Is it necessary to pre-register?
2008
A reader writes:
Is it necessary to pre-register for races? Do they all tend to fill up?
Two related trends bode well for our sport: More and more races are providing online pre-registration, and more and more races are reaching capacity, especially in the Cat 5’s. (USA Cycling limits Cat 5 fields to 50 riders, and Cat 4/5 fields to 75.)
The risk of pre-registering is that it may rain, or something may come up to conflict with the race and you’ll be on the hook for your $25. (Curse those loved ones with the gall to wed at the height of racing season!) Promoters usually don’t often provide refunds, and few will go through the hassle of transferring registration to your teammates.
But the risk is worth it if it’s a race you have your heart set on and there’s a possibility it will fill. Alas, I know of no women’s races to have filled up, nor P/1/2’s or 3’s, but the Tour of Elk Grove, Downers Grove and the Chicago Criterium are all local races where we can expect the Cat 5 and Cat 4 fields to fill. Last the local Superweek races filled their 4/5 fields, starting with Evanston, and Wisconsin’s Spring Prairie Road Race has in the past filled its 4/5 fields.
Finally, Hillsboro-Roubaix will fill up the quickest of any race, as we discovered this year, and Snake Alley is a race for which it’s essential to pre-register, not because it will fill up but because start position is so crucial.
For most other races, however, one can safely count on registering on the day of, but you never know: Even this year’s Spring Super Criterium, an untested race two hours from the city with no money on the line, filled several of its fields, to its promoters’ credit. Better to be safe than to drive 100 miles to be a spectator.
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Apr 15
2008
5:00 pm
Just a race promoter’s 2 cents…
Is it necessary for racers to pre-reg? As Luke mentioned, in most cases the short answer is no since most fields here in the MidWest don’t fill up. But I feel that’s a weak reason. I’ve always said, “Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd!” Would you be willing to do a race if you knew the field would have 50 racers in it rather than 15? I would be…
From a promoter’s logistical standpoint it greatly helps with planning and organizing an event if racers pre-reg. Hosting a race of any size is no small undertaking and Burnham Racing was very fortunate and thankful to have so many riders pre-reg for our inaugural Spring Super Crit. From the feedback we received everyone was very happy about the registration process… and from our standpoint things went very smoothly.
I’ll admit it… I’m an unabashed fan of pre-reg’ing. You can pay with a credit card (think frequent flyer miles)… you know your name and your team’s name will be spelled correctly on results (maybe not Jeff Watkins)… you know you’ll have a spot… and if done correctly all you have to do is show up, show youre license, sign your name once, pick up your bib number, and go warm up. Couldn’t be simpler.
I wish more races would offer online pre-reg’ing… its a snap to set up on sites like BikeReg.com and SportsBaseOnline.
Concerning weather… I can understand if you don’t like to RIDE your bike in the rain, but as far as RACING in the rain, hey… HTFU! Hard man points are on the line.
Concerning refunds… I’ve never known a promoter who wouldn’t refund a racer’s entry fee who had a legitimate reason beyond “I decided that morning that I didn’t want to get up so early”. We only had one racer pre-reg and then decide not to race before the event… and he was more concerned about making sure someone else would be able to get his spot than his entry fee refunded (thanks Justin!) I mailed out his entry fee the Monday after the SSC. If you plan on racing… then just show up and race… if not let the promoter know as far in advance as possible.
So should you pre-reg… YES!!!
It makes everyone’s like much easier come race day when we’re all inevitably running around like crazy. Its just that much easier when all you have to worry about is showing up and racing… not fumbling around looking for $20 or writing a check.