Which calendar

[ann]

It's early days yet, I know, but I see that most people are downloading the full 2005 calendar, while the next most popular is the Group calendar, which is being offered publicly for the first time this year. It's been available to the clubs as part of the calendar development process for several years. The other two - individual official and asociate - are hardly being downloaded at all.

So - is it worth my while to continue to produce separate calendars, or should I just do the full calendar and maybe the Group one. If you downloaded the Group calendar, did you find it useful?

Thanks. Your input will be gratefully received, and will help me decide what to do next year.

[Phoebe]

I only downloaded the full calendar...

I figure if you can have both in one, then why not... even if you might not need one or the other. I don't think there's much difference in download time.

Perhaps the associate riders (who might be the ones you'd expect to download the associate only calendar) are less inclined to travel longer distances and therefore might like a list of what their local clubs are doing... ie. the groups calendar. Meanwhile the official riders probably want both official and associate calendars, so that as well as competing serioulsy, they can take out the youngsters or try out the next level up at associate days, etc etc. Likewise they might like the groups calendar to keep up with their own and other local clubs...

judges and event organisers would probably also need the full calendar...

just some thoughts. thanks for giving us so many options!

[ann]

Thanks for the input, Phoebe. It' hard to know, when you're producing these things, what will be most useful or popular. For example, I've noticed that the Grand Prix results from the Queensland CDI-W, and the results from the equivalent day at the NSW Championships, are much more popular downloads than the Freestyle, which is the class that gives the riders the qualifications for the World Cup.

[Bo]

Having downloaded both the full and the group calendars, I think I have covered all my bases so I don't need the other two versions. Thanks for the service Ann, it is great to be able to get the details already.

Bo

[ann]

Having downloaded both the full and the group calendars, I think I have covered all my bases so I don't need the other two versions. Thanks for the service Ann, it is great to be able to get the details already.

BoThanks for the thoughts, Bo. Years ago, when I was producing Salute, I was advised that riders didn't like having the (then unofficial) and official events intermingled, which is one reason I produce separate calendars now. But as most people seem to be happy with the full calendar, I'll consider pulling the others if the downloads don't improve.

Current download figures are:
Full calendar - 114
Group calendar - 38
Official calendar - 20
Associate calendar - 14

I've been advised of a change in phone number for one club, and this means I have to do four queries of the database, four prints to PDF, four transfers across the network, and four uploads. If people really find those calendars useful, this is no trouble. But if they would be happy with the full calendar (and the files are small - deliberately so) then there's no reason to keep on doing the work.

So all who have downloaded official or associate calendars, speak up!

[Ivanka]

I've downloaded the full calendar and the group one. Reason being that I compete both in official and associate classes and I like to go to certain groups.

From an event organiser point of view, I am most interested in the full calendar to look for clashes and potential judge-chasing-problems.

Thanks for all you efforts in putting the calendar together again this year. I noticed that the throughput time was a lot shorter than last year so WELL DONE!!!!!

[ann]

I've downloaded the full calendar and the group one. Reason being that I compete both in official and associate classes and I like to go to certain groups.

From an event organiser point of view, I am most interested in the full calendar to look for clashes and potential judge-chasing-problems.

Thanks for all you efforts in putting the calendar together again this year. I noticed that the throughput time was a lot shorter than last year so WELL DONE!!!!!
Thanks for the input on what you downloaded and why, Ivanka.

I was late starting the calendar process this year because I over-committed myself to the State Championships and Sunshine Coast Championships. But thanks to you and the other club convenors, we worked through the inevitable clashes and got it all sorted out by the deadline. Whew!

[Equine Elegance]

Hi Ann,

I downloaded the full and the Groups, but I didn't really find the groups helpful to me. We'll compete in most SE Qld areas so would rather have the dated calendar.

I didn't download the official but I usually would, so I can easily pick the days where points are available or count towards YR squad selections. On the full calendar I have already marked all the official days to distinguish from associate, and crossed out any events that are too far away, like Nth QLD.

If you were to discontinue the seperate calendars, would it be possible to have official and unofficial in different colours? Or official in bold? Or does that mean yet another file that has to be different from what is published in Salute and Contact?

Thanks so much for all your effort. The state champs were great, and I can't wait to get out next year.

[ann]

I downloaded the full and the Groups, but I didn't really find the groups helpful to me.
Thanks for the feedback on that. Download numbers don't always tell the full story!

I didn't download the official but I usually would, so I can easily pick the days where points are available or count towards YR squad selections.
Downloads for the official calendar are now at 88 and the associate at 68, so it seems it really is worth producing separate calendars

If you were to discontinue the seperate calendars, would it be possible to have official and unofficial in different colours? Or official in bold?
Possible, but more work than altering, printing and uploading them. ;-)

Thanks so much for all your effort. The state champs were great, and I can't wait to get out next year.

Thanks, and best wishes for next year's events to you and everybody.