“Hey, why is my entry not posted on the entry list page?!”

There are a few possible reasons why your entry is not yet posted on the entry list, or why you might believe it’s posted in the wrong order:

Today I have posted the first 45 entries that were available for “drop off entries”.
If you read through to the bottom, you’ll understand why. But for now, just the first 45 spots have been posted. The additional spots for the event will be posted, and our “Master Spreadsheet” has maintained the order that all the entries have been received in.

If you did not read the supp-regs, the postman ‘slipped’ and your entry has been shuffled further back.
From an organizer perspective, it’s so important that each of you have read the supp-regs before entering. If I became aware, either through conversations at the house or answers on your entry form, that you have not read the document, your entry has been shuffled back. Details on how that was done are in the long-form information below.

I considered, and approved, some requested car numbers.
Because it became necessary to shuffle some entries this year, car numbers wouldn’t have been chronological as they were in previous years. If you requested a number, and your entry was in the same “block”, I gave you your number. For example, if you requested car number 10 and after the supp-regs shuffle you were still in the first 45 cars, you were assigned car number 10. If, however, you requested car number 10 and got shuffled beyond the first 45 cars, you were not assigned your requested number.

Car number 1 was awarded as per tradition, to the first person to submit an entry.
Congratulations to Scott Trinder, who fortunately answered the first two questions correctly, and didn’t get bumped!

The full explanation for this year’s entry list procedures is below:

Hi! 2017 has been a surprising year for Hagerty Spring Thaw entries. I was reading the entry forms and began to realize that a number of guests clearly hadn’t read the Supp-Regs document. The emails, the event information page and even the entry form all say you MUST read the supp-regs document before entering. Was it fair that those who didn’t read got a spot on the event, but someone who did take the time to read it might not?

The supp-regs document outlines what you should expect as an entrant, and attempts to make sure you understand what the event provides in terms of hotel levels, meals, and additional services/assistance you might need. From a guest-expectation, and delivery of event level…it’s very important! Now, in traditional CCA style, I’ve tried to hint at it through the emails, on the website, etc. I even mentioned that “karma could be bad” if you haven’t read them.

So, with the number of entries received on day-one, I knew that by the time Wednesday rolled around we were going to have some disappointed friends who aren’t going to get in this year. If they followed the directions, and other people didn’t, was that fair? I flipped back and forth on it the whole way home. No, it’s not fair. At the same token, I didn’t lay out in black and white that I’m not going to accept your entry if you don’t read the supp-regs, so it’s not fair I toss your entry completely. And how about those who copied their answers from others, got them right, but still haven’t read the supp-regs?

To say I was sitting on a potential disaster is an understatement.

Well, I have a solution which I think is fair and equitable to all, organizer and entrant alike. Entries which have slipped back in the pile have only slipped back within the day they were received. For example, if you were car 10 through the door on Monday and were heard asking for the answers to the questions because “I never read those things”, your entry was slid back to the end of Monday’s drop-offs. It is probable this would have bumped you out of the first 45, but unlikely that you’ll end up so far back that you don’t get into the event.

I have slipped entries back (where needed) in the Tuesday set, and will continue through each day. I believe this is the fairest way to handle it, as I’ve addressed those who haven’t read the supp-regs, while at the same time it’s not completely deadly. Another way to look at it, is your entry hasn’t moved any further than if the Fed-Ex guy put yours in the back of my mailbox vs the front.

After reading a number of sheets I came to realize question number three could be considered misleading. At the very least, I used a word with a definitive term you can find in a dictionary, and asked you to understand that we mean “yeah, it is mandatory unless you choose not to make it mandatory…in which case you’re on your own if you have a problem.”  So, in the interest of fairness, I ignored the question three for the purpose of shuffling entries. You may still receive a “you need to read the supp-regs” email based on your question three answers.

If you do not understand why I’m only posting 45 entries, here is the relevent text from our Entry Email that went out to the BC Mailing:

What happens if I drop off my entry, but you’ve already received the maximum 45?
Entries which are dropped off, after we hit the allotted 45 spots, are simply considered as “mail-in” entries on the first day that mailed entries start arriving. We shuffle them into the stack in what we think is the fairest way possible.

So after the forty-five entries listed on the entry list, each subsequent received entry was considered as though it were mailed in, received on Tuesday when the first mail started arriving. As per the above, I have shuffled them into the Tuesday mail in what I think is the fairest way possible.

Conclusion
While I realize the potential to upset people, I’ve done what I think is the fairest to everyone and within “the spirit” of how we do things at Classic Car Adventures. Before making any decisions a group of us discussed the options and agreed that what we were doing is fair and reasonable. At the very least, it’s going to make discussions about the entry list exciting for the next few days!

-Dave