My critique of races
My critique of paddlesports races is purely subjective but is meant to help new race directors as they reflect on how to spend their resources and to stimulate more discussion with seasoned directors and racers alike so that the paddling community continues to enjoy great events. After all, paddling races have been disappearing, and not merely due to the recent pandemic, but also to the time and demands of creating a legal, safe, and fun competition.
The reviews that I write are unsolicited and are only of races that I liked (for ethical reasons, I am not seeking to defame races that I felt were poorly run, for example, where women were overlooked entirely in the distribution of awards).
In my experience as a race participant and as director of the Toms River Race, I believe that there are 5 main components that make a race successful both for the competitors and the director in the order of most to least important:
Accuracy of timing and swiftness of reporting results
A clearly defined, easy to navigate race course
Safety
Gifts and Awards
Food/Beverage served
I must explain, of course, my reasoning for the above as I expect many differences in opinion. You may ask immediately, “Why isn’t safety rated most important?” In my view, safety is third in priority to those elite watermen and women I have met who are highly risk tolerant and confident (perhaps at times overly so), in their ability to perform a self-rescue. For these athletes, e..g. world champion surfski paddlers or my local thrill-seeking friends, the absence of safety boats on a course is not a dealbreaker from registering for an event. But whether one is an aspiring Olympian or an amateur just getting started in paddlesports racing, obtaining an accurate time through the most efficient means is most important. Even when racers say they don’t care about their time, I’m convinced on the contrary that their time is what they value most in their race experience: why sign up for a competition when one can race against one’s own sports watch anywhere and at any time? And even if an athlete truly doesn’t mind some flaws in time reporting, these flaws are anathema to directors who want to be sure that they are distributing praise and/or awards to those who justly earned their titles.
Second to accuracy of timing and speed of reporting results is providing a course that novice racers can follow without getting lost and that allow the most competitive racers the freedom to choose a line as part of their winning strategy. Towards the goal of setting up a well-defined course, race directors should have a formal captains’ meeting either in person before the start of the race or virtually before race day. The advantages of a virtual captains’ meeting are great: race directors can present a slideshow or some other useful visuals of the course, ideally with photographs accompanying a chart or google satellite image of the course; more time can be dedicated to explaining an alternate course in the event of unsafe conditions dictating a more protected route; racers feel less pressured to ask questions than if they are gathered for a meeting minutes before the race start; racers have more time to review safety procedures as well as the course before arriving at the venue; and, of course, post-pandemic etiquette is facilitated in a virtual setting. At minimum, race directors should email racers with visuals of the course and explain the course and safety protocols on race day.
Accordingly, safety ranks no. 3 in importance for racers but it should be considered on par with no. 1 for race directors planning an event. As such, I recommend that race directors invest in a reliable timing company or at least in experienced timers as much as they do in safety boats and in EMS personnel.
You may still object: “Why is food an important component but not ease of registration ?” With paddle guru and other websites like run signup, electronic registration should be easy nowadays. Same-day registration is at the discretion of the organizer, but contact-free sign ups are preferred for obvious reasons today, and can provide worry-free electronic waivers with e-signatures.
Further, you may be surprised about my list of key components for two others reasons: I left out perhaps the most obvious, cost, and I consider prizes and gifts to be more important than food and beverage provided at an after-party. To address the first concern, a responsible race director always tries to keep the cost down as much as possible for the customer but athletes are becoming as aware as the directors themselves of the increasing cost of hosting races in recent years. Instead of cost of registration being a factor that affects the success of a race, the best value for for an athlete’s investment in the race is what really matters to athletes and organizers, alike. Although insurance and permits may be reasonably cheap, the cost of hiring timers, obtaining bib numbers, renting sound equipment (for an awards ceremony), providing a practical gift for every participant, ordering customized awards, and feeding athletes after a tough workout can be exorbitant . One could justifiably argue that food, awards, and gifts all have about the same importance for racers. If a racer enjoys good food but receives no awards or gifts, the latter are hardly ever missed. If a race provides a practical gift (like the famous Hack socks given at the Hackensack Race) and/or a one-of-a-kind award, racers will generally forgive the director if they need to bring their own lunch. In my opinion, however, when race organizers need to save money, and must make a decision among providing food, a gift, or medals, I recommend getting everyone a gift, if nothing else. Customers in most situations like something tangible in return for fees, and most racers appreciate having a souvenir that they can use. Medals and other types of awards are important because those who win should have a special souvenir of their success. When a director is lucky to find enough sponsors to cover the cost of all their essentials, food is a great bonus gift as all athletes appreciate eating. Food can be a superfluous expense because racers could be on a special diet or simply not have any desire to pay for a gourmet lunch: they simply want to race. Thus, meal tickets can be a good alternative to including food in the cost of registration fees.
You will notice that instead of rating events 1-5 stars, I will grade each event a C through A based on the criteria discussed. Sorry, folks, those of you who know me, realize I can’t get away from work habits! Please enjoy the critiques and feel free to comment on them.
