I've touched on the reasons why things needed to be a bit complicated this year before. When we were told we needed to do the event informally, that meant no designated volunteers the day of the event. That meant a long, self-registration Event Form, cameras at check-in stations, registration at the Picnic Shelter, etc. By the time we finally got the permit, there was really no time to change all of that. It would have probably all worked fine if I had not forgot to tell people to put numbers on the Event Forms. No sense in rehashing all of that.
What I want to tell you is there is obviously a better way. We knew that this year, we just didn't have time to make the switch. We are still working out the details, but you will basically be carrying a small card that will be punched when you get to the check-in station. There will be no big event form and no need to stand in front of a camera. Then, if we can figure out how to do it, we are hoping that the volunteer who punches your card will also be able to scan a bar code. This will record what you have done directly into a database and give us real-time numbers throughout the day. The final step will be a simple declaration of whether or not you did a personal best. We will try to make that happen at the check-in station as well.
By removing the confusion, we will hopefully be able to make the whole thing more fun. Many of our sponsors this year want to be present at the event next year providing food, drink, and services of all types to support our participants. There are already so many who want to get involved in this way that we know the big challenge will be selecting the best ones for SMB. There will not be room for everyone and so we will have to make choices based on what we think makes the most sense.
