Anybody RD'd a race before?

[mrs.jacinthe]

Particularly, a new event with a sanctioning body?

I want to start a swim race event near me and I am stuck in the darkest circle of hell.  
In order to get my bid accepted for a race with USMS, I need a concrete date, etc.
In order to get a concrete date with the local recreation area, I need proof of insurance etc, that only comes after sanctioning is granted by USMS.  
But again, I can't get sanctioning until my bid for a date has been accepted.  And I need a concrete date to do that.

HELP.  OMG.  

[mrs.jacinthe]

Dec 2, 2016 9:48:21 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Sorry, I don't know what Rd'd means, even with the additional context.

Sorry - RD = race director.

[gigem]

Race director?

[gigem]

Oh OP just answered!

[whiteorchid]

I started a 5k/10k at the school my girls used to attend. I can tell you what I did, although some of this may not apply to swimming races.

I ended up hiring a race organization company to help me out. They were responsible for getting permits from the county, creating waivers and timing the race. They were also involved in planning the course. I actually created the routes for both races myself and then ran it by them for minor changes.

The insurance was my responsibility. I was able to get the race insured through the policy the school held. I did at one point call my insurance agent, and he could have had a policy written for the event if we needed him to.

My biggest piece of advice is to give yourself plenty of time. I only had 3-4 months to get it off the ground and it sucked! I did all of the work myself- finding printers for shirts, getting sponsors, collecting race money and waivers, etc. I was pregnant with DD3 at the time, so that complicated things. I thought about quitting and handing it over to someone else every single day. Get all the help you can!

[whiteorchid]

I will also add that in the beginning of planning my intent had been to get the race courses USATF certified. I ended up dropping that because it was just too much to add to my already full plate. I'm not at all familiar with swimming, but is it possible to have the race witbout sanctioning?

[wawa]

Dec 2, 2016 9:45:10 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Particularly, a new event with a sanctioning body?

I want to start a swim race event near me and I am stuck in the darkest circle of hell.  
In order to get my bid accepted for a race with USMS, I need a concrete date, etc.
In order to get a concrete date with the local recreation area, I need proof of insurance etc, that only comes after sanctioning is granted by USMS.  
But again, I can't get sanctioning until my bid for a date has been accepted.  And I need a concrete date to do that.

HELP.  OMG.  

this has to be a thing that is surmountable.  otherwise how do new events happen?  have you tried asking USMS how this is supposed to work?  Like, asking a human on the phone.  (I'm sorry if the answer to this is DUH YES.  I avoid the phone like the plague and just assume everybody else is equally adverse.)

Would the recreation area people let you set a date as a "hold" date, pending final paperwork approval, work through sanctioning, and then finalize on their end?  that would be the most logical order to me - that way you know you don't have any local conflicts with other events, you get it sanctioned and then the local people sign off that you've got your ducks in a row.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Dec 2, 2016 11:29:36 GMT -5 whiteorchid said:

I will also add that in the beginning of planning my intent had been to get the race courses USATF certified. I ended up dropping that because it was just too much to add to my already full plate. I'm not at all familiar with swimming, but is it possible to have the race witbout sanctioning?

It is, but I'm on the national USMS long distance committee. It would be ... Awkward, at the very least. Lol

Plus, USMS insurance is better than the stuff I could buy individually.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Dec 2, 2016 12:28:20 GMT -5 wawa said:

Dec 2, 2016 9:45:10 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Particularly, a new event with a sanctioning body?

I want to start a swim race event near me and I am stuck in the darkest circle of hell.  
In order to get my bid accepted for a race with USMS, I need a concrete date, etc.
In order to get a concrete date with the local recreation area, I need proof of insurance etc, that only comes after sanctioning is granted by USMS.  
But again, I can't get sanctioning until my bid for a date has been accepted.  And I need a concrete date to do that.

HELP.  OMG.  

this has to be a thing that is surmountable.  otherwise how do new events happen?  have you tried asking USMS how this is supposed to work?  Like, asking a human on the phone.  (I'm sorry if the answer to this is DUH YES.  I avoid the phone like the plague and just assume everybody else is equally adverse.)

Would the recreation area people let you set a date as a "hold" date, pending final paperwork approval, work through sanctioning, and then finalize on their end?  that would be the most logical order to me - that way you know you don't have any local conflicts with other events, you get it sanctioned and then the local people sign off that you've got your ducks in a row.

This is a good idea. I'll call the rec area this afternoon and see what they say.