Note to the person asking about the LITTLE THINGS A CLUB CAN DO under
the heading 'what makes a good trial great.' Most of the replies have
turned into 'what would make for the ultimate standard for all trials' - don't
get overwhelmed.
So I advise to weed out the suggestions of the little things that your club
specifically can do and focus on them.
(If your trial is already scheduled you may be limited in your site's
space/surface/distance to parking lot, the vendors offerings, the motel
prices/distance, and how nice the judges will be:)
Instead focus on:
1. your communication with the exhibitors -
a) paper
course copies (maybe keep some for later in the day) results even if preliminary
(remember in some venues the judge must check all Q's before ribbons go out),
worker schedule in advance, identification of who your club workers are and
their roles, signage (especially signs indicating ribbons, worker check-in,
which way to portopotties, where check-in, measuring are, which line is which if
applicable, where moveup forms are if applicable, parking, drop-off only,
handicap, agility trial this way) Oh, and ring numbers. I've been at trials
where they holler about needing people in ring 2, you look and both rings are
walking, it's not obvious
and certainly not signed WHICH RING IS RING TWO (just 'cause you know doesn't
mean your well-intended volunteer will know).
b)Spoken
Have an information tent so the TS isn't fielding 'out of TP' inquiries Announce
walk-throughs announce workers by name for the next height about to run Announce
any changes and when the food vendor is going to shut down.
c)workers perks
offer a worker raffle and let workers use their tickets for lunch or the
raffle. Err on the side of generosity to your workers. Check with the
vendor on how much a lunch item plus drink costs and make your ticket worth that
much, typically five or six dollars. A ticket worth a single dollar off lunch
for someone gate stewarding excellent B isn't much incentive for
them to help you again. [Unless they love yelling about dogs in the abyss
so much they'd do it completely for free, but that's another discussion :)
As an additional check on what communication items are being overlooked, Like
one person wrote, imagine you're from far away and don't know anyone there.
Think of your experience during an entire day. From where you have to make
turns to find the trial site, where to drop off, park, where you can/can't
tent/crate, when is check in / what is check in, list of what classes in what
ring, which ring is which ring, are there areas
dog 'walking' is not allowed, where's the worker schedule posted, do
I check in, where do I get measured, who is measuring, where are results
posted, where are ribbons, how do I move up.
Err on the side of too much signage.
Other things you can do is have someone in charge of checking the garbage and
poop collecting big bags , and changing those bags. Reward them well. End of day
patrol (Nothing like Sunday morning with Saturday's garbage still uncollected).
Have someone make sure the times and yardages are posted on the
gate list for all heights, not just the first height of the day. (That
can save your GS a lot of questions like "anyone know what course time
is") Put gate lists out ahead of time so people can check in ahead of time.
Good luck
P.S. Also, see what "mapquest" or equivalent is telling people to do -
where to turn and make sure the street is right. Don't assume it's right.
Sometimes it will send you to the next nearest match of street name if it can't
validate the street/city. We had a trial where the name of the road you
turned from wasn't showing up for the town the trial was listed in. Luckily we
found this out in mapquest ahead of time and adjusted in the confirmation.
Paul Mount
The amount of sites that are available to agility clubs are dwindling
rapidly as agility grows as a sport. DART, in So. Cal. has 3 or 4 ring
USDAA shows, as do a few other clubs in the area. Try to find a site
that has enough flat, open land with grass or other suitable footing to
support 4 rings AND plenty of crating space around the rings. The site
needs to have enough close parking for the 100 to 250 cars that will
show up, plus the increasing amount of RVs and campers. There must be
restroom facilities for all those exhibitors and spectators. There needs
to be food vendors nearby, or hospitality needs to bring ALOT of food
and drinks! Hotels must be close for Judges' Hospitality. The site will
need to have ample shade for sunny days, and hired security for watching
everyone's set-up overnight. And if even one of these criteria is not
met, you WILL hear about it!
The site can be a public park, but most cities won't allow organizations that charge an entry fee, to use the parks. If you do manage to get into one, they might have a rainout policy and cancel on you a few hours before the trial. All it takes is for ONE non-dog person to step in something after the trial, call city hall, and you are back to searching for a new trial site.
And all this is just the site requirements. We haven't even
started
on course maps, hospitality, or if everyone gets a toy!!!
Scott Lovelis
DART President
Facilities Coordinator
Equipment Manager
And still looking for that perfect site!
Attention to detail.
Worker schedules that come out ahead of time so you know what you're going to be
doing.
A readily accessible trial chairman and/or secretary with e-mail that you
can contact in the event of questions.
Being proactively exhibitor-friendly. Bending over backwards to make
exhibitors know that they are appreciated and that their needs are kept in
mind.
A decent running surface. This is a "must have" for me. I
don't care if
it's dirt, grass, or carpet, but it needs to be well-prepared, no matter
what it is. I've crossed a few venues off my list because the running
surface is so bad. (Don't need to fall, injure myself or my dog, at this
stage of the game.)
Scores posted in a timely manner.
Pleasant judges with do-able courses. (I don't mean easy -- I mean logical
and do-able -- I've seen a few that you looked at and went, "What was
he/she thinking??!?!?!?!?!?!?")
The rest of the physical stuff is nice, but not really "have to".
In other
words, trials can be desirable without these things but it's nice when they
are there:
- Bathrooms that are either flush or portapotties kept well-stocked and
pumped out in a timely manner (nothing more disgusting than a stinky, full
Sani-Can)
- RV parking fairly close to the rings with hookups.
- If an outdoor trial, some kind of semi-solid ring gating (like
construction fencing) that serves as an actual physical barrier.
- Electronic timers (I'm really getting spoiled by these things -- I like
the fact that there are no start or finish line issues)
- Adequate shade for exhibitors waiting in line -- and someone to chase
spectators *out* of these areas!
- Lots of vendors with cool. unique stuff. (Hey, you asked!)
- A really good on-site photographer that doesn't charge an arm and a leg.
I'm sure there's more, but that will do for a start.
Jo Ann Mather
windgold2@premier1.net
Arlington, WA
Parking!!!
I travel by myself with 4 dogs and usually crate out of my van at outdoor
trials. Even if I do set up by the ring, I always find myself going back
to my van for something.
If parking can't be ringside, at least the parking lot should be close.
And enough decent parking so you don't have to get there before dawn or fight
over parking.
I am often baffled at the outdoor sites chosen by some clubs in large
city/suburban areas that must have a zillion more possible sites.
julie bellar
Getting the scores out quickly.
Close Parking.
Nice CHEAP hotel nearby.
Q rate 100%- but you have no control over that!
K9Sports <k9sports@K9SPORTS.CA>
wrote:
We are going to be holding our first trial and wondering what were some of the
little things clubs did that made "that trial" your favorite, on your
list of trials not to miss next year or one of your favorite trials...
Thanks is advance!
Some of the big things for me are the running surface and the site (how much
parking, how close, can I leave dogs in the car, is there plenty of room, etc.),
and how may days is the trial. Little things that the club can do the day of the
show that I'll remember are things like getting scores and ribbons out quickly,
running the trial quickly and efficiently, and having a knowledgeable and
efficient ring crew. Nothing worse than going to a trial, having to haul all
your stuff in from a distant parking lot (and get there at the crack of dawn to
even get that), and then have the trial drag on and on, wait forever to get
ribbons at the end of the day, and then have your score or time messed up
because a lot of mistakes are being made.
The other thing is how clubs treat workers. Since most clubs are random draw
these days (at least around my area), and I usually volunteer to work, I may be
more hesitant to enter a random draw trial where I know from past experience
that working for that club is a bad idea. Some examples - never getting
contacted with your assignment and then when you get there the only place it's
posted is on a wadded up sheet in the back pocket of someone you don't know and
can't find. Finding out on the last day of a multi-day trial that there were
worker lunch tickets but no one thought to tell you. Not having a ring captain
or worker coordinator that you can immediately go to with conflicts or problems
(broken stop watch, change in running order etc.). Having club members that when
you do try to get a problem resolved all have an attitude of 'it's not my
problem, why don't you go ask so-and-so, she's around here somewhere'.
Diana Antlitz BelgBC@aol.com
One thing I appreciate is when toys are given to dogs that place. Although
my dog that places could care less, my puppy loves the toys, so I rely on
the older dog to win a lot.
Victoria
Check in and measuring the night before.
Not scheduling volunteers for the entire day without asking them first.
Not scheduling workers to work the class they are running. Giving them enough
breaks to potty, water and walk themselves and their dogs. A sincere
"thank you" to your volunteers, and if you offer lunch or raffle
tickets, not expecting your volunteers to hunt down ONE particular hassled and
grumpy person to receive said tickets.
Efficient rings. The flexibility and organization to see what would make
rings more efficient and changing where needed.
Access to the site the day or night before for setup.
Some type of overnight security.
Trish Lindvall
1. A good food vendor that has a nice variety, not just dogs
& burgers. When they sell breakfast, that's a bonus!
2. Incentives for workers like little gifts or worker raffles. One club
whose trial I've been to gave every worker lunch and a dog toy for their pooch.
3. Clean bathrooms ;o)
Karen
1-Thoughtful ring set-up. This is certainly affected by the
site, but
having a good space around the in/out gates that does not get clogged
with traffic really helps me set up mentally for my run, and having the
practice jumps in a good spot makes it so much easier to warm up and
go...if that is your style.
2-Safe and well-maintained equipment and surfaces. This shouldn't be an
issue, but it is!
3-A good, accessible, well-stocked, food vendor.....that has vegetarian
choices. Junk food only gets you so far!
4-Trial workers who are well-identified, friendly and available. We
often go to new places where we don't know anyone, and it can be
frustrating not to automatically "know" who is who.
5-A good PA system.....even if it is only someone who yells really loud!
Publically announcing lunch breaks, walk-throughs and so on really helps
with the flow of the day.
6-People who cheer for everyone, no matter how crappy they may have just run!
7-Rapid turnaround on scores and ribbons.
8-Something special for the workers. Most of the trials I attend will provide
lunch, snacks, and often a worker's raffle with nifty prizes.
9-Printed courses.
10-Judges who take the time to be friendly and accessible.
11-Timed walk-throughs. It is so easy to let walk-throughs go on and on,
but it can really slow the pace of the day.
12-Thoughtful class groupings. I was at a trial recently that had a big
junior handler focus. I had a 4 hour wait between my first and second
runs while the juniors ran. Better to have something like this (which
was tons of fun) at the beginning or end of the day.
13-Ample, and well-delineated, crating space and parking.
14-Lots of garbage cans for poop.....that get emptied often.
15-Civilised toilets. I can live with port-a-potties, as long as they
get serviced often (but don't pay extra for the ones with the sinks and
the flush-y levers- yuck), but I LOVE a site that has the real thing!
But, as long as we have good courses, safe equipment and friendly folk
to cheer us on, we can cope with most things!
Claire Duder DVM
Personally, noting that there will be split walk thru's in the
confirmation.
Around here, the majority of the trials are run 24" down, and it's a really
bummer to have to arrive at 7 a.m. just in case there will not be walk
thru's prior to each height. On the other hand, and this is not under the
control of the club but the judge, giving ALL THE HEIGHTS EQUAL TIME TO WALK
THE COURSE and not randomly changing the plan from one day to the next....
Ample crating space (or at least organized well) and close parking (for
outdoor trials) is also really important. Our dogs seem to do best when
they can rest in their crates in their own van!
Soap and water in the bathrooms is a nice perk. :o)
Barb Krynski
I've read the other replies to this post, and for the most part,
I agree with them. I guess I've been spoiled by trials here in the
Mid-Atlantic...so I will share the reasons why I like NC, GA and VA trials. I
also show in 3 organizations (AKC, NADAC and UKC). Club members who have
experience, ample crate space, judges that are fun and have challenging courses,
good directions in the premium, reasonable entry fees (open to interpretation),
and the trial site are important. There are several places that I will not show
again. For example, I'm not a big fan of indoor horse arenas, specifically one's
with anything but hard, packed sand for substrate. I need the most stable
footing I can get. I prefer grass over anything else for myself and my
teammates. I was at a trial last month (venue, club, city and state witheld) and
it was not run very efficiently compared to the many others I have been to. It
took 1 and 1/2 hours for the ribbons to get handed out. It's been almost a
month, and I still haven't received my rosette via mail (there was a mistake
that I caught in the placements, but the other person had already left with the
"prize"). The people were very nice and helpful and the judges were
great, however, the trial site was crowded, there was insufficient crate space,
and only a 5 foot gap to walk dogs to the far end of the building for the 2nd
ring. Would I show there again...no. Is that my choice...yes. In conclusion, my
priorities for chosing a trial are: 1) organization, 2) club, 3) site and 4)
judges. Little things like prizes, ribbons vs rosettes, bathrooms, hotels,
vendors and worker benefits are added bonuses, not a requirement.
We are going to be holding our first trial and wondering what were some of the
little things clubs did that made "that trial" your favorite, on your
list of trials not to miss next year or one of your favorite trials...
Sandra
