Cycling Ireland has said it is obliged to continue using EventMaster.ie for pre-entry for races because it has a multi-year contract with the company and would face financial penalties if that contract was broken. The matter was raised at the recent Cycling Ireland AGM in Monaghan, which heard clubs were incurring EventMaster fees in the region of €800 for some of the races they were promoting.
Cycling Ireland has also clarified that clubs were still free to use the old-school sign-on sheet at race venues on the day of their events. However, while those traditional sign-on sheets were still permitted, it strongly encouraged clubs to use EventMaster as the records and other data the system generated were convenient and beneficial.
The issue of EventMaster was raised in a motion tabled by Newry Wheelers at the AGM. That motion stated the entry platform was more expensive than other similar systems. The motion also called for clubs to be allowed to use sign-on sheets on the day. Furthermore, when clubs opted to use pre-entry online, they should be allowed to use a platform of their choice and not be obliged to used EventMaster, the motion added.
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Drew McKinley, Newry Wheelers chairman, told the AGM when his club promoted the Newry Three Day this year - which had separate events for men and women - a total of €800 was generated for EventMaster in charges paid by those who entered.
He added the cost of living squeeze at present, including the increased cost of fuel needed for race vehicles, already meant clubs and riders and their families were under pressure. Yet riders were being charged extra fees by EventMaster and that money was leaving the sport as it was going to an online registration system.
"I was afraid to put the entry fee up because we were afraid of not getting the numbers because events were struggling and were cancelled," McKinley said of organising the Newry Three Day this year. "We kept the race fee down and when I saw (€800 going to EventMaster) at the end, I was very agitated and annoyed, as you can imagine."
Paul Watson, the well-known international commissaire now working as a part-time technical consultant for Cycling Ireland, said the national governing body had a multi-year contract with EventMaster. Breaking that agreement would result in the federation paying penalties to EventMaster, he said.
However, he said arising from the conversation at the AGM, Cycling Ireland staff could go back to EventMaster and raise those issues, including around the fee structure. Watson also noted the EventMaster system would keep a record of riders' points and would also perform automatic upgrades, for example. He believed functions like that, which were coming on stream soon, would make the EventMaster system "more relevant" to Cycling Ireland members.
Ger Campbell, of Drogheda Wheelers, also spoke at the meeting and took up the point of "hard copy sign-on on the day" - the traditional sign-on sheet method of entering races at the race venue, with no online pre-entry required. Campbell asked Cycling Ireland if the widespread use of the EventMaster electronic entry system in Irish cycling now meant the traditional paper-based sign-on sheet on the day was "excluded" for race promoters. "As far as I know, there's no regulation to exclude that… is that still allowed or not?" Campbell asked.
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Cycling Ireland chief executive Matt McKerrow responded, saying the national governing body was trying to "automate" the entry system so that race organisers knew in advance how many riders would be turning up to their races. He added some race promoters had said they wanted to keep the sign-on open until just before the start time on race day. The logic put forward by clubs, he said, was facilitating last minute entries that would beef up revenues, which could help a club reach breakeven point on race day.
McKerrow explained this could be achieved by leaving the EventMaster entry system open until just before a race began. He also said entries could still be taken in the traditional way, meaning "not online, ie a physical sign-on".
However, he stressed some of the data and trends generated by using the EventMaster system had enabled Cycling Ireland to decrease insurance premiums and to report to the Garda and other authorities about the safety of events.
"Long story short, it is possible," he said of clubs still being allowed to use sign-on sheets at a race venue on the day of an event. "But I would say… the on-the-day hard copy entry form, and certainly the handling of any cash, would be discouraged and be only used in very exceptional circumstance."
In reply, Campbell said he appreciated the points raised by McKerrow, but he believed a sign-on sheet should also be used on the day to encourage "sunny day cyclists" to come and race if they felt inclined on the morning of a race.
Niall Doggett of Navan Road Club told McKerrow when he was organising races himself "you can do it with EventMaster but as far as Navan is concerned next year, we'll have online as it is and if needed we'll take entries on the day because it is permitted".
"You can run your race the way you want, I'll run mine the way I want," he said, adding perhaps it would be more expensive to sign on on the day to still encourage riders to use EventMaster in advance.
Chris Curry from Apollo CT told those gathered he was running a race the day after the AGM and while he was at the meeting he had had fielded about eight emails from riders seeking late entry to his event. Furthermore, he said he had three children and when he entered them into races all three incurred separate EventMaster fees. He wanted to know if a family fee structure could be formulated so families could avoid running up multiple charges every time they raced.
McKerrow said was "happy" to go to EventMaster and raise that point. However, Robbie Silcock from Island Wheelers told McKerrow when the same point was raised at the Cycling Ulster AGM last year he, McKerrow, had given the same response and it appeared no progress had been made in the intervening period.
It was decided, after agreement between Cycling Ireland and Newry Wheelers, that the motion - seeking to end the use of EventMaster as the sole online option - not go to a vote. Instead, it was deemed as advice for the national governing body in its future talks with EventMaster.
