Regatta Updates And Status

[glrfcentral]

Adrian and I have exchanged a couple of emails, mostly in bewilderment about the current registration system for the 2017 World Outgames regatta but we also share concerns about the age groups and boat assignments.

 

To bring everyone up to date, I participated in two conference calls in the past two weeks, one with the North American Outgames, a GLISA continental association, and then with GLISA international a week later.

 

The first surprising news is that the current "registration" fee is $200 and not $250, until 30 December 2016. Why this has been kept a secret is a mystery and very frustrating. When I went through the registration system, the sport fee for rowing was $125. Adrian indicated in a recent email a figure of $150. We still don't know if there is an additional boat rental fee.

 

On the GLISA International conference call, I learned that a select number of 'international sports federations' who are members of GLISA were getting a promo code allowing their members to register for $150. I blew my top. What are rowers, chopped liver?

 

I also asked why there was so little transparency in the registration fees. If you, a basketball player, a football player, a tennis player, or a rower, visit the Miami Outgames website, there is no listing anywhere of the registration fees, and on the sports page, it does not give the sports fee. You only find out all of these fees after going through registration. I acknowledged that this practice can be an effective marketing tool with a for profit company but I thought it was entirely inappropriate with athletes and a nonprofit organization.

 

I hope to have answers to about the sports fee and the boat rental fee in the next week, and hopefully a promo code for the rowers. I also plan to travel to Miami to find out who is the actual rowing manager. GLRF member Doug Wood, past president of Miami Beach Rowing club, was providing the liaison between the Outgames and the rowing clubs. But Doug told me he would not be involved in the regatta committee itself.

 

If any of you have thoughts on the regatta structure, please sound off here, or start another topic in this forum, if it is about a boat class, or an age group, whatever.

 

I also plan to lobby the Outgames to allow registration through Regatta Central. This may mean taking the regatta and the registration out of the Outgames but if any of you have tried to register for rowing, you know how hopelessly complicated the software program has been configured.

 

- Brian