AXCS:
Club Resources
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Part Three:
- Ways to Make Your Event Special
Ways to Make Your Event Special
Let's face it. People all over the globe have more activities and more choices for
entertainment and recreation than ever before. Just because you have the best idea for an event since the Olympics...you have absolutely no guarantee that you'll be able to build an
event into something truly special in the face of all the competition out there for people's
time, money, and interest. Pure and simple, you need to rise above the crowd.
Without exception, every truly successful event I can think of does a great job at
balancing good business sense with showmanship and athletic appreciation. These events
treat the participant like a VIP from entry to exit with tons of perks ranging from
great food/drink to great courses to elaborate prizes/raffles. The flip side are events that leave folks wondering where all their money went as they sip
their one Dixie cup of watered-down drink mix and try to find a dry place to sit
afterwards. You certainly can't always point to the largest events as having the best balance
in amenities. Many small and mid-size events do a great job at providing services
at a reasonable price. It's presentation. It's attitude. It's detail. Everything.
The question for your organizing committee is what kind of event you want to end up with and
how much effort you want to put into making something truly special. Here is a few
examples of things that can really put an event over the top...
1.) Good Organization
--Probably the most overlooked event perk ever is just solid event organization. Little
things like efficient check-in procedures; having everything ready when people arrive
on the site; starting the event ON TIME; having awards or food/drink ON TIME; sufficient P.A. systems; a well-marked course--these are the things that get taken for
granted, unless they are missing! Pride yourself on producing well-organized events
and you'll be amazed how people will respond.
A big part of good organization for events is to have a really dialed-out registration
desk staffed by very knowledgable volunteers. Particularly at races, the registration
desk will be the ONLY time that most participants will actually seek information. You
need to make sure that every possible question will be covered or at the very least,
volunteers know where to go for a timely answer! My favorite tool in this process is
to create one or more info boards on which I can post everything from the latest weather
reports to grooming schedules to maps of the stadium and course. Another tip is to
try to always have a member of the organizing committee overseeing the registration
desk or at least available by phone/radio should a tough question come up.
2.) Knowledgeable and friendly volunteers
--It's difficult to look at event participants as customers
but in all reality that is precisely what they are. Good customer service starts
and ends with the front line and that is always going to be PEOPLE. Make an organizational
commitment towards having every single volunteer take pride in their tasks. Emphasize that happy participants will be repeat participants. There are dozens of other
things they could be doing this weekend but they chose your event--make them glad
they did! Go out of your way to educate your volunteers in as many different aspects
of your events as possible. If someone doesn't know the answer to a question, make sure
they go to the trouble of getting the answer. Here's a good example: I was in an
elite interval start race a few years back in which the organizers had changed distances
and course a half dozen times the two days prior to the race (already making for a lousy
event!). About a minute from my start I confirmed with the assistant starter that
the race was 2 laps--the last information I had heard. He corrected me stating with
total conviction that it was a 3 lap event and I took off only to find myself pretty lonely
on my 3rd lap with everyone else (except 1 other poor soul) doing 2 laps. The way
you avoid this kind of situation is superior communication and getting as many people
in the loop as you possibly can!!!
3.) Food and Drink
--What's the old adage--the way to the heart is thru the stomach? XC Skiers love to
eat and drink after a ski and providing good stuff that will blow people away is
far easier and less expensive than you'd ever imagine. For single day events there
are two basic options for how to present refreshments--post-race or an organized banquet.
I've seen both work well but my favorite for the absolute best option is a post-race
banquet (best of both worlds).
The 30km Great Ski Race in California provides a world-class example of how a post-race
banquet can work. Immediately after racers finish they can head over to an assortment
of oranges, cookies, fluid replacement--and a local brewery cart for some free beer! About 45-60 minutes later a buffet is started offering with lasagna, salad, and
bread in a restaurant located right at the finish area. A live band starts playing
and the whole thing turns into a really fun party.
This post-race banquet works so well for citizen races because it has a nice compact
quality to it in terms of feeding people soon after they've worked out AND giving
everyone a chance to celebrate a little before they have to hit the road (or before
they've fallen asleep later in the day). Regardless of the format you use here's some
suggestions that have stood the test of time...
Drinks
Quick Food
Banquet Food
Feed Stations
This is actually a requirement in longer events but it is pretty simple to set-up.
All you need to do is make sure that you have some simple-to-digest, high-calorie
foods and a good liquid feed available. Any event 10km and under doesn't require
a feed station. 15-20km distances probably should have 1-2 stations but you don't need to be
too elaborate in what you offer. Anything longer than 20km should have a feed station
at every 5km or so.
Good feed station items include:
Other foods can work but you want to make sure that any item can be grabbed and quickly
consumed with minimal digestion problems. TIP: Make sure to thoroughly clean out
any large fluid dispenser with hot water and soap BEFORE and AFTER use! Quite often
large dispensers don't get cleaned well enough and they could sit for months before another
use. This results in bacteria seen and unseen which can lead to stomach distress
in event participants.
Finally, train your feed station volunteers how to distribute drinks to racers. The
key is to have one crew filling your cups (any cheap paper/plastic cup will do--the
bigger the better) HALF-FULL and the other crew grabbing cups off a table and handing
them out to racers. When the actual hand-off is made you want volunteers to hold cups
by the fingertips leaving the body of the cup free for the racers to grab and swig.
Filling the cups half-full allows for plenty of swishing by volunteers and racers--and
far less spillage! If really helps if the volunteer actually moves with the racers
when making the hand-off and this also will reduce spillage. Just timing a trot of
a couple paces to help match the speed of the skier makes a world of difference.
Another thing that really helps the efficiency of feed stations is placement. The ideal spot
is the top of a moderate uphill with a gradual downhill on the backside. You don't
want the skiers to have a ton of speed coming into the feed nor do you want them
to be breathing too heavy to ingest feed. The gradual downhill on the backside allows them
a couple seconds to drink and/or eat and/or get themselves together before continuing.
Always designate areas for certain types of drinks and if possible, color-code the
people handing out the drinks or the area. For example, you can have everyone handing
out fluid replacement wear something red and you can have a red banner in front of
the area. The water area could be blue. This sounds silly but you want to look at this
from the standpoint of your skiers. If you have several hundred serious or semi-serious
participants they are going to come steaming into feed stations looking to grab what
they can and go. This color-code system lets them focus on a no-brain response---red...fluid
drink...Tarzan think good. :-) Color-coding also cuts down on the confusion of volunteers
yelling FLUID REPLACEMENT!, WATER!, ANTI-FREEZE!, etc.. Anyone that has come into a busy feed station knows how zany the process can be -- look for easier solutions.
If your event is exclusively a recreational tour or you have a ton of people that
like to stop at feed stations and really FEED, it is a good idea to have a table
or two set-up well off the course to avoid congestion. A lean-to tent or cover can
be a great help in bad weather or strong winds.
4.) Music and Decorations
--Nothing makes an event seem more festive than some good tunes and some simple color
decorations. Once again, you can go the simple route and just play some tapes over
your P.A. system or you can be more elaborate and arrange for a live band. The first
time I did the Kangaroo Hoppett in Australia the organizers had arranged for a fellow
to play an accordion out by the parking lot which was a little thing but it was amazing
how festive the music made things! They also had a hot air balloon out by the start
area which was also really neat. The easiest decorations in the world are home-made
color banners made out of nylon (weather resistant!) that you slip over wooden poles
and stick in the snow. Making these banners can be a great project for interested
Club members. Don't forget that sponsor's banners also make great decorations and really
add to the show as well.
5.) Product Expo
--Manufacturers and distributors are always looking for places to show off their goods
and do demonstrations. Most big running races have been holding product expos for
years but it is only recently that the trend has caught on in XC skiing. Usually
the best time for an expo is the day/evening before the event while people are signing-up
or picking up race packets. You can reserve space just for your sponsors or open
up spots to a bunch of groups. A nice touch is to have some reps offer free clinics
and demos to event participants and volunteers while the expo is going on.
6.) Elite Sprints or Relays
--This is a particularly exciting feature for XC Ski participants because many folks
at distance races never actually get to see the fast and famous in action. The American
Birkebeiner has one of the coolest set-ups where they actually push a 100 meter stretch of snow onto a closed-off downtown street and run the sprints in the evening
a couple nights before the marathon. This kind of stadium and spectator event is
sorely needed in XC Skiing and it can build a ton of community spirit for your event!
7.) Finish Line TLC
--A hand's down way to make friends and influence people is to have some trained volunteers
at the finish line of any race. All these folks have to do is hand a tissue to the
finishers after they've come to a stop (and are somewhat done gagging,etc.:-); make sure people are OK by asking simple yes and no questions (that way all they have
to do is nod); have dry blankets ready for particularly cold or wet events; and generally
keep people moving in the nicest way possible. These greeters may have to actually render some basic first aid in extreme cases but most often the tissue and positive
words (good job!, well done!, tomorrow's another day!, etc.) will be plenty to make
people smile afterwards.
8.) Race Pictures
-- My favorite way to handle this perk is to award a bid for the job to a professional
photographer that has done endurance races--preferably ski races. I do not recommend
including race photos in entry fees for a number of reasons. For instance, if the
photo is a bust or someone is missed then you are responsible and it becomes a mess.
All you need to do is provide the photographer with your entry/mailing addresses
and set them up in a good spot for photos. After that they take care of mailing proofs to participants and if they make a bundle great, if not, at least you offered the service.
9.) Race Video Tape
-- This is a really easy and fun addition that almost never happens but when it is
done well...people love it! All you need to do is put someone out on the race course that
knows how to handle a good video camera. The best spots are either places where you
can film several parts of the course and/or difficult downhills and/or long, steep uphills.
If you have the resources, a cool thing to add is some footage taken from a snowmobile
of the race leaders. You'd need a wide meadow or lake for this because snowmobiles
in front of skiers do not work well.
At any rate, after you've filmed a bunch of footage you just pop the tape in a VCR
somewhere in the finish area and play it continuously while people eat and socialize.
Racers love it when they get caught on film (amazingly they love it best if they
get caught taking a huge fall on a downhill :-) and even if you just focus on the race leaders,
the other skiers like to see what was happening out front since they were busy doing
their own race. Try it!
A more elaborate extension of just playing a tape for the post-race party is to actually
get an amateur or professional film group to put together a 10-20 minute tape of
the event. A local H.S. student put together videotape of the 1994 US Junior Nationals that was as good as any professional footage I've ever seen so this doesn't have
to be a multi-million dollar production. A montage of images with some music in the
background can be a great ending for week-long events and if a film group is good
at editing quickly they can sell the tapes just like still photographers sell individual photos.
10.) Telephone Hotline
-- This can be easy to set up temporarily if you can get the phone company to donate
some services....or a large local group to loan a line....or you might have a Club hotline
in place already. Regardless, if you can get access to a phoneline, you can have
a simple recording with basic race info on it and course/weather info on the week prior.
If you can, have people leave messages if they want reg forms sent to them. Make
sure that you update this hotline as often as possible the 48 hours before the event -- particularly if weather or roads may present problems.
11.) Race Packets
-- Big events require a whole pile of paperwork, bibs, and other things so most organizers
will put everything into a packet they can hand out when folks check-in or register.
One item that can take a little extra time but be well worth the effort is a small race program. Many major running events get the local paper just to print a special
little newspaper supplement that you can include in the packets and distribute for
free at start/finish areas. This program can include all the basic race info as well
as the history of the event; who it benefits; the community; and features on top athletes
expected to perform well. Usually a local paper will handle all the advertising so
this program can usually pay for itself. The only thing you'd need was space for
all your sponsors!
You can also use these packets to feature little product demos or information on your
sponsors. Participants love to get free stuff; sponsor's like the publicity; you
like to make both of them happy--everybody wins! Tip: Instead of making tons of individualized packets, create a pile of generic packets with all the basic stuff and just
add the bib and/or specific info each person needs when they actually show up.
12.) Award Ceremonies
-- Long experience has taught me that you want to establish a specific time for these
ceremonies as soon as you can after the bulk of the participants are done on course. The best
thing to do is to gradually stage things with a quick photo ceremony right after
the overall winners are in (this is great for press coverage!), the post-race feed, and
then a short/sweet awards and raffle. Here is a big item: please, whatever you do,
have your announcer keep things moving at any awards ceremony. One of the most uncomfortable things in the world is to have to sit through an hour or more of announcing name/place...waiting until someone walks from Tibet to London to get the award...applause...announcing of 2nd place...long walk...applause...and so on (and on and on and on). Good announcers and good P.A. systems can boom out whole classifications in the time inexperienced folks take to just do one winner. Generally speaking, if
it takes more than a half hour to get all the awards out -- even for WorldLoppet events -- you
are boring the heck out of the majority of folks.
Another Way Of Doing Things -- It is a popular misconception that endurance events cannot build a strong following without providing every age group with "equal podium time". One has to look around at any given event awards or banquet to see that only a fraction of the total participant base ever shows up at awards. The vast majority of participants simply does not care. They took part because of health, fun, winter outdoors, etc.. Further, often many age group top three skiers won't show up at awards because they have to get back to their lives. Given all of this, one perfectly viable option for race organizers is to dispense with a big dog and pony show awards and concentrate energy on a short-and-sweet overall awards presentation. You can still give out awards to whomever you want, you just don't have to include every single award in an endless presentation. An "awards tent" which has all age group prizes neatly ordered with well-trained volunteers can be a nifty substitute. Think about it.
13.) Raffles or Drawings
-- These can either be lots of fun or incredibly tedious. Raffles can be a great way
to get sponsor freebies out to lots of people that don't get awards but they can
also take forever to wade through. The musts of a good raffle are:
14.) Event T-Shirts
-- This is a toss-up in my book. If you've got a great idea or design this can be a
cool addition to ski events just as much as running events. If you just go through
the motions, however, it's probably best to skip shirts. Long-sleeved shirts are
by far a more practical option for winter events but they also cost more. One practical option
is to let entrants choose whether or not to add the cost of a shirt to the entry
fee. Another tip is to stick with a basic design year after year (and just change
shirt colors) OR make the design creation a local contest.
15.) Results
-- An easy way to keep skiers and friends/family at race events happy is to be exceptionally fast at getting results up on some kind of posting board or boards. A good idea is to have 2-3 posting locations and as your timer prints out unofficial results, you can run off a couple copies and staple them in viewing spots. A great idea is to find a printer that can produce huge blueprint-size copies of results. These you can post above head height and thus a crowd can all look up to see results at once. Even better...borrow, beg, or rent a couple digital projectors and hook them up to computers that then shows off a "slide show" results. In the right space, several hundred skiers can view results all at once. Given the fact that complete race results can now be posted on websites within minutes following races (if not in real-time), there is little reason to waste natural resources on thousands of paper copies that are only going to end up tossed away. On that same note, be darn sure that you have a system for getting your event results up on your website as fast as possible.
16.) Shelter
-- Since we are talking about a winter sport, something you will want to budget for
right from the start is tent space at start and finish areas. Tents can usually be
rented from a number of party supply places but you can also try Park and Rec Districts,
school districts, Chamber of Commerce, Forest Service, colleges/universities, and even
local military posts. If you approach a certain group early enough that has large
tents they may let you borrow their stuff for free--and/or provide some volunteers
to set up and take down. A large amount of space out of wind and wet is worth it's price
in gold on those years when your event gets hit by the monster blizzard.
17.) Spare Clothes
-- One of the nicest things I've ever seen at a race happened in 1986 at Tahoe Donner
XC in California during a nasty blizzard. I had stripped off my sweats right before
start and just stuck them below a race barrier anticipating them to be soaked and
frozen when I finished. After I finished racing, I quickly went over to pick up the clothes...and lo and behold...they were nice and dry inside a plastic bag. Race directors had buzzed
volunteers everywhere after the start protecting dozens of racers' stuff! I've always
looked at that single act of kindness as one of the things that makes me love XC Ski
competition. You can do the same at your event by providing racers with a cheap plastic
bag on race morning if the weather is looking nasty. Huge point-to-point events actually have a leg up on this process because racers have to get post-race clothes transported
to the finish line in a bag anyway.
18.) Website
-- The great thing about a good event website is that you can put far more info and updates on the Web than you could have ever afforded with print. Mandatory things to include:
19.) Shuttles for People and Stuff-
- This usually only applies to point-to-point events, but it can be a make or break item. You
must, repeat, must make sure that any kind of shuttle service is 100% guaranteed
to work in any kind of weather and in any kind of situation. The best advice is to
arrange for separate entrance/exit routes for shuttle buses whether you are going from start
to finish or vice versa or both. The biggest delays with shuttles are always the
non-shuttle folks so if you can separate traffic--do so!!!
With shuttles for stuff you want to make sure you have a reliable method of marking
bags; collecting and transporting them; and arranging for pick-up at the finish.
Make sure you have some spare blankets and other clothes available at the finish
just in case the impossible happens and someone's bag is misplaced. I once had this happen after a marathon in a blizzard and I nearly went hypothermic before my bag finally showed
up. A flat-out great idea that the folks at Idaho's Boulder Mountain Tour cooked up has been to use nylon colored bags as an annual gift to all participants and those bags are the ones to be used for transport of clothes. With four different colors, skiers have a 75% better chance of finding their bag in the post-race area!
20.) Race Clocks and Scoreboards
-- Most larger timing outfits will have a portable display clock that you can set-up
near the start/finish to give folks a countdown to start and a running time while
they are skiing. The countdown is really useful with interval start events. Scoreboards
are very expensive but occasionally you can find a source that fits your budget. Several
major race venues in North America have permanent scoreboards but portable ones can
be rented.
21.) Children's Races/Half or Quarter Distance Events
-- Children's races can be a wonderful addition to any major event whether they are
held on the same day or just before/after. The keys are to keep the distance very short;
keep the course very easy but fun; give out accomplishment medals (or other simple awards)
to every participant without any kind of place ranking;
and make sure the entire family can be there to watch and/or (ideally) participate!
Half or Quarter Distance Events are dictated by distance of your longer race. These
shorter options allow skiers that because of age, fitness, or just desire wish to go
less than the full length of whatever your distance is. With modern timing systems,
a flexible race course, and/or a veteran race crew it is possible to run several different
options all on the same day. Be careful, however, not to get too carried away offering
distance choices if it will hurt the overall quality of your event. Point-to-point races
have a hard time offering shorter options but some organizers have had success with
a separate finish line (the American Birkebeiner always has done this very well).
