Let’s see now; I’ve got 2 entries for the 200k so I’ll order 4 cards, and with 3 entries for the 100k, I’ll order 6 cards. If the field was really that small, I doubt if anyone would bother, including the organiser!
Until a year or so ago, the ‘double the entries’ method worked quite well, but the late entry problem has got steadily worse. AUK Regulation 2.4, on page 53 of the Handbook, states that entries should be received by the organiser 14 days before the event, which means posting them first class no later than the third Friday prior to the event.
OK, I could specify a closing date for entries, but the result would be smaller fields, probably leading to the events being discontinued.
So I have to make a guess. If I have 20 cards at 35p each left over, I can’t use them again, and I have to pay for them out of my own pocket. My club is small, and I can’t expect it to pick up the tab for my mistakes. Yet I’ve never had to turn anyone away. My new ploy is to order a bare minimum of cards, and latecomers get a blank card. The downside is that I’m expected to write in all the controls - if I’ve got time. If I haven’t, riders may have to do this themselves, before setting off. And as I’m not keeping many blank cards in stock, some would-be late entrants could be unlucky. Remember that blank cards are for oversubscribed events, not for undersubscribed ones!
We’ve all found at times that, contrary to expectations, we’ll be in a position to ride a particular event, and phoned the organiser for a late entry. But please, don’t make a habit of it; it really does foul up the works.
John Ridge