Race Through The Registration Lines

Do enough bike races and you might see the same registration process twice. Most registration tables are staffed by volunteers who perform that function just one time  per year. They do the best that they can and as racers we need to be patient and grateful. But we also can prepare ourselves better for the registration process to make life easier on the volunteers, on ourselves and on everyone in line behind us.

Even if you have pre-registered for an event, the organizers need your signature on a printed waiver. At a WORS race you can enter your series number into a computer that then produces a pre-filled form for you to sign. At many other events the volunteers will have an already-printed form in a binder. But what if the computer or printer doesn’t work on race day? What if your form is missing from the binder? Then you’re filling out a blank form and the registration process is slowing down for everybody.

Here’s one solution and something I do each season:

1. Go to the USA Cycling website to obtain the current waiver (they change every year).
2. Enter the personal information that won’t change during the course of the season. For me, that’s 14 out of the 18 data points I must eventually complete.
3. Print out the partially-completed form. Make as many copies as you will need for the season. Or, save the partially-completed form as a PDF and print copies as needed. (You can’t do that directly from Adobe Reader, but when you select Print you may have a “Print to File” or similar option.)
4. On the printed forms, write in the names and dates for each race, then add your signature.

This is literally a 5-minute job, after which you will be prepared for the entire season. No more hunting for a blank form or a pen with just minutes to go before the start of your race! You don’t need that stress, and neither does anyone else.