Welwyn Garden City Open 2014 - 5/6 April - (UK)

BillyRain said:
We figured that there is not much point in waiting to open registration anymore seeing as competitions are much bigger now.

The wait was more for smaller comps where places were very limited.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we firstly had the wait before opening registration because we only had few competitions in the year and there were only around 30 available slots. Now we have 5+ per year all of which are decently sized so I don't think there is a problem with opening it straight away. We still post on the UKCA website and the FaceBook group the moment it opens so I don't see why not open upon announcement! :)
 
Registered :)
I see a countsown on the website, which ends on 5th April, 9am. Does it mean that the events will actually start at that time ?
(I'm asking the question because I would like to know whether it's possible for me to come from Paris on Saturday morning and be on time for the first events or not. If that's not possible, it doesn't really matter, but I would like to get the info before booking my train tickets.)
 
Last edited:
ThomasJE said:
Portsmouth area. And my parents don't drive.
Click to expand...

Train from Portsmouth -> Waterloo. Underground to North London. Train to Welwyn Garden City, then it's a 2 minute walk to the venue.

TMOY said:
Registered :)
I see a countsown on the website, which ends on 5th April, 9am. Does it mean that the events will actually start at that time ?
(I'm asking the question because I would like to know whether it's possible for me to come from Paris on Saturday morning and be on time for the first events or not. If that's not possible, it doesn't really matter, but I would like to get the info before booking my train tickets.)
Click to expand...

Bon matin François! J'étudie français à l'université donc je repondrai en français :P

Nous avons accès à la salle à 9h donc nous allons commencer à mettre en place alors. Si vous voulez obtenir votre train samedi matin, vous le pouvez!

We have access to the venue at 9am so we will start setting up then. So events are likely to start at 9:15am or 9:30am. So if you want to get your train Saturday morning, you can!
 
Last edited:
So apparently I can do Nottingham - Victoria Coach Station and back for £8 return on Megabus... provided my journey down happens between 4:45am and 8am on Saturday morning :P
Is Coach Station - venue a difficult journey for someone who hasn't used London transport before? :)
 
Last edited:
ryanj92 said:
So apparently I can do Nottingham - Victoria Coach Station and back for £8 return on Megabus... provided my journey down happens between 4:45am and 8am on Saturday morning :P
Is Coach Station - venue a difficult journey for someone who hasn't used London transport before? :)
Click to expand...

Nope!

Just go to victoria underground station and buy a ticket to WGC. Then jump on the victoria line to Finsbury Park and then get an overground train to WGC :)
 
Mollerz said:
Yeah, we firstly had the wait before opening registration because we only had few competitions in the year and there were only around 30 available slots. Now we have 5+ per year all of which are decently sized so I don't think there is a problem with opening it straight away. We still post on the UKCA website and the FaceBook group the moment it opens so I don't see why not open upon announcement! :)
Click to expand...

The reg opened gone midnight and even though it is a week day in term time before noon reg is already over half full.

I think that announcing the time when registration will open is still the most fair way to do it.

Just my 2 cents.
 
cube-o-holic said:
The reg opened gone midnight and even though it is a week day in term time before noon reg is already over half full.

I think that announcing the time when registration will open is still the most fair way to do it.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

It's now midday and there are still 33 places available. Most of the core comp goers are registered.

I don't really see a problem. I guess we will see when reg fills up.
 
BillyRain said:
It's now midday
Click to expand...

Are you in France?

So I contacted someone who is at work as soon as I saw reg opened.
If he decides to register it will probably be after work which means everyone who gets home from school will have the opportunity to register before him and potentially leave him without a place for the comp.

Just an example of any issue which could arise from this situation which I wanted to bring to your attention.

Thanks for the comp though Billy =)
 
cube-o-holic said:
Are you in France?

So I contacted someone who is at work as soon as I saw reg opened.
If he decides to register it will probably be after work which means everyone who gets home from school will have the opportunity to register before him and potentially leave him without a place for the comp.

Just an example of any issue which could arise from this situation which I wanted to bring to your attention.

Thanks for the comp though Billy =)
Click to expand...

Approximately* midday.

The same goes for scheduled registration really. Someone could easily not spot it at all/forget and end up stuck.

I guess if someone doesn't keep up to date with a comp that they want to attend then it's kinda their own fault :p

Just remember that comp limits are getting bigger and bigger these days so these sort of problems will occur less and less.
 
cube-o-holic said:
The reg opened gone midnight and even though it is a week day in term time before noon reg is already over half full.

I think that announcing the time when registration will open is still the most fair way to do it.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

To be honest we didn't expect the competition to get confirmed within an hour of sending the proposal, the board were extremely quick to confirm everything and I'm very happy with that. This resulted it in being announced at an awkward time for our timezone, but this has not affected anything. It was more of a test than anything.

Either way, there will always be someone who misses out, if we open it up straight away, some people will see it straight away and sign up, the sign ups will tend to be slower and over a period of time as people have to work out whether or not they can make it for whatever reason. By waiting a week and then opening it produces the problem of people thinking they have to sign up as fast as possible, even if they cannot go, because they know that everyone is online at that point and everyone is wanting to sign up as fast as possible. When I look at the registration for WGC so far, I see mostly people that always come to competitions, but I don't only see that, I see people who do not come as often, and I do also see new people signing up. There isn't anything inherently wrong with the system since the same proportion of newer/older competitors are signing up.

If you want to know if a competition is announced, you should subscribe to the UKCA webpage. It will e-mail you any time an announcement is made on the website. That means every time a competition is announced, you would receive an e-mail about it, and you can sign up accordingly. I don't know anyone who doesn't check their e-mail daily in this day and age, and most people will have it linked to their phone so will receive it immediately upon announcement. On another note, we do update the UKCA page of "Upcoming Competitions" all the time. If a competition is rumoured at all or in the works, it will be on the list, so you do not have any excuse that you were not aware of a competition coming up.

I don't think it's anything to worry that it is over half full. If it were 2 years ago when the competitions catered for 30 people and half full only means 15 spots still open then I would be more worried. The majority of people signed up are those who go to nearly every competition, if not all. These people are always going to sign up regardless and the time nor day mattered. I'm fairly confident in saying that I do not think registration will fill by tomorrow, so it gives people plenty of time to sign up.

I hope I've at least given a view on my opinion, again, it was sort of a test but we cannot judge anything until registration closes.
 
BillyRain said:
The same goes for scheduled registration really. Someone could easily not spot it at all/forget and end up stuck.
Click to expand...

If you go a week without spotting the comp and registration opening time or forget, that could be considered a lot more 'your fault' than going to bed before 1am, get up, go to work, get home, turn on PC and find out that you missed out on a place at a comp.

BillyRain said:
Just remember that comp limits are getting bigger and bigger these days so these sort of problems will occur less and less.
Click to expand...

I hope that everyone who wants to go and can get to a UK comp will have a place for them.

You and the rest of the organisers are doing a great job in making that a reality and I am grateful for it.

Mollerz said:
stuff
Click to expand...

I see where you are coming from completely.

When I 1st stopped this morning I checked the thread and instantly signed up. I was shocked that so many places were already taken and worried for people who don't check the forum as often as I do. I was unaware of the FB group (not sure how) and am not signed up to the email alerts.

I will sign up for them and join now to avoid that 'Oh crap, am I gona miss out on a place?' feeling. It's not very nice.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mollerz
Welwyn Garden City 2015 (Hertfordshire, UK)
9 10 11
Replies
205
Views
24,069
confusedcuber
confusedcuber
RTh
Madison Square Garden + Led Zeppelin , 1973
Replies
3
Views
2,339
RTh
RTh
Luigimamo
Better Homes And Gardens - Rubik's Cube Theme
Replies
7
Views
3,743
vcuber13
vcuber13
Z3Cubingfan
Logan City FMC 2025 COMP IS CANCELLED
Replies
3
Views
880
Thomas.Caleb
Thomas.Caleb
mencarikebenaran
can we remove Vatican City from WCA ?
Replies
12
Views
1,375
abunickabhi
abunickabhi
Back
Top