There were some paper copies being handed out in St. Catherines. I haven't seen any at any other races yet though. I haven't seen an electronic one either.
This makes me want to touch on the marketing that a lot of Ontario bike race organizers are not taking advantage of. In order to get more people out to races, you need to create some sort of 'hype' about the race. By posting up flyers and ads only a few weeks before their race, there is not a lot of time for people to get excited about any particular race. The internet and race flyers are a fantastic marketing tool which should be used to bring out more people to races, but sadly they are not being used very effectively. Suppose people only want to race a couple of races throughout the season. Its hard to pick one if there's no info on it until 2 weeks before the race takes place.
So, organizers should take note and get the info for their respective races out as early as they possibly can. I'm sure it will lead to bigger attendance at races.
How about printing the event ads in the OCA magazine that gets that gets distributed to all members at the start of the season and at the bike show in March? That should be early enough.
Oh wait, they already do that! :p
I don't see how you can say that current marketing of cross races (in whatever form) is not working. Less than 5 years ago a turnout of 70 riders was almost unheard of, while today a turnout of 100+ riders can be expected almost every weekend. The number of races has increased significantly in the same period providing riders with more options of which events to attend.
Part of the attractiveness of cross is the relatively small number of participants....I guess it's the grassroots feeling. Too much marketing and hype could ruin that.
But if the goal is to create a large regional series (like the Verge series) then more marketing and hype are going to be needed.
I was in Portland over the long weekend, and got out to participate in the first of their Cross Crusade series, at Alpenrose Dairy.
From what I saw, a high number of participants is not completely at odds with maintaining the grassroots feeling. This event had both - just under 1100 participants, but it hadn't lost any of that community/grassroots feel. Everyone was friendly, most people seemed to know one another. There was a lot of catching up pre and post race. There were a *lot* of beginners, and a category for just about everyone.
I understand it's taken a while for Portland to grow to these numbers - last year they had 600 participants at Alpenrose. It was really fun to be part of something so big. I definitely don't think we need to fear growth in the sport in Ontario... we still have a ways to go before it's a problem!
As for promoting an event, as an organizer unless you know by the end of November the year before the full details of your event it is tough to get it into the OCA booklet. Flyers and internet seem to be best to get the info out there. The CXO, OCA and CC websites seem to be best for active forums and news.
As well, cross numbers have gone up, I remember races where there were just a dozen riders in my field. If we want more people out it is up to the racers to introduce someone new to the sport. It is also great to see a youth race at the events, the future of cross right there!
cyclocross for cambridge www.hubbicycleshop.com
______________________
There were some paper copies
There were some paper copies being handed out in St. Catherines. I haven't seen any at any other races yet though. I haven't seen an electronic one either.
This makes me want to touch on the marketing that a lot of Ontario bike race organizers are not taking advantage of. In order to get more people out to races, you need to create some sort of 'hype' about the race. By posting up flyers and ads only a few weeks before their race, there is not a lot of time for people to get excited about any particular race. The internet and race flyers are a fantastic marketing tool which should be used to bring out more people to races, but sadly they are not being used very effectively. Suppose people only want to race a couple of races throughout the season. Its hard to pick one if there's no info on it until 2 weeks before the race takes place.
So, organizers should take note and get the info for their respective races out as early as they possibly can. I'm sure it will lead to bigger attendance at races.
How about printing the event
How about printing the event ads in the OCA magazine that gets that gets distributed to all members at the start of the season and at the bike show in March? That should be early enough.
Oh wait, they already do that! :p
I don't see how you can say that current marketing of cross races (in whatever form) is not working. Less than 5 years ago a turnout of 70 riders was almost unheard of, while today a turnout of 100+ riders can be expected almost every weekend. The number of races has increased significantly in the same period providing riders with more options of which events to attend.
Part of the attractiveness of cross is the relatively small number of participants....I guess it's the grassroots feeling. Too much marketing and hype could ruin that.
But if the goal is to create a large regional series (like the Verge series) then more marketing and hype are going to be needed.
Size vs community feeling...
Size vs community feeling...
I was in Portland over the long weekend, and got out to participate in the first of their Cross Crusade series, at Alpenrose Dairy.
From what I saw, a high number of participants is not completely at odds with maintaining the grassroots feeling. This event had both - just under 1100 participants, but it hadn't lost any of that community/grassroots feel. Everyone was friendly, most people seemed to know one another. There was a lot of catching up pre and post race. There were a *lot* of beginners, and a category for just about everyone.
I understand it's taken a while for Portland to grow to these numbers - last year they had 600 participants at Alpenrose. It was really fun to be part of something so big. I definitely don't think we need to fear growth in the sport in Ontario... we still have a ways to go before it's a problem!
As for promoting an event,
As for promoting an event, as an organizer unless you know by the end of November the year before the full details of your event it is tough to get it into the OCA booklet. Flyers and internet seem to be best to get the info out there. The CXO, OCA and CC websites seem to be best for active forums and news.
As well, cross numbers have gone up, I remember races where there were just a dozen riders in my field. If we want more people out it is up to the racers to introduce someone new to the sport. It is also great to see a youth race at the events, the future of cross right there!
cyclocross for cambridge
www.hubbicycleshop.com
______________________