Race Day Registration

How have you been handling your packet pickup and race day registration?  Are you still doing it the way you have been for the last x number of years?   Many race directors find themselves struggling with this every year trying to find the best and most efficient way to handle packet pickup.  It is a constant exercise in trial and error to see what works best.  Athlete Guild now offers multiple tools to help streamline your operations.  If you like the old way of putting packets together with bags and labels and stuffing all of your material into the bag, then

Permits/Insurance

If you are planning on hosting an event, there are two items that will be of extreme value to you and that is permits and insurance for the event.  These are items that are usually required by the venue or municipality for your event.  The permit is something that is not usually required unless you are utilizing public roads or other public access.  If your event is entirely on private property, then it would be unusual for it to be needed.  The permit is to let the municipality know what resources are going to be needed for your event.  In addition to traffic contr

Chip Reading and Antennas

Our last article talked about the two different kinds of chips that you might see in RFID.  The question though is how the chip actually gets read by the computer and used for timing.  There are 3 components that are required for RFID chip timing.  One is the computer to make use of the chip read.  The computer is usually a laptop but could be any computer.  It has specialized software that knows how to interprete the chip data and turn it into an actual time that can be used for race timing and scoring.  Then there is a RFID reader which is attached to the com

How Does It All Work?

Have you ever stopped to consider how chip timing actually works?  We get a lot of questions from runners and race directors alike regarding the technology and how it works.  For most, it just seems to work and they never really give it much though.  As a timer though, we have to spend a lot of time thinking about the technology and how to best deploy it.  The interesting thing is that many timers are in the same position as you.  They know how to set it up and capture times, but they don't really understand the technology behind it.  If you were to ask the

Packet Pickup Best Practice

One of the biggest questions we get from new race directors is how to handle packet pickup.  If you have done multiple races, then you probably have a preferred method to handle packet pickup.  The way that it is handled can vary from race to race and depends on several factors; number of volunteers available, number of participants, time available for pickup, technology.  The goal of course is to move the pickup line as quickly as possible so that there is no delay in starting the event.

Registration Fees

When you are setting up your event and working with a timer, do you give any consideration to the registration fees that your participants are paying?  If not, then you should.  Those registration fees can have an impact on your participation as it raises the cost of the overall registration cost.  When participants are looking at registering for your event, if the additional fees that they pay are too high, then many will simply back out and either decide to wait or not attend at all.

A New Year

Well here we are  a month into 2021 and are still facing the panic of covid-19.  Like you, we had hoped that we would be out of this by now and moving forward with events.  With the continued panic though, we are still trying to figure out how to move forward with events.  We were successful in 2020 with hosting many in-person events and many more virtual events.  We worked hard with many of our organizations to help them a way forward with their own events.  Even with the virtual only options, many organizations were quite successful with their fund raising.

Race Director Corner - Volume 5, Issue 1

2020 has certainly been one for the history books.  What have you done with your time.  Have you been like so many who are just sitting around waiting for things to get better, or have you been taking the time to prepare for the future.  At Athlete Guild, we have been working hard on preparing for what's next.  We have been amazed at the total lack of leadership and activity from our competitors.  They seem to be just riding it out and taking and wait and see attitude.  That's not the way that Athlete Guild does business though.  We have been at th

Race Director Corner - Volume 4, Issue 1

It’s hard to believe that we’re now entering our 6 month of covid panic.  It has been a challenge for everyone, but especially those in the entertainment and sports industries.  We were some of the first to go and will be the last to return.  As a company, we have worked hard to provide solutions to our partners to get through this challenging period.  Whether it is helping with protocols to have live events, hosting virtual events, or trying to come up with other solutions, we have been at the forefront.  Those of you who have leaned on us to help with

Race Director Corner - Volume 3, Issue 1

We hope that this new issue finds you safe and well.  This year has certainly been challenging on so many levels.  As race directors, we have all had to make huge adjustments to our race plans.  Some races have been forced to cancel, while others have been able to reschedule, and fewer still have been able to convert to a virtual event.  As the states started lifting restrictions, we have been able to host a few events but with a completely new format.  We’re learning some best practices on how we conduct these races successfully.  The challenge is convin