Derby Talk

Due to smaller time window and only growing number of entrants, I am looking this year to have two lines for check-in.

The plan is to have two rows of tables with one table across the end at the entrance. All inspectors sit inside the uShape.

For the visual inspection station (the most subjective and where you would really want a single inspector to be consistant), I plan to sit two folks at the table across the end. They will sit shoulder to shoulder, and will see/hear the other. If any questionable cars come thru, they can confer and compare.

For scales, we have two T2s with the calibration weight. If someone is wavering at 5.01, the inspectors could opt to try the other scale 'behind' them to see if any difference is noted.

For size, we have two new sizing boxes, built pretty well, but certainly could be 1/16" off somewhere. But we add 1/8" to most of our max dimensions anyway to allow for some slack.

Then registration stickers will share a pile of stickers and check-in sheets in between the two tables.

Photos and graphite will be single person stations (they are after the scout has to be standing in line and can tolerate a short backup of cars at times).



Is this feasible? Or still too much room for inconsistency? If forced to a single line, what is the number one tip for speeding up the process?

We need to checkin about 100 cars in just over an hour.

If you have two check-in lines, I really recommend that you still have only one weigh-in station. No two scales are exactly alike, so it is better to use just one scale as the "official scale".

In terms of speeding up the process, we have someone go down the line and do a quick visual pre-inspection of the cars. They can catch the really obvious things (wrong wheels, wrong axles, etc.) and direct those racers to the pits. They can also ask racers if their car has been lubed and if they checked the weight on the pit area scale. Too many people forget those steps. Doing the pre-inspection helps from them making multiple trips through the whole check-in line.

That's a lot of cars in one hour! 36 seconds per car?!
I'd advise to have the Pit area very close if not next to the registration. Don't want people wandering around trying to find the one guy with a drill.

Run at least your two planned lines, maybe a third?
Have the adults rehearse how to inspect, and how to inspect quickly & accurately.
Well prepped cubs in line would be good too. So there's no searching for information... maybe fill out registration sheets in advance?
Most large races (100+) that I've seen/worked had an hour per age group.

GPR also has some good ideas on this.

Something you might want to consider for the future is doing your check-in the night before the race. Trying to check-in that many racers on race day will likely lead to a delay in your race start time, as you will get quite a few latecomers, as well as those that still need a lot of work done to their cars. It is far less stressful to get the check-in done before race day, so on race day you can get straight to racing. Our pack has done that for many years and it has worked out well for us. We do allow the kids to check-in their cars on race day. However, we advertise ahead of time that if they do so, they will run in the Open Division race. I can't recall of any kid not showing up on check-in night to enter their car.

gpraceman wrote:No two scales are exactly alike, so it is better to use just one scale as the "official scale".

FWIW, our experience has been that a single "official scale" can change its readings over the course of registration due to constant usage and other environmental factors.

IMO, two scales of identical manufacturer in close proximity to each other should not cause major concerns, providing that they are consistently and accurately calibrated and occasionally checked during weigh-in.

One pack I'm working with this year has the scale and 'measure box' go around to Den meetings the week before the race. Any big adjustments can be caught there.

This is for the night before...<grin>, but scheduling conflicts leave us with a shorter time frame than usual.

Our process is pretty refined so we do not have too much in 'chaos' theory. We keep the lines coralled well, I think. We have all the rosters and data pre-loaded into GPRM along with printed lists and number sheets, so all the scout needs is to say their name.

I will try some testing on the two scales and see over a period of a few days if they float, and more importantly if they float in different amounts. This is out first year to have T2s scale going out to .01 precision.

dna1990 wrote:This is for the night before...<grin>, but scheduling conflicts leave us with a shorter time frame than usual.

That is good. Too bad you are time constrained, though.

dna1990 wrote:We keep the lines coralled well, I think.

You still might consider having someone walk the line and look for any easily noticed problems. That saves the racer from getting all way up to the check-in judge to find out they have to go back to the pits, which also slows down those waiting in line behind them.

dna1990 wrote:This is out first year to have T2s scale going out to .01 precision.

The Triton T2's actually go out to 0.005 oz. You will only ever see a zero or a 5 in that last digit. A little too precise, if you ask me. Breathe on the scale and you can change the reading.

One way to limit the effect of any variation between the two sets of inspectors would be to designate which age groups go to which lines. If all the cars built by members of an age group were inspected by the same line, then it doesn't matter as much whether cars built by members of other age groups were inspected by the other line.

Having someone chatting with the folks in line helps, but I've also seen adults claim that cars have been lubricated when they haven't been.

Darin McGrew wrote:One way to limit the effect of any variation between the two sets of inspectors would be to designate which age groups go to which lines. If all the cars built by members of an age group were inspected by the same line, then it doesn't matter as much whether cars built by members of other age groups were inspected by the other line.

Good idea.

Darin McGrew wrote:Having someone chatting with the folks in line helps, but I've also seen adults claim that cars have been lubricated when they haven't been.

I meant someone actually looking at the cars, not just talking with those in line. They can catch the more obvious rules violations, like wrong wheels. If there is a graphite only rule, which many seem to have, then it is pretty easy to see if a car has been lubed or not. If other lubes are allowed, if course, it can be harder to visually verify is any lube is present. As a part of the check-in process, we had each racers run their car down the track once. Just to see if there would be any issues of it not finishing. With 100 racers and a short amount of time, that may not be feasible, but maybe something to consider for the future.