Registration...

[Lee Jay Clark]

Registration should take 2 & 1/2 hours..... this was longer then the nationals..... can we speed up the racing to help us get home at a decent time, since we were there for 7-8 hours... It would make it more enjoyable and we love racing but not when it takes so long.

Thanks,

Lee Jay

[JasonStout]

The crew is usually really fast. HOWEVER, tonight was a Race for Life. We had 40 RFLers come out. Try and keep track of that. Also, with so many riders it just takes time. In my experience, the race for life usually starts at least 2 hours late....I thought it was normal.

Normally, the motos are posted within 30 min. after Reg. closes.

Does anyone behind the desk know why it would take so long? Not complaining, just curious.

JS

[Roland]

In defense of the Rad Canyon Crew, there are different parts of a late January Race that can cause a race night to drag on. Although long tonight, the bugs iron out and a lot of these items become NON EXISTANT
Real Quick:
1. Having some 200+ riders switching plate #'s is ALWAYS difficult. ALL RIDERS change plate #'s at the first of the year and lucky us, this was the weekend. (we have some ideas that are being discussed that should help improve that glitch)
2. 16 Riders in 6yr. old novice is 3X the amount of riders generally participating in that group (when my boy was 6, he was constantly bumped to the 7yr. or 8yr. old class). Several others age groups and divisions were the same way (Race For Life ALWAYS brings a bunch of NEW to BMX Riders that must be educated FAST (many questions)...
We had Semi Finals in two classes tonight (One group had 16 racers, 21 in the other vs. not having Semi's in a very long time.).
*Sign Ups (One day member, Temporary member, Full member)
**Moto Sheets (teaching qualifiers, lane assignments, etc.)
***Staging (if you have ever tried to get 15-20 kids paying attention at the same time you are doing good. (think about 10-12 kids at a B-D Party)
Darla and Lee did a great job getting 60 groups of kids staged up for 2 rounds of qualifying and another 60 for the mains.
****Announcing (made difficult by SOOOO many, HARD TO READ Hand Written Paper Plates. This alone slows pace as the finish line crew relies on the announcer to have a decent idea of the running order. (especially in the mains) When he can't read them, the finish line only knows that a group of determined adreneline junkies are headed their way with Hard To Read Numbers and expect to be SCORED PROPERLY. The last thing the ladies at the Finish Line want to do is miss a call and have an upset parent and rider to contend with On Top Of An Already Volitale Situation) That rider may have just put in the lap of his/her life and the kids are coming across the line at a fairly quick pace.
*****Short Track (Bigger races generally will have at least (2) and often (3) moto's on the Track at the same time. Unfortunately we only have so much square footage to work with, that poses challenges too. (We are extremely grateful to have the facility we have, especially when you consider Outdoor BMX in Utah is only realistic late April into late October).

That is the best explanation I have and sure hope it helps.
For what it is worth, I feel that the race was an overall success. No worthwhile activity involving 270 kids (45 New) will run flawless, but the more we work at it as a group, we can fine tune and smooth out the details.

By the way, Rad Canyon BMX is accepting any help of any kind, reliable volunteers are like FREE LUNCH, Very Hard to come by.
I would encourage any and all able parents to consider signing up for a variety Volunteer Positions. BMX truly is a fun sport to be involved in and it really doesn't take a lot of effort to watch and sweep a corner, water during break, staging, etc.
There is actually a Sign Up Form at Registration and I am POSITIVE the Track Director and current volunteers would appreciate a break from time to time.
I should probably get some shut eye, We've got a Redline Cup Qualifier about to happen and I am looking to be on top of my game.

RC

[Guest]

also to Rolands posts, If the parent doen't have the riders card from the aba and they don't know their ut1???? then when we go to put them in the computer we have do back out of the screnn that we are in and go into another screen to look up their number. If you ever go to a aba national you have to have your aba card.. the reason behind this is that if the computer just happens to crash all those riders have to be hand written, well if you don't have a ut01/02 number then your rider wouldn't get any points because the rider points are all decided off your registration number not your plate number, that is the reason it took alot longer then normal. we are really sorry for anything that might have happened, and we will try and get better. We really do need all your concerns, because if not we could never get better. thanks Robert.

[Guest]

also forgot something, we have 15,000 names in the computer so without your registration number we have to go through all the riders that have the same name to try and find the right rider. I know that I looked for my sons name in the computer and lets see how many andersons in az,ut,wy,nv,id,col,mt,etc do you think that there are racing? well we have to go through all them to determine which is the right rider, It might take a little bit of time, so please help us by putting your rider number on the registration forms. or If anyone has a scanner to scan the aba card then that would be really fast... sorry I can't tpe very well with a broken wrist...

[Geddo]

I second EVERYTHING Roland said! Here's my .02 on some of the issues:

*Registration- If you think it is easy inputting all that information...you're crazy! There were alot of new riders Saturday night, not to mention the changing of numbers. Besides, how many of us parents or racers follow the simple ABA rule printed on the back of your ABA card..."YOU MUST PRESENT THIS CARD AT REGISTRATION" ????

**Staging- I experienced this first hand this weekend and my hat goes off to all who have ever volunteered for this "jungle" of a job. It seems very simple until you have riders bunching up 15-20+ motos early and then give you the good old when you ask them to back up and make room for the moto you are staging.

***Announcing, infield, starter, scorers, etc.- Unless you've ever thrown away the Pepsi & Ho-Ho and picked up a shovel, rake, mic, pressed that cadence button, scored an event, etc....PLEASE keep the negative comments to yourself.

My post is not, in ANY way bashing any one person. I'm just giving my .02 on what I've seen at races. There will ALWAYS be that one parent that seems to think of all these ways a race could have run faster or smoother and that is perfectly fine. HOWEVER, it's what that parent does to volunteer or help out that matters. If he/she just sits back and complains, then all they are doing is adding to the problem!

In closing, I would like to say that I ENJOYED my weekend to the fullest! I think it went well and I thank Rad Canyon BMX for giving my family the opportunity to grow together and race BMX!!!

Again, just my .02!!!

Lee "Geddo" Geddings

[Guest]

We had a blast this weekend. Lee, Thank you so much for getting staging under control after the first round Saturday, It was a nightmare without it.

[mackdaddy]

Lee Clark

Thanks for your post about the Race for Life.
As a volunteer and a member of the board at Rad I would like to explain a couple of things.

Race for life is always tough. The ABA allows and we at Rad encourage
ANYONE who wants to pay $10 to race. These folks are new, and are not as experienced at geting their info on the sign up slips. Not to mention the fact that all those folks may not know what class they should be in. Add the fact that we had 40 something RFL riders, we also have to enter info on all of these folks into the computer by hand since they are not in the data base.
We also had to deal with the new 2006 numbers and it starts to get very busy and takes longer to do Registration. I have been to races in other states where the races started 2,3, and sometimes 4 hours after Registration closed.

For all those who go to a Race for Life, please plan on it taking a little longer to get the races going. And we the regular racers need to be a little patient to allow the people who are wanting to try it out, the time they need to get a crack at the great sport of BMX!!!!

Registration did take a little longer thatn normal on Sat night, however Sunday went a Scheduled and on time!

Lee please see me if you have any other concerns or you can call me 860-9357!!!


We hope every one had a great time at the races this weekend!!!!

[Diesel]

Man, the boys and I have raced all over the place at hundreds of tracks!!! I'm here to tell you that you won't find a better group running a race anywhere than the Rad Canyon crew!!! Roland said it all!!!

With that many riders and a ton of new riders on top of that, you just can't do it any faster than what you saw on Saturday with one computer! ABA has multiple computers on a network at signup, and the overwhelming vast majority of the riders at a national are established registered members. And signup is open for hours and hours!!!

Frankly, I didn't even notice how long it took! In fact I kind of liked the extra practices and so on! I like being at the track with everyone and everything going on! Hell, I was in Hog Heaven!!!

Mr Clark, feel free to come talk to me about how all this works and I'll be happy to explain it!

Diesel

[Roland]

Perfect ending to an awesome weekend!!! You all hit it on the nose. Communication is Critical.
All new riders are encouraged at Registration and should always feel comfortable asking for assistance (especially starting out)..
For some unknown reason to me, BMX has ALWAYS had tons and tons of Big Hearted families that welcome the new rider, offer assistance, equipment, etc.

NEW RIDERS & FAMILIES, the family to either side of you is probably more interested to lend a hand than you can imagine. For some, asking questions makes them feel "out of place", "The Newbie" or even worse, their question is stupid and they will be embarrassed......

Let me close a great weekend of BMX by saying"let those feelings go because the only stupid question to a BMX Family is the one you don't ask.
Great people all over the world in BMX and Utah is on the rise.

Thanks for a great weekend kids, we are proud to have each and every one of you BMX'in.
RIDE HARD and NEVER RETIRE...

RC

[Guest]

I WOULD LIKE TO REPLY TO THE COMPLAINT ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO REGISTRATION. I WILL GLADLY LET YOU TAKE OVER THE COMPUTER AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO A RACER IS WHEN ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE IS.... JOHN UT23???. OUT OF 200 RACERS I USUALLY GET ABOUT 25-30 FORMS THAT ARE COMPLETELY AND/OR ACCURATELY FILLED OUT. YOU THEN HAVE THE NEW PARENT OF A RACER THAT HAS NO CLUE WHEN THEIR CHILD'S BIRTHDATE IS SO THEY GUESS AND THEY USUALLY GUESS WRONG. WE CALL THE RACER UP TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND IT TAKES THEM ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES TO RESPOND. WHEN WE FINALLY USE OUR ESP AND FIGURE OUT WHO IS WHO WE POST THE MOTOS. THERE IS ALWAYS THAT ONE PERSON WHO ASSUMES THAT THEY ARE ON THE MOTO SHEET SO WHY BOTHER TO GO LOOK. WELL....... THEY CHECK ON THE SECOND POSTING GO HANG OUT FOR A WHILE THEN AFTER EVERYTHING IS ALL PRINTED AND READY TO GO THEY COME TO REGISTRATION TO TELL US. WE THEN HAVE TO RE POST AND RE PRINT EVERYTHING. IF PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE THINGS RUN SMOOTHER PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE SURE ALL THE INFORMATION IS COMPLETE AND ACCURATE. IF FOR SOME REASON OUR COMPUTER CRASHES AND WE HAVE TO HAND WRITE THE MOTOS YOUR RACER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RACE WITHOUT ALL OF THE INFORMATION. A FEW SUGGESTIONS........ WRITE THE UT NUMBER ON THE BACK OF YOUR CHILD'S NUMBER PLATE, WRITE THE UT NUMBER ON A PIECE OF PAPER AND PUT IT UNDER THE BIKE PADS, MEMORIZE YOUR RACERS UT NUMBER. WE THEM HAVE THOSE WHO THINK THEY CAN TAKE THEIR TIME GETTING TO STAGING AND EXPECT EVERYONE TO WAIT FOR THEM PLEASE GET YOUR RACER TO STAGING ON TIME IT WILL MAKE THINGS A LOT SMOOTHER. YOUR NUMBER PLATE MUST BE WHITE WITH THE CORRECT BOLD BLACK NUMBERS. IF OUR MOTO SHEET READS #25 THEN THE PLATE NEEDS TO READ #25. TRY READING 8 NUMBER PLATES COMING ACROSS THE LINE AT THE SAME TIME. WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT VOLUNTEERS. WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO MAKE IT A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE.
CAREN

[bmxmomof2racers]

I thought you all did another great job! RFL always takes longer to post motos because of the new rider input into the computer. It was a successful weekend with all the riders! We would travel 8 hours anytime for a turnout like you had!

[JasonStout]

I think this is great that we have a place to say,

...."I think registration takes too long!"

and I also think it's a great place to explain why it does!

I'd like to cast one vote for efficient registration and problem solving, and I 'd like to say thanks to all the volunteers that are doing the best they have with what they have!

So let's hack at the roots of the problem....not the leaves...


Do we need more computers that are networked to do a quicker more efficient registration. You know we have an Army of computer techs on the track. I'm sure if we threw a little time and money at it, Something could be done.

If racers need to do a better job of filling out a registration card, maybe a little education- or rejection of the incomplete forms would expedite the whole process.

New numbers for the new year- yeah, what a mess for the first race. What to do about this...maybe Ian and Heather can sell #s at the registration desk for this race only...

Maybe do a race for life and Redline weekend in the 2nd month of the year?

Now I'm just reaching....

Well, here we are, we have the chance to voice our opinion- 'cuz I have the same questions- "why does it take soooo long to register?"

I also understand the volunteers are amazing, and they do the job every race! Thank you!

Our leaders are great- they will listen to the voices who dare ask the tough questions and figure out better ways to increase the productivity of the races. Thanks for being on the case and improving our already great race situation.

(Please don't crucify anyone who shares their honest opinion, or expresses any concerns-Just give informative replies that don't become personal attacks.... and FYI- all caps in internet communication equals yelling!) AND WE DON'T WANT ANY OF THAT HERE OR AT THE TRACK!!!!!!



JS

[Guest]

I Had some freinds stay with me from out of town, they all talk about going to dinner saturday night I just laughed a race for life and new number plates the same night . I would have bet anyone a $100.00 on 11pm or later finish. Well I went to dinner and ran home and showered first, how in the heck did you guys pull that off I have never seen it done that smooth before, and we had an outstanding jumping contest to boot.
Registration has a problem they are way to eficient, when it is that fast it cuts down on our practice time. We give you all the crap we can and you plow right threw it. I have never seen it run that smooth. My boy could not race this weekend and that makes a man very edgy sorry if i offended anyone. But this ended up to be one of the funest weekends of raceing I ever had, my hat goes off to Rad Canyon crew, you did it all that was the best track that we ever had "indoor' a race for life
Red Line Cup. You had some of the best Dirt Jumpers in the world there to, we had lot of national riders show up made for tha best racing and dirt jumping ever. GREAT JOB

[JasonStout]

Is that you Mike K?

JS