I really think compelling a convention to a particular US holiday would be a terrible mistake. DC would never be able to submit an affordable bid if it were contractually tied to the Memorial weekend or the July 4 weekend: it's the peak of our tourist and convention season.
As a Canadian, I can also say with some confidence that it would be difficult justifying to Canadian clubs why they should clone the US holiday schedule rather than working with their local culture, laws & customs.
When/If the IAGSDC runs all conventions in-house, they will have the power to set the dates they wish and enforce them. If they continue the tradition of using member clubs to create, coordinate and run the events, I think the volunteers should be able to pick dates best suited to their particular market.
Statements like, "For every person who can't make it, I'm sure there's someone who can," don't really seem very inclusive.
Definitely it's not inclusive. IAGSDC conventions are, IMHO, designed to not be inclusive by the way they're traditionally assembled and by the fixed programs we repeat year after year. Air travel, hotel beds and dining out is inherently expensive: I've only attended six conventions because I lacked the financial resources to attend more frequently. It wasn't inclusionary that the convention & travel was priced beyond my means, but I lived with it. It's unfortunate that when I did have spare money, the dates sometimes conflicted with other things I wished to do; I made my choices and didn't attend in those years.
If we're serious about accessibility and affordability, I think we need to consider jettisoning the more expensive traditions. The banquet and brunch cost over $90k USD; we could cut a large portion of our registration fees by just jettisoning the food & beverage requirements, although the room rates would likely be higher. The floor space for the grand march locks us into larger-than-necessary hotels in large cities rather than allowing us to use mid-range hotels in smaller cities. Indeed, do we need a hotel at all? Seattle did well with university dorms. Do we need a honky tonk queen contest? If so, shouldn't it be financially self-supporting by charging an admission like the fun badge tours?
There is much to be reviewed in the way the IAGSDC does its conventions, but I think the choice of dates is a relatively minor item compared to the bigger items. I hope the lack of announced interested parties for 2013 and beyond might accelerate reconsideration of the restrctions which we place on clubs.
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Date: 2007-05-27 05:44 am (UTC)As a Canadian, I can also say with some confidence that it would be difficult justifying to Canadian clubs why they should clone the US holiday schedule rather than working with their local culture, laws & customs.
When/If the IAGSDC runs all conventions in-house, they will have the power to set the dates they wish and enforce them. If they continue the tradition of using member clubs to create, coordinate and run the events, I think the volunteers should be able to pick dates best suited to their particular market.
Statements like, "For every person who can't make it, I'm sure there's someone who can," don't really seem very inclusive.
Definitely it's not inclusive. IAGSDC conventions are, IMHO, designed to not be inclusive by the way they're traditionally assembled and by the fixed programs we repeat year after year. Air travel, hotel beds and dining out is inherently expensive: I've only attended six conventions because I lacked the financial resources to attend more frequently. It wasn't inclusionary that the convention & travel was priced beyond my means, but I lived with it. It's unfortunate that when I did have spare money, the dates sometimes conflicted with other things I wished to do; I made my choices and didn't attend in those years.
If we're serious about accessibility and affordability, I think we need to consider jettisoning the more expensive traditions. The banquet and brunch cost over $90k USD; we could cut a large portion of our registration fees by just jettisoning the food & beverage requirements, although the room rates would likely be higher. The floor space for the grand march locks us into larger-than-necessary hotels in large cities rather than allowing us to use mid-range hotels in smaller cities. Indeed, do we need a hotel at all? Seattle did well with university dorms. Do we need a honky tonk queen contest? If so, shouldn't it be financially self-supporting by charging an admission like the fun badge tours?
There is much to be reviewed in the way the IAGSDC does its conventions, but I think the choice of dates is a relatively minor item compared to the bigger items. I hope the lack of announced interested parties for 2013 and beyond might accelerate reconsideration of the restrctions which we place on clubs.