Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

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caughtatwork
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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by caughtatwork » 09 April 10 10:00 am

Feeback on things that worked well would also be welcomed.

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noikmeister
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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by noikmeister » 09 April 10 10:02 am

caughtatwork wrote:Feeback on things that worked well would also be welcomed.
I thought that is what this thread was for

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paegle boy
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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by paegle boy » 09 April 10 10:03 am

where would we have it and all we would have to think :-k about that first before we think about what is going on at the mega

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by caughtatwork » 09 April 10 10:12 am

norkmeister wrote:
caughtatwork wrote:Feeback on things that worked well would also be welcomed.
I thought that is what this thread was for
That seemed more like a chat thread rather than a feedback thread. But, hey, I'm not going to stop you putting your comments anywhere you like.

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by JABs » 09 April 10 12:20 pm

The cost was great $40 we would of been happy to pay $50-60 for the great value we got. It was well worth the money we spent and more.

Our only issue was the late anouncments (prize draws ) made in the evenings, but with three young kids you get use to having to leave early to put them to bed.

Other wise we had a ball and would be happy to come again.

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Bundyrumandcoke
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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by Bundyrumandcoke » 09 April 10 12:56 pm

I spoke briefly to Greg as we were departing, asking whether there would be a feedback forum for the event. Please understand this is not meant at fingerpointing, or bitching. And yes, unless any posters were members of the committee, then we cannot understand fully the effort that went into the organisation of the event, so therefore have no "right" to critisise. But, as others have mentioned, critiquing an course, session, or event, is seen these days as a valuable learning tool, for the next such activity.

Having said that there were 2 things I mentioned to Greg, and one more thing thought of since, that we noted. Of these one was really unavoidable, so it had to be lived with by everyone, and the other 2 could be curcumvented anyhow.

First, the dust, unavoidable when hundreds of vehicles use the same bit of roadway in a short period of time. Even at walking pace, or slower, it was getting bad towards the end. Something the committee tried to do something about, with the water truck, but something that could just not be stopped completely. Of course, the answer to that would have been rain, then it would have been an issue with the mud, no a no win situation there.

Rubbish bins, there didnt seem to be many or any around the camp grounds. Perhaps a couple of industrial bins in strategic places. It wasnt a big issue, as we just bagged it daily, and took it up to the industrial bins near the stage on one of our trips up there.

PA system. It was difficult to hear announcements down the back. We hoped we didnt miss anything important (we did miss the call for the group photo)

Again, please dont take this as an attack on the committee, the event was wonderful, fantastic, and we would attend it again, exactly as it was, in a heartbeat. Our comments are purely for feedback purposes, so that whoever, if ever, the mega event ball is taken up again, that committee has ideas to work with.

Cheers
Bundy

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by MtnLioness » 09 April 10 12:59 pm

Ok...I understood the reason why MUNDOO wrote this and I shall add my input

Rubbish Bins needed to be scattered amongst the campsites

Lighting at both ends and perhaps the back to direct you at night, soft lights perhaps, it was just real dark and a little difficult to find your way and your direction.

other than that....I can't think of anything else that bugged me

CONGRATS MUNDOO for the good intentions!

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by SamCarter » 09 April 10 2:39 pm

Bundyrumandcoke wrote:
Rubbish bins, there didnt seem to be many or any around the camp grounds. Perhaps a couple of industrial bins in strategic places. It wasnt a big issue, as we just bagged it daily, and took it up to the industrial bins near the stage on one of our trips up there.
Actually this one is interesting to me. I thought exactly the same thing on the first day ... and then was surprised by the miracle of how little rubbish there was on the last day. It crossed my mind that maybe people had taken MORE care over rubbish because there were no bins in the camping area, and that it was nice not to have a smelly messy bin (that may have overflowed at who-knows-what time) close to the campsite. YMMV.

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by MrsMix » 09 April 10 4:18 pm

As a Geocachers wife (lol), I had a good time at the event. I spent most of it shopping in Wagga but that was still fun \:D/

Positive Notes:

1. I loved how the toilets were always stocked with toilet paper. There was only one occassion when I entered a toilet and there was no paper there. I had to visit there a lot with 2 kids in tow! Good on the person who always made sure this was taken care of. A small thing but something significant.

2. The kids loved the Easter egg hunt and the ball drop from the helicopter. They also enjoyed dancing to the live entertainment. Thanks for catering for the geokids.

3. Thanks for the St Johns Ambulance. We had a visit there :)

4. A huge thank you to Team Crackers for their awesome Fireworks and to the guy who inflated the hot air balloon.

5. Thanks to the company who supplied us with the free newspaper!

6. Good on the cacher who donated his GPS prize given where he worked.


Constructive Criticism: :)

1. Like others, we too couldn't hear the announcements down the back of the camping grounds.

2. The early evening entertainment/talking/presentations were dragged out a lot and therefore the kids were exhausted. I enjoyed all that was done but even I felt like everything was moving along very slowly. As mentioned, the bonfires could have been lit a little earlier and the presentation night could have started a little earlier to get through everything that needed to be got through.

3. As also mentioned, carting the rubbish all the way to the front bins was a bit frustrating.

4. While the meals served up were really nice, they were quite small. I would have been prepared to have paid more for extra on the plate. I have a really small appetite so for me to say this, the servings were way too small.

5. It was disappointing to open up the newspaper and see the Daily Advertiser photo of the Easter Egg hunt. This featured a teen in an Oz Mega Orange vest a huge distance ahead of the kids running in to the large pile of eggs in the middle. If a future mega event is held, I'd like to see all of the committee and their families excluded from winning any prizes. Some better organising of the drawing process of winners would have been good too. For example, if you win one prize you can't win a second.


All up though, thanks for a good time and congratulations to the committee for running a good event =D>

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Richary
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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by Richary » 09 April 10 6:43 pm

I think from looking at the egg photo he may well have been scattering the eggs, but anyway.

I would have liked to see separate recycling bins as well (assuming Wagga Wagga runs to recycling in the city). I had kept cans/bottles separate from general garbage but in the end it all had to go in the one skip.

And since we are now adding all the things we loved - I thought the games were great and obviously a lot of work had gone into them. The entertainment was well planned and good, though some activities did clash with dinnertime. I guess that could have been avoided had we ordered more meals from the caterers rather than going back to the campsite to cook, but of course in advance we didn't know that. Fireworks, well nothing needs to be said there. St John being onsite was useful as well.

It was also apparent that quite a number of teams made their way to Wagga Wagga a day early so as to have as much time as possible at the event. It would have been nice if the campground had been available from the afternoon before as we ended up camped by the river and others stayed in town. I know the Committee didn't expect that as many people would have come down early, and until you do the first one you don't know that will happen - but something for the next event organisers to think about.

Another one that isn't the fault of the Committee and that they may not even be aware of. The helicopter drop didn't quite land where people expected and later in the day while out caching I met one teenage girl who had been knocked over in the rush for the balls and then trodden on. Luckily no injuries. I guess some people are a bit too competitive. So perhaps a "mad rush" event is not advisable especially as there were some much smaller children in the crowd and things could have been worse.

An absolutely amazing weekend all around though.

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by Mix » 10 April 10 10:29 am

I have taken the unusual step of moderating this thread and removed the bulk of the off topic posts, those who have constructive on topic things to add please continue. Any off topic posts in this thread will be deleted.

Thanks

Mix

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by GhostGums » 10 April 10 11:14 am

I found little fault in the event and for a first up one they have set a high standard.

The only gripe from my team was the kids play equipment that didn't turn up, which I understand was a failing on the supplier not the organisers. In saying that the kids still managed to occupy their time with everything else. 8)

I am sure the next one will be good as well.

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by Sunshine Toledo » 10 April 10 1:31 pm

Also in the final wrap-up that the committee goes thru, it would be good if they can put as much on paper as they have time to do, that can be handed on to the next group who wish to stage the next event. Without making it too onerous, any suggestions on any item would be valuable to the next committee.
When the Wagga Event Committee got it 99% right, it has to be congratulated wholeheartedly as no event is ever run perfectly; so we are just talking about the 1% here AND I do agree with the things that mundoo brought up as they may have helped make it even better. eg message boards, daily programs, bon-fires a little too late for kids etc.

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Re: Constructive Feedback for the Next Mega Event

Post by mark_rattigan » 10 April 10 7:32 pm

richary wrote:As for the coverage area, the remote speakers were obviously limited to where power was available. To cover the rest of the camp would have required solar and batteries, still it is something that could be considered for future events.
I thought the PA speakers were solar powered - the speakers were mounted in a frame, with what appeared to be a car radio headunit, and a 0.25m^2 solar panel. Very easy for these to be spread around more, but there didn't appear to be many locations at the back of the campground where these could be left out of reach.
richary wrote:I would have liked to see separate recycling bins as well (assuming Wagga Wagga runs to recycling in the city). I had kept cans/bottles separate from general garbage but in the end it all had to go in the one skip.
There were a couple of recycling bags/containers behind the stage, and from what I saw, they were chockers by the end of the event. I only noticed them during the CITO, and by then had already packed our recyclables in the car to take home.
MrsMix wrote: 1. I loved how the toilets were always stocked with toilet paper. There was only one occassion when I entered a toilet and there was no paper there. I had to visit there a lot with 2 kids in tow! Good on the person who always made sure this was taken care of. A small thing but something significant.
Funnily we had the opposite experience in the toilets closest to the camping area - womens' ran out completely on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and one morning the gents only had two half rolls left. Not a huge issue for us as we brought our own emergency supply, but a thinking point for next time.

Only other issues we experienced were the dust (completely unavoidable, except for those vehicles that ignored speed restrictions through the campsite), and recalcitrant hot water systems in the ablutions block. It seemed that unless two showers were operating concurrently, hot water was unavailable, and would otherwise occasionally slow to a dribble - this is not something that the committee could have done anything about, but could be noted back to the Scouts as maintenance of the HWS may be necessary.


Other than the above minor (very minor) issues, the event was a total success for us. Thanks to all.

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