Shepperton Div 1/2 - 5th/6th March 2016

[harratts]

Hi Dee,

Given that the Shepperton Double Div. 1 / 2 event is now oversubscribed I wonder if it would have been better for your club to have stuck with the original plan to put on the Double Div. 1 event in one weekend followed by a separate Double Div. 2 event in a different weekend.

What is the split of the entries you have received? Just for interest and perhaps a consideration for next year.

Steve

[Dee]

If you want to see the split then I suggest you look at the entry list

We do already run 3 events a year and it is the same few people each time.

The div 2 would have clashed with Llanysul div 1 which meant we would potentially have lost div 2s paddling up at Llanysul, not to mention possible helpers. We did ask if we could bring both events forward by a week, but this was after the ACM so it was too late.

[Dee]

PS. Part of the popularity is because it is a div 1/2. Families with two paddlers in different divisions enjoy the fact that the can both paddle

I do hate turning people away though, especially when they are members of our own club.

[Hydrasports]

Unfortunately we won't be at the Shepperton race in March but just wanted to congratulate all those involved in the online entry system- I've used the link to look up entries and tonight had a play at doing an entry - just to see how user friendly it was...it's great! Well worth the extra few pence when you consider the cost of a stamp and time it takes to fill out entry cards, write cheques and then remember to post the letter. Hopefully it will make life easier for the organisers too.

Good luck to all those racing and fingers crossed we'll see more events using this system soon

[Dee]

Unfortunately we won't be at the Shepperton race in March but just wanted to congratulate all those involved in the online entry system- I've used the link to look up entries and tonight had a play at doing an entry - just to see how user friendly it was...it's great! Well worth the extra few pence when you consider the cost of a stamp and time it takes to fill out entry cards, write cheques and then remember to post the letter. Hopefully it will make life easier for the organisers too.

Good luck to all those racing and fingers crossed we'll see more events using this system soon

[PeterC]

Thanks Dee well done.

[Dee]

Just read Dave's post regarding post dated cheques and realised that I failed to check these on receipt. I will try to contact anyone who has done this, but if I miss one I will be taking a leaf out of Dave's book!

I will bank cheques two weeks before the event. If they get bounced, or rejected for post dating, I will charge £10 to sort out the ensuing mess if there is still space to fit you in. I will email those I think need to do something. Please don't all start emailing me to ask what date you put on the cheque.

[Dee]

Just a note that if you send me an entry with insufficient postage, I will not take 2 hrs out of my day to go and pay for the privilege of receiving it. I will leave it to Royal Mail to decide what to do!

[Dee]

In now have over 20 entries on the waiting list for each day.

I will try to get a list up but please be patient as I've been away.

[Jasper]

Trying to run a Div.1 together with a Div.2 was always going to lead to an oversubscribed event. Div.1's when run on their own often reach capacity limits. Income lost and disappointed paddlers is the inevitable consequence. Single division events is the answer.

[djberriman]

I'm not sure single division events is 'the answer'. Many paddlers and parents enjoy dual division events, especially those with paddlers in both divisions. Single division events will make little difference. There will still be disappointed paddlers, those who can no longer enter, those refused a paddle up, those who find it hard to finance travelling to two events and having two weekends off of work. If income was the aim of events then none would be run as the cost to volunteers is I would suggest more than is raised from an event. Something not often appreciated by those who don't run events.

Re Dee's comments on printing cards through SS (which I agree with) I've found some printers won't print standard slalom entry cards they are too narrow and although they will just go through the printer clever old windows and/or the printer will not allow them to print as they are not a 'recognised' paper size, even setting up a custom size does not work as the windows print driver will only let you see sizes that the 'printer' supports.

I'll continue to look at this, a standard compliments slip is a little wider (99mm x 210mm) and fits in a DL envelope, one printer I have will allow it, the other won't. It appears gone are the days you just told word the paper size and put it in the printer and if it would fit in the printer it worked. Everything is getting 'clever' or put another way treating us as if we were stupid.

May just be have to avoid 'clever' printers.

[Dee]

Waiting List for each day has been added to www.canoeslalomentries.co.uk

[JimW]

Re Dee's comments on printing cards through SS (which I agree with) I've found some printers won't print standard slalom entry cards they are too narrow and although they will just go through the printer clever old windows and/or the printer will not allow them to print as they are not a 'recognised' paper size, even setting up a custom size does not work as the windows print driver will only let you see sizes that the 'printer' supports.

I'll continue to look at this, a standard compliments slip is a little wider (99mm x 210mm) and fits in a DL envelope, one printer I have will allow it, the other won't. It appears gone are the days you just told word the paper size and put it in the printer and if it would fit in the printer it worked. Everything is getting 'clever' or put another way treating us as if we were stupid.

May just be have to avoid 'clever' printers.

Inkjets can be a pain because of where they expect to grab a piece of paper, but if you are trying to use a laser or multifunction office printer, most have a bypass tray where you can usually insert any kind of paper or card - make sure word is trying to select paper from the bypass tray not a preset paper tray, and you shold be able to set up custom sizes.

Some printers have alternative drivers available, you may find you can create custom paper sizes with a different type of driver, say PCL5 instead of RPCS (or vice versa).

You may need to open the printer preferences instead of printer properties to set up custom sheets. You may need to be logged in as an admin user, or work out who to run the control panel as an admin user (right click sometimes gives you a runas option, otherwise you will need to use runas on the command line).

Good luck!

[Dee]

Re Dee's comments on printing cards through SS (which I agree with) I've found some printers won't print standard slalom entry cards they are too narrow and although they will just go through the printer clever old windows and/or the printer will not allow them to print as they are not a 'recognised' paper size, even setting up a custom size does not work as the windows print driver will only let you see sizes that the 'printer' supports.

I'll continue to look at this, a standard compliments slip is a little wider (99mm x 210mm) and fits in a DL envelope, one printer I have will allow it, the other won't. It appears gone are the days you just told word the paper size and put it in the printer and if it would fit in the printer it worked. Everything is getting 'clever' or put another way treating us as if we were stupid.

May just be have to avoid 'clever' printers.

Inkjets can be a pain because of where they expect to grab a piece of paper, but if you are trying to use a laser or multifunction office printer, most have a bypass tray where you can usually insert any kind of paper or card - make sure word is trying to select paper from the bypass tray not a preset paper tray, and you shold be able to set up custom sizes.

Some printers have alternative drivers available, you may find you can create custom paper sizes with a different type of driver, say PCL5 instead of RPCS (or vice versa).

You may need to open the printer preferences instead of printer properties to set up custom sheets. You may need to be logged in as an admin user, or work out who to run the control panel as an admin user (right click sometimes gives you a runas option, otherwise you will need to use runas on the command line).

Good luck!

I think you may have missed the point here JimW. We need to be able to set something up that pretty much works with all printers, so that organisers can just press the button to print the cards. So it's not just a question of working out what works on an individual printer. I think there is a lot to be said for going for a more standard size card that can be run through 99% of printers to print cards from a start list.

[JimW]

I think you may have missed the point here JimW.

Yeah, could be - I read it like just another IT problem from one of my colleagues!
I wasted an hour or so this morning with one of them who had discovered that CAD drawings plotted to PDF were not subsequently printing out properly to scale. Trouble is Class want PDFs to approve and electronically stamp, which we then have to supply to MCA in hard copy - they will have to live with not-to-scale stamped copies.