HPPaddle wrote:Dee:
"You mean those VOLUNTEERS who give up their own TIME to run the sport and spend equal amount of THEIR OWN money on accommodation etc. so that YOU can compete?
I don't know whey they bother."
I was not meaning to be rude about volunteers,
Sorry, but to me it did come across as rude about the volunteers.
When would be a good time to publish the start list? When do you book accommodation for an event? We book at the start of the season (actually for Tees we booked the day after the ACM) because it is the cheapest time and volunteering in the sport costs us £1,000's per year so saving what we can helps. We take a gamble, we usually pay a bit less for the non-cancel options when booking but there are usually flexible options available for a slight additional cost.
With entries having priority up to 4 weeks before, then paddle ups etc. it is usual that the organiser doesn't have a list until the week before the event. Some very organised organisers are able to produce a skeleton start list in advance, others have other commitments and are unable to do so. I don't think these people should be expected to carry more of a burden than they already have.
Even publishing the draft start list caused issues at Lee Valley this weekend. Several paddlers did not check the start list on the day, even though the one online was a draft resulting in abuse to the starter and the jury.
I am completely up for streamlining systems and changing things (as Dee has done so magnificently with the online entry system) to make the lives of volunteers, coaches (paid or voluntary) and paddlers easier, less time consuming and more cost effective but putting additional burdens on the limited volunteer base we already have is not acceptable.