Public venue pinewood derby race coordination

[St_Louis_Racer]

Anyone have any experience with race coordination at a public venue ?

My sister works for a radio station in Chicago and was asked if she could set up a father/son pinewood derby race at a local large sporting goods store.

Any ideas/information at all would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Go Bubba Go]

Some issues that need to be addressed:

1) Layout - you need a "dry run" through the event with the Store Manager (not his/her underling - you need answers that won't change) to confirm EXACTLY where you are going to be able to set up and that sufficient space is available. I suggest marking the "footprint" off with paper cups or other props to give all involved a real "feel" for how much space you're gonna need - it's more than you think. Considerations also need to be given to power supplies for timers, electronics (i.e. outlets, extension cords, etc.) and to traffic patterns (i.e. exits - don't want the Fire Marshall to shut you down for blocking exits - this is Chicago you're talking about).

2) Setup - If store stuff has to be moved to make room (it VERY likely will) you need to confirm who is going to move it and when. You also need to confirm who is bringing track(s), tables, etc. I recommend you set up the day/night before (stuff happens - you'll want some time to fix it).

3) Track area "security" - the track area (including car staging tables) needs to be tightly sectioned off and gated (with constant gate supervision). Usually roping off the area with decorative plastic chains is good enough. Whether you have 5 participants or 500, you need to maintain secure control of who has access to the cars and track area.

4) Signage - especially if this is a "first time" event or participants are "first timers", you need to clearly mark off the registration table, inspection table, etc. Ask yourself this - when you walk into the store, can you see where you need to go?

5) Good PA system with good announcer - to "invite" participants over to check-in, remind them of schedule, communicate other do's / don'ts.

6) Schedule - everyone should know when to be there, when to check in, when races start, etc. This should be included in the pre-event communications and apparent (include in signage / PA announcements) to participants in the store.

7) Car "tickets" - esp. for a large event, 2 part raffle tickets are a good means to establish car ownership either for giving cars back or for allowing participants into the race area to stage their own cars if you wish. When the car is checked in, give the owner the ticket and mark the car with the number (sticker, blank area on bottom of car, etc.) so that two things happen - people go home with their own cars, and people aren't in the track area when their cars aren't running.

Volunteers - you need to KNOW who is available and COMMITTED to help run the event. Check-In, Announcer, Track Guys, "Crowd Control", it kind of adds up.

There are obviously rules, racing schedules, check-in equipment, other stuff to consider, but I think the list above hits most of the "public venue" part of the equation.

Bubba

p.s. Shoot me a PM if you want, I'm not too far from Chicago and would be glad to talk her through it a couple times.

[quadad]

Sounds like all very good points from Go Bubba Go (and I suspect he has many more to offer), but my first order thinking is that these kinds of races are hard enough for experienced organizations to put on - how is a radio station going to do it? I would think that they could really benefit from some existing scouting, Awana, or similar organization (there's that word again) or someone that is paid to put on this kind of race. Maybe that's all in the plan, just my random musings here after popping in to see what's going on.

[12yearsrunning]

Bubba brought up excellent points that would need to be worked out. I agree with you that someone experienced needs to be brought in to organize and run the race.

I’d begin by asking the store owner/manager what the intent of the race would be. If its to draw people into the store...believe me a big sale would be much easier and more profitable for them. A few keys to a successful race in a public venue are Who’s being targeted, When is it being held, Incentives and Promotion.

If the target group is scout families things will be much easier since they are familiar with race structure and rules. Don’t expect the general public to go out, buy a kit, build a car and race. Rules with the public would need to be very relaxed or not used. I made 150 identical cars to use at public events. At one such event, a shopping mall, even with promotion could only draw in the ones that were walking by 5 minutes before the race was scheduled to start. No one was going to wait around or return for a race that starts an hour later. The general public has little interest.

If the event is held prior to the beginning of the pack racing season they’d have a better turnout since everyone wants to see how their car will do. They may want to sponsor a pack, district, or council race. Then my concern would be the size of the location. If its during the off-season especially May - September, your competing with nice weather, youth sports, family vacations, etc. The enthusiasm for average scout families to compete drops off drastically.

Incentive - If a $1000 gift certificate is the first place prize...you’ll have people show up. Strict rules and rule enforcement is a must.

Promotion, promotion, promotion. They won’t show if they don’t know.