sure lots of other people are procrastinating, too. We have our hotel reservations and definitely will be there.

I wouldn't miss running at Pound Ridge. I have so many fond memories of that place and it's been way too long since we've had an event there! Going to be a great couple of weekends.

Great points, peggyd; maybe the biggest takeaway is that event organizers should open registration as early as possible. Certainly this is something I have struggled to do when I have been an event organizer.

Based on past experience I would not be surprised to see a big surge in registrations at the deadline (with another 80-100 for NAOC?), with a few folks saying "why wasn't it open another hour?? I was having computer problems!" at the deadline.

Neither event had early registration incentives.

n.b. I haven't registered for NAOC yet (waiting to see the shirt design) but will within the week. Regular deadline for it is Friday Sept 2, just before Labor Day weekend (US holiday). Late fees are steep, so please plan ahead!

I'm so looking forward to seeing the WOC 4th place finishers running the middle!

I'm one of those last minute O-registerers. Planning on coming to both, just haven't registered yet. I know there are some other procrastinators. One of these days I will stop procrastinating :)

Not having the early entry discount has probably affected the numbers. Like some have alluded too, there is nothing for them to gain by entering early. Though, as Janet says, late fees are steep so don't miss the deadlines.

The Sept. dates for NAOC are what Dartmouth wanted. Not sure what all went into their thinking but I think avoiding home football games was one of them.

Honestly, I don't see the point in opening registration more than 2-months early. Offering an early bird discount just results in less income, for no perceptible benefit (assuming there is not a cash flow issue).

Realistically, how many people would skip an event because registration was not open 6-months out?

I'm a big fan of early websites - one year in advance and early entries - January of the competition year but that is just me, I guess. These help me plan out the year and get the best flights and accommodation deals., also play the car rental market. Since booking for Ward Pound Ridge/ Dartmouth I have been able to get lowered car rental prices three times and now the prices have started to go back up.

As for conflict with the school year I wish more teachers were like I was: Choice between a student spending time with his parents visiting another part of the country or of the world or sitting in a classroom and hanging out with friends. It's a no-brainer. Take the kid and enjoy him while you have him. He'll be grown and gone soon enough. (Same goes for girls. Its just that I mostly taught boys PE)

I am still waiting for course lengths to appear for NAOC before signing up...

To Guy's point, early registration deadlines benefit a few folks (and usually attract fewer than 100 and likely closer to 50) and only benefit the host club by offering some cash flow if needed (to pay mappers, parks, etc).

NAOC registration has been open for months.

It would be interesting to study the historical relationship between when registration opens and attendance. All other things equal, I would expect an early registration would be advantageous because it would make competitors aware of the event for a longer period. Anecdotally, Canadian events typically have prices go up months in advance, and this has incentivized me to register quite early and prioritize the events on my calendar.

People just like to wait until the last minute to register

As a rule, I won't open registration until most/all issues that could affect people's selections are settled.

@Boris: How sbout registering for NAOC, and then requesting course changes, if needed, after lengths are posted?