Online entry for non members

[vorsprung]

I was surprised to get an online entry from a non member for the 400km I organize

I didn't know this was possible, I had a rummage and it seems that the system now allows "temporary" membership via paypal

A big thank you to whoever sorted this out!

Maybe we need to make this more widely known now. One of the minor stumbling blocks to audax entry was the requirement for 3 SAEs, a cheque and a form

[robgul]

The CTC Hoe  -  www.ctc-heartofengland.org.uk -  rides in May at Meriden have their own online entry system - that offers non-member options (adding the temporary insurance fee) - we've been running it this way for 3 or 4 years and most of the entries now seem to come in that way - no SAEs, no cheques - we just reflect the costs in the entry fee.  Simples.

Rob

[vorsprung]

The CTC Hoe  -  www.ctc-heartofengland.org.uk -  rides in May at Meriden have their own online entry system - that offers non-member options (adding the temporary insurance fee) - we've been running it this way for 3 or 4 years and most of the entries now seem to come in that way - no SAEs, no cheques - we just reflect the costs in the entry fee. 

Quite so but this does seem to remove the need for having our own online entry systems!

[saturn]

Quite - I've asked the organiser of our club's next event to have a  look at it to decide whether we continue with both in parallel, or just the AUK system, or make the change next year.

There was a bit of discussion about at AUK Website update now in Beta but it quickly became lost amongst another punch-up about the mesh.

[robgul]

The CTC Hoe  -  www.ctc-heartofengland.org.uk -  rides in May at Meriden have their own online entry system - that offers non-member options (adding the temporary insurance fee) - we've been running it this way for 3 or 4 years and most of the entries now seem to come in that way - no SAEs, no cheques - we just reflect the costs in the entry fee. 

Quite so but this does seem to remove the need for having our own online entry systems!

Agree - BUT we seem to attract non-members (either AUK or CTC) from other sources we promote to ... whether they would go to the (in my view) unattractive AUK entry system I'm not sure ?

The entry system we use took a couple of hours to set up back in 2007 or 8 - all we do each year is change the date and any other details and switch it back on again.  The reporting tools in the software produce all the control sheet data etc that the organiser needs.

Rob

[valkyrie]

I didn't know that was possible either - just been and looked at someone else's event and it works. Excellent 

I'm hoping to get as many online entries as possible, it's so much easier.

[phil d]

whether they would go to the (in my view) unattractive AUK entry system I'm not sure ?

Rob

Rob, what is it about the AUK on-line enty system that you think is "unattractive"?  Perhaps if that is a widely held view it could be adjusted.  Pete Coates seems very amenable to tweaking the system to make it work for us.

[saturn]

I'm expecting the AUK solution to provide some administrative benefits for organisers and if so we'll gladly move over to the AUK system even though ours has worked for years. I don't see the fact that we promote our events via our own web site as an issue - we'd simply link the 'enter now' button to the AUK entry page rather than our own entry form.

[Greenbank]

The major benefit is for those organisers that haven't implemented their own system (to handle non-members).

A single system designed to handle all 500+ different events/organisers (should they wish to choose to use it) is not going to satisfy every individual requirement from all of those organisers, so some individuals may wish to stick with their own home-grown systems.

[JohnHamilton]

[eventsec]
This is a new feature introduced with the new website.

Organisers of events in Feb/March who are using online entry have already been informed. There'll be a newsletter to all organisers in the next couple of weeks which will cover this (plus a few other things).

The AUK system is much easier to use if you're entering as a member as all you have to do is put your membership number in. So if your event is mostly AUK entrants then you're probably better off using that.

If you have a lot of non-member entries and have the technical ability to do your own system then you're welcome to continue with that. If you've got your own website say then you may feel it to be better to take your entries that way. What you must do if you do this though is to ensure that all the relevant disclaimers and T&Cs from the standard AUK entry form are replicated.

You can of course enable both options so riders have the choice.
[/eventsec]

[robgul]

whether they would go to the (in my view) unattractive AUK entry system I'm not sure ?

Rob

Rob, what is it about the AUK on-line enty system that you think is "unattractive"?  Perhaps if that is a widely held view it could be adjusted.  Pete Coates seems very amenable to tweaking the system to make it work for us.

Feedback from ride entrants (that's a whole raft that I'm involved in - with about 2,500 entry transactions a year) seems to indicate that a lot of people like an "Amazon" style of presentation whereas the (new) AUK think is a bit bland and "technical" in appearance  (although fully functional)

The alternatives also offer the opportunity for the organiser to sell the event with text and pictures, route downloads, maps and other bells & whistles

 ....... that's about it - it's part of the marketing approach to the events - I have nothing against the AUK site, honest!!

Rob

 

[Greenbank]

The alternatives also offer the opportunity for the organiser to sell the event with text and pictures, route downloads, maps and other bells & whistles

All of which the AUK entry system can do already:-

Website link, GPS file download on this one: event detail

Others provide links to the routesheet or even a route outline: event detail

It's just that many (or most) organisers don't upload this extra information for their events.

[mattc]

The alternatives also offer the opportunity for the organiser to sell the event with text and pictures, route downloads, maps and other bells & whistles
 

Lots of organisers attach pages with maps etc.

Or they setup their own site independently and link from it to the AUK entry page (and then advertise their own URL).

Because most audaxes are small scale, there isn't the same marketing 'budget' (i.e. time and effort), but I believe you can go mad with flaming logos and jingles if you want to.

Frankly I have rarely seen a cycling event with a better website than Mille Cymru had (despite a relatively elite small field).

[saturn]

The AUK system is much easier to use if you're entering as a member as all you have to do is put your membership number in.

I was thinking about benefits to organisers but that's another good reason to perhaps move over to the AUK system. I expect that the organisers of our club's events will appreciate one system for everybody (which is why we continued to use our own system when the AUK member-only system was intrdouced) so that all entries are in the same format. We'll continue to use our own web site to publicise and provide more info on our events but hopefully we can link to the AUK entry system to take the entries whether or not people start from our website or start from the AUK calendar and visit our site for a bit more info.

[frankly frankie]

I'm expecting the AUK solution to provide some administrative benefits for organisers

There's a benefit for AUK as well, way down the line, in that there is now a simple connection between a person (member or not) entering online, and that person being listed in the results without anyone anywhere having to re-enter any of the information.

As online entry becomes more commonly used, it should be possible to establish a connection with the card ordering process - at the very least, Pam would be able to have an idea of what sort of entry levels up-coming events are getting, even before the Organiser confirms his order.

That said, there's absolutely no problem with robgul continuing with his own setup if that works better for him.

[Manotea]

I noticed the chaneges when I paypal entered the chiltern hills Audax today

looks pretty good

these type of initiatives, especially those which make Audax more accessible to  non members are* A Big Deal and should be splatted over the front page, tweeted and generally made a big fuss of, complete with letters and articles to the press.

Well done, pete & co

Edit: *IMO

[Martin]

I think it's a brilliant idea  

I've had online entry available for a few years now and tried various ideas for doing my own non-member entry, most of which were scuppered by not wanting to put my real Paypal email online and just the general faff of creating electronic entry forms.
In the end I've ended up saying to non-members who want to enter online "just tell me your name and bring an entry form and the money on the day" which is not ideal as you are reliant on fair weather riders; I can't really ask them to pay me upfront without an entry form.

I'm toying with the idea of adding a postal surcharge which will be more than that for PayPal, is this allowed?

[frankly frankie]

Of course it is.  Just set your (postal) entry fee then put a negative number in the Pp surcharge option.

the general faff of creating electronic entry forms.

Why do you think it took us at AUK so long? 

[daveb]

I think it's a brilliant idea  

I've had online entry available for a few years now and tried various ideas for doing my own non-member entry, most of which were scuppered by not wanting to put my real Paypal email online and just the general faff of creating electronic entry forms.
In the end I've ended up saying to non-members who want to enter online "just tell me your name and bring an entry form and the money on the day" which is not ideal as you are reliant on fair weather riders; I can't really ask them to pay me upfront without an entry form.

I'm toying with the idea of adding a postal surcharge which will be more than that for PayPal, is this allowed?

I did that for the Poor Student and The Dean this year. I got roughly half the number of paper entries.

[mattc]

Event Planner text change needed?

Alternative - to add an external link to an Online Entry facility, click here.
For events with lots of non-members (eg some Populaires), or if you don't have a Paypal account - the AUK online entry system is not a good option.

?

(completely non-urgent, obviously!)

[frankly frankie]

Thanks Matt - I'll see to it.