The trail was set up on the basketball court at the school. It is a pretty big area compared to some of the other local schools and they are (almost said we, but I have a new school to be loyal to. [img]smile.gif[/img] )remotely located at the top of a hill.
It wasn't done as a fundraiser, as they have a jog-a-thon that does extremely well in the beginning of the year. Instead, it was done as a community event and none of the children were charged to participate. Much of the funding came from a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety and the chair began working on it in November (? I think) to be held in May. Along the way, the Kiwanis wanted to help so they became part of the team and helped in volunteering for the event.
Each child that participated received a free bike helmet (600 were given away) and they were properly fitted prior to running the course. Each course was manned by a seperate volunteer and then checked off as it was completed.
The only things that were charged for was some of the food (which unfortunately the vendors ate a loss on because it wasn't utilized much) Jamba Juice gave away free carrot muffins and smoothies and there were several booths with additional giveaways.
The vendors did not pay a fee but rather participated for free. We had cleanup from the school sponsored Boy Scout troop and face painting from the Girl Scouts. Again, all free of charge.
Oh, the riders rode each course by taking turns and were not grouped by level but the children who were to participate were asked to bring their own bikes. There were a few bikes to be borrowed training wheels to without but the course was the same for all of the children.
I think I answered all of the questions...The main chair put a lot of work into it and it took a lot of her time but it was a huge success. It was a lot of work though.
It looks like you had a very well organized event, and that it was a lot of fun. Some questions I have:
How long was your course, and was it all done on blocked off streets...intersections, or was it done on something like a pre-existing bike trail?
Did you have sponsors that gave out prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers, or wasn't it promoted as a race?
Were the riders grouped accordig to ability level?
How far in advance did you start planning and coordinating the event?
I have been thinking about something like a bike-a-thon and thought it would be easier to do this with another organization, but if a school charged a registration fee, don't you think another organization might want part of the profits?
How were you able to make money........did you charge the vendors a fee?
Sorry for all the questions, but it's so helpful to hear from someone who has already worked out the kinks! Thanks.
I just wanted to add, that we have not done either of these events, but one of our neighboring schools does a walk-a-thon as a fund-raiser. I think they did fairly well, but I don't know any specific numbers.
Personally, I think a bike ride would be more fun than a walk-a-thon, but maybe there are more things that you would have to consider and worry about with the bikes.
Here is a link to a site that might help you to maybe consider some things for a bike-a-thon. Granted, this bike ride is done on a large scale and is done during midnight, maybe it will have some helpful information for you, i.e. costume contest, etc. I would download the registration form and go over it as well...it may have some liability issues that you may not have thought about..police needed, etc.
