Event drawings

[+Rustynails]

I'm hosting an event and have been struggling with how to distribute door prize tickets. Do I give each individual a ticket or one ticket per caching name? A family of five will have a 5X chance of winning if individual tickets are used over a single person. If each caching name is given a ticket then each cacher/cacher couple have an equal chance. I do understand a few families have more than one caching name. At this point I'm expecting more than 60 people. I have maybe 20-25 prizes. How do others handle this?

[+geocat_]

Seems this is really up to you but if you are looking for my opinion, I would probably just give each individual a ticket. Seems easier and less stressful.

[+niraD]

I've seen event organizers distribute "Geocacher Bingo" cards, and then use completed (either bingo or blackout, your choice) cards for the door prize drawing.

 

On the other hand, 20-25 prizes sounds like a LOT. After half a dozen names/numbers are announced, interest will start dropping. By the time a couple dozen names/numbers are announced, there will be plenty of side conversations.

 

And in case you've never seen it before, "Geocacher Bingo" is like regular bingo, except each space has an attribute that might apply to a geocacher (e.g., "owns a puzzle cache" or "has found an APE cache"). It's used as an ice breaker game. The goal is to get people to write their geocaching names in a space that describes them. Each name can be used only once per card. And it's good to come up with a mix of attributes, including those that would apply to geocachers of different experience levels or geocaching preferences (e.g., "has found more than 1000 caches" and "has found fewer than 100 caches" and "owns an EarthCache" and "owns more than 100 traditional caches").

[+wmpastor]

On the other hand, 20-25 prizes sounds like a LOT. After half a dozen names/numbers are announced, interest will start dropping. By the time a couple dozen names/numbers are announced, there will be plenty of side conversations.

 

Good observation. So keep the prize drawing moving. No two-minute intervals while each person lifts themselves slowly out of their comfy chair, threads their way between tables, chats along the way, and finally makes it up to the MC, shakes hands, receives their prize, smiles to the crowd, listens to the applause, etc. No, no, no!

 

AND save the best prizes for last, if the values differ.

[+The Jester]

I've seen event organizers distribute "Geocacher Bingo" cards, and then use completed (either bingo or blackout, your choice) cards for the door prize drawing.

 

On the other hand, 20-25 prizes sounds like a LOT. After half a dozen names/numbers are announced, interest will start dropping. By the time a couple dozen names/numbers are announced, there will be plenty of side conversations.

 

And in case you've never seen it before, "Geocacher Bingo" is like regular bingo, except each space has an attribute that might apply to a geocacher (e.g., "owns a puzzle cache" or "has found an APE cache"). It's used as an ice breaker game. The goal is to get people to write their geocaching names in a space that describes them. Each name can be used only once per card. And it's good to come up with a mix of attributes, including those that would apply to geocachers of different experience levels or geocaching preferences (e.g., "has found more than 1000 caches" and "has found fewer than 100 caches" and "owns an EarthCache" and "owns more than 100 traditional caches").

You can use the Will Attend logs to personalize the Bingo - look at profiles to see unique attribures ("has found a cache in China") or to check that attributes used will have people there that can sign them. And don't limit them to highly experienced cachers only, use things like "less than a 100 finds" or "first time event attendee" - this can get the the new people more invloved.

[+Isonzo Karst]

one ticket per caching name

 

That's the norm around here.

 

Also (thankfully) the new norm has become a quick drawing of all numbers - the time for this is announced, but the numbers are NOT called out.

 

They are written out on poster board, someone attends the prizes and people come up and trade a winning/posted ticket for whatever is available.

This does NOT kill the event conversation the way the usual loooooong drawn out calling out, waiting, coming up, selecting thing does....

[+bflentje]

I'm hosting an event and have been struggling with how to distribute door prize tickets. Do I give each individual a ticket or one ticket per caching name? A family of five will have a 5X chance of winning if individual tickets are used over a single person. If each caching name is given a ticket then each cacher/cacher couple have an equal chance. I do understand a few families have more than one caching name. At this point I'm expecting more than 60 people. I have maybe 20-25 prizes. How do others handle this?

 

Depends on how you look at it.. are you looking at your attendees as families or as individuals? For my events, if you sign the log you get a ticket. If the family signs the log the family gets a ticket. If joey, Johnny and janie from Cache family sign the log, they each get a ticket.

 

I guess it comes down to how generous or how much of a curmudgeon you want to be. They're silly door prizes. If someone has hard feelings for not winning, perhaps they shouldn't be attending events with such a high expectation of caching, um, er, cashing in.

[+dprovan]

I've seen both. In fact, I was at one event that itself did both, one ticket per person for the door prizes, but one ticket per geocacher for the FTF "prize". Personally, since it's a geocaching event, I'd go with one per geocacher, but that's just me.

 

One event host around here assigns the order ahead of time. The first time he did this, it was just the order in which you filed your Will Attend log, then the second time you had to solve a "puzzle" to get your name of the list. But these events are a little different: there were so many prizes that there were still lots of high quality choices after the list was finished, so even people without a slot assigned in advance got stuff. With limited prizes, some people might feel it's unfair to require a Will Attend log. I happen to think it's perfectly fair even though I rarely file Will Attend logs.

[+niraD]

One event host around here assigns the order ahead of time. The first time he did this, it was just the order in which you filed your Will Attend log, then the second time you had to solve a "puzzle" to get your name of the list. But these events are a little different: there were so many prizes that there were still lots of high quality choices after the list was finished, so even people without a slot assigned in advance got stuff. With limited prizes, some people might feel it's unfair to require a Will Attend log. I happen to think it's perfectly fair even though I rarely file Will Attend logs.

I am reminded of an event that was held at a donut shop. Those who posted Will Attend logs were treated to a donut of their choice.

 

I suppose that could be considered a door prize of sorts...

[+Rustynails]

.

Edited December 22, 2016 by rustynails.

[+res2100]

I run a yearly event http://home.cogeco.ca/~res2100/GHAGAFAP/ghagafap.html with 400 attendees and we have over 150 prizes. Each PERSON that attends gets their own ticket. You want to be inclusive and not exclude people or family members because they don't have their own geocaching name.

 

20-25 prizes should go fairly quickly, so it's always more fun and exciting to draw the prizes live than to predraw the winning tickets.

[+_dxd_]

 

AND save the best prizes for last, if the values differ.

 

Expanding on this thought - Pull the tickets for the best prizes first, so that everyone with a ticket has a fair chance at them. Then call them out last.

[+coman123]

Give everyone a ticket, then pull all the tickets at once and attach them to the prizes.

 

Cachers can then check to see if they won and trade their ticket for the prize they won.

 

This keeps everyone at the event until prizes are drawn.

 

Prizes that are not claimed can be saved for your next event.

Edited January 5, 2017 by coman123