While we’d love to think that people flock to our Symposiums for the pure educational value, we know there’s another reason that our customers and industry partners seek out conferences: networking. With registration over half full for our inaugural 2020 Winter Symposium, we thought we’d take a moment to share a little bit about who you’ll be bumping shoulders with at the event (so far).
The basics…
We have a wide range of experience represented, with a relatively even spread across ages and men making up a little more than half the group.
Where are they from?
We often get asked if our Symposiums are largely for events that are local to the venue. No! While being close to the site makes it easier for organizations to attend, current registrants already represent 29 states including those as far away as California and Washington.
What types of organizations do they represent?
We love tracking this breakdown because it really demonstrates the experience level of the group. While small events do attend to boost their knowledge base, the race management companies, timers, and nonprofits that attend represent millions of participants each year. 58% of attending companies serve more than 5,000 participants a year, with the upper echelon reaching 100,000+ participants.
Additionally, many attendees wear multiple hats – when asked to define the role their company plays in putting on events, most selected several answers.
This diversity of role is reflected in the selections made for the track on Day 2, where attendees can choose between RaceDay Certification for Timers, Advanced RaceDay Certification for Timers, or a mix of RunSignup/GiveSignup sessions.
Timer Technology
Attendees who identified themeselves as timers were also asked to share the timing software and hardware that they prefer, with the option to include more than one. The results of this show a wide range of preferences in hardware and a more narrow group in software, dominated by The Race Director, its successor RaceDay Scoring, and RunScore. Curious about switching hardware or software? Someone here will be able to share their experience to help you make a decision!
A connected industry
Networking is key because it gives you peers to turn to when you have specific obstables or questions. But it’s more than that – everyone involved in the endurance industry needs partners to work with: a race hires a timer, a timer selects hardware, a nonprofit works with a race management company, etc. This is your chance to meet the best in the industry and build relationships that you can return to when you need a reliable partner for a future event.
Want to join your peers? Come network with them in Orlando this January!
