New NASports Registration Policy

I haven't gotten the email yet, but I ran into this on their web page, posted today.  Interesting.

 New Onsite Registration Procedures for North America Sports Races
Author: staff    October 10, 2008

Due to the tremendous growth of onsite registration, North America Sports will be implementing new onsite registration procedures. These new procedures will launch at Ford Ironman Florida and will be as follows:

•     Each athlete will fill out a form that will include their first & last name, birthdate, email address and phone number. This form will also include instructions on how the registration process will work. You will need to bring your photo ID and a credit card for payment, no checks or cash will be accepted.
•     Laptop computers will be used by our volunteers to take the prospective athlete’s contact and credit card information on-site. The volunteer will enter in the prospective athlete’s information directly into Active. They will then get the athlete’s credit card information and charge them the race entry fee.
•     The prospective athlete will receive a copy of the form they filled out as a receipt, which will outline when and how to complete the registration process. They will also receive a reminder via email.
•     After receiving the confirmation email the athlete will have a spot reserved for them in the event. However, the participant will still need to go back to Active.com during a specified timeframe to complete their online registration. Any athlete that does not follow this procedure will not be considered registered for the event.
•     The athlete will follow the same on-line procedure as before. They will access the Ford Ironman Florida event via a specific registration link, select their name from the athlete drop down bar and enter in their unique password. However, the online entry will not have a payment associated with it as they have already paid the entry fee.
•     The athlete will receive a set amount of time (1-2 weeks) to let them complete the registration.
This system will ensure fairness to all athletes wishing to sign up for NA Sports races. Under the previous system a number of certificates distributed at on-site registration were not redeemed and this created a situation requiring NA Sports to reopen on-line entries. People who attempted to enter on-line immediately after it opened and were closed out may not be aware of the additional spots available at a later date. This should no longer be the case going forward.

This new procedure allows the prospective athlete’s information to be put directly into the Active.com database so that it is accurate and has no chance of getting misplaced. It may take a little longer in the beginning so we ask that you be patient with our volunteers and staff.