run orders

[Marcy Matties]

The last time I ran at champs, there were 4 dogs in line or so... I guess times have really changed! Why do we have so many lined up?

Kelly

I can't definitively say, but in my view, the "issue" last year was because it was so far from where dogs checked in to where they actually entered the ring.  And that was just pretty much the way it had to be without coming in "later" through a side door and having to wait outside in weather if they had done that.  Just a long walk the length of the stands and then getting to the actual "boxes" to wind through to get to the startline.  Since this is a new venue, kind of hard to say what it will be like until everything gets there and gets set up.  It's not like they WANTED that many dogs in line.  It just kind of happened.  And as mentioned, the pre-elite ring wasn't that way so much because once you came in to the arena and took a left you were pretty much right there at where the boxes started.  No stands to walk the length of.

[MoabDiane]

I’m not so concerned about how many dogs are in line - but lining up under bleachers on cement for sometimes 10-15 minutes wasn’t great.  Hope this new site allows a better deal!
Diane

[David Tharle]

There were a couple groupings last year where some exuberant help were rounding up dogs sooner than really necessary and we had Pre-Elite teams lining up through the hallway connecting back into the benching area. Definitely not ideal and Chris addressed it quickly once he found out about it.  I Gated a number of times and found people (unlike some regular trials) were more than on time. If someone was a tad late, they (or someone on their behave) had warned me they were on a tight time line.  As far as lining up under the bleachers, I heard strong opinions both ways.  Some really liked the stations "chairs", where they were by themselves and could get their team connection going.  Others felt it was like having a dozen boxes and just prolonged the time til you ran.  Not sure you can please everyone.

[AndreaEntin]

Lining up is your choice.  As long as you are ready to go into the building you don't have to stand in a 20 do line too.

Andrea

[Amy McGovern]

Lining up is your choice.  As long as you are ready to go into the building you don't have to stand in a 20 do line too.

Andrea

Not true last year.  It was required that you go into the bleacher line. 

[Amy McGovern]

p.s. I'm not complaining about the bleacher line.  I just wanted to make sure I knew the correct separation between dogs as I want to see my son run with his dog.  I know some didn't like the bleacher line though.  Mostly I just wanted a good head count of dog separation.  We are 27 dogs apart 2 of the days and it seems that I'll be ok with that!

[Chris Nelson]

2) How deep will the line be?  e.g. how far apart do two dogs need to be to see each other run?  Last year the line could get pretty deep (15 or more dogs).  I need to know this before I answer if I have a conflict or not.

Regarding the line-up, I'd like to make a suggestion/request. Is it possible to have a guideline for a maximum number of dogs (8-10 maybe) in the queue at any given time? 

At our first Champs in 2017, there always seemed to be a loooooong line-up. The box set-up was awesome, but the queue to get into the boxes was a nightmare for dogs like mine that need their space. By the end of the weekend, I fashioned a system of checking in with the gate steward and then hanging out to the side, cutting in at the last minute to enter the boxes, but it wasn't pretty at times. Plus the area got super congested with dogs and handlers, which seems like a recipe for potential disaster. By setting a guideline, people could (hopefully) relax and not come up quite so early, knowing that they aren't going to be arriving "late," and allow the gate stewards to not be managing 15 dogs deep. 

Just a thought!

Amy

We've actually got a plan for this, but sadly like anything it requires the exhibitors to pay attention and 'play along'.

We're basically going to have a online page where people can EXACTLY what number dog is currently running.   That way it's fairly easy to look at and see that #135 is running, and if you're dog #150 then you probably want to start getting ready, and when dog # 145 is running you should head up to the gate.

It 'should' work, but it relies heavily on people paying attention.   

We also have a plan for a text alert system this year, that would basically let you know of any updates and also an alert every 50 dogs in the run order.   But we're still working on that as it's a new idea and we need to make sure it's going to work

[Chris Nelson]

In a perfect world we will have 5 dogs lined up from the start line, to the gate steward.   If the gate steward starts piling up more then that someone should let us know so we can talk to them about not lining as many dogs up

[Marcy Matties]

In a perfect world we will have 5 dogs lined up from the start line, to the gate steward.   If the gate steward starts piling up more then that someone should let us know so we can talk to them about not lining as many dogs up

Good plan Chris.  I will have to say that it also depends on people not being TOO eager to get there and hanging out in the area even though they are still 10 to 15 dogs away.  Sometimes the gate steward feels under pressure to check people in because they are "hovering."  So exhibitors have to strike the balance between being tardy and being over-eager.  I fall into the latter category.  My mom's fault - she always felt like if you wren't 10 minutes early you were late   

[kirbysmom2000]

LOVE the ideas, Chris! I hope that they work well because they sound amazing.

Thanks!

Amy

[Linda W. Anderson]

Not to throw cold water on this plan, but doesn't it depend on how far the check-in person/gate steward is from the "actual" enter the ring person?
Linda

[Amy McGovern]

We've actually got a plan for this, but sadly like anything it requires the exhibitors to pay attention and 'play along'.

We're basically going to have a online page where people can EXACTLY what number dog is currently running.   That way it's fairly easy to look at and see that #135 is running, and if you're dog #150 then you probably want to start getting ready, and when dog # 145 is running you should head up to the gate.

It 'should' work, but it relies heavily on people paying attention.   

We also have a plan for a text alert system this year, that would basically let you know of any updates and also an alert every 50 dogs in the run order.   But we're still working on that as it's a new idea and we need to make sure it's going to work

Thank you!!  It is stressful to be lined up so deep but having that system will definitely help.  Also, last year's live google updates helped a lot with this!

[Chris Nelson]

Not to throw cold water on this plan, but doesn't it depend on how far the check-in person/gate steward is from the "actual" enter the ring person?
Linda

Nope.

The gate just needs to understand that just because there is 100' of space from them to the chutes, it doesn't mean we need to stuff 10 dogs into that space.

[knittingdog]

Not meaning to throw a kink in your plans, but is there a Wi Fi set up at the Champions Center?  Is it going to be able to handle the bandwidth of 200+ people simultaneously looking at and refreshing your website?  I suspect some at home will also use it to find their friends.

May not be a problem, but just some thing to think about.

Robin

[MoabDiane]

Another question:  as there will likely be some conflicts and changes, will you send out another run order before the event?
It's nice to have a printed copy to bring along, but some of us will be traveling for awhile before the event starts!
(Realizing there are always a few last minute changes....)
Thanks!
diane