Organising Ride Events is one of the club’s most essential activities, hence Audax Australia continuously works to make Ride Organising easy and rewarding.

To become a Ride Organiser the following are suggested:

• Contact any of your Regional Committee (President, Brevet Secretary or Calendar Coordinator) and inform them you are interested in becoming a Ride Organiser
• Ask an existing Ride Organiser if you can assist in order to learn how to become a Ride Organiser. Note: It may be best to do this on a small Event rather than a large one.
• Your first organised ride should be a small unsupported one-day Event. Discuss this with your Regional Calendar Coordinator
• After you have completed organising a few small Events, start growing in size and complexity if you so desire
• Keep in touch with other Ride Organisers, learn from their tricks and tips

Upon request (see Event Quick Reference), Ride Organisers can get access to modules within the Ride Management software.
The software assists with end-to-end management of Events, including:

1. Proposing an Event
2. Event Scheduling
3. Opening an Event for Registrations
4. Event Validation
5. Event Homologation and
6. Closing an Event

Documented processes include:

• Event Quick Reference
• Event – Planning (this document)
• Events – Before the Event
• Events – During the Event
• Events – After the Event
• Building a Route

Ride Organiser Guidance

• Enjoy yourself. What you are doing is of fundamental importance to the club and there should be satisfaction in your valuable contribution.
• Ask for help if required. Our regional calendar coordinators and brevet secretaries are a great bunch of volunteers and only too willing to help.
• Represent the club well by being courteous and helpful to all involved.

The Planning Process

1. A Ride Organiser can Propose an event on the Audax website: Manage Events > Add Event
   • The key information to determine are the Event Date and the Event Routes
2. The Regional Calendar Coordinator will confirm the proposed Event by approving the Event Schedule

Selecting an Event Date

• Events are entered into the Audax Calendar by the Regional Calendar Coordinators. This is typically finalised each September but there may be some flexibility later if any gaps in the Calendar are being filled.
• When determining your proposed Event Date look at the previous Calendar year to assist in selecting a date.
• Work with your Regional Calendar Coordinator to find an acceptable date for you and the Calendar.

Determining Event Routes

• One or more rides are offered in each Event
• Use existing routes (refer to the Audax RideWithGPS Route Library) or build your own routes
• Routes should be ridden prior to the Event to ensure they are fit for purpose
• Routes often start and finish at a common location
• Refer to Building a Route

Support

• While many events do not provide support, often the most memorable are those that do.
• Support can range from food and drink from the back of a vehicle to more substantial meals in a local venue.
• Sometimes an insurance certificate of currency is required if hiring halls or other venues for support.
• You can access the certificate at Audax Insurance > Public Liability Insurance.

Finances

• The Ride Organiser should manage the event finances so as not to run the event at a loss.
• For contingency purposes, it is suggested to aim for a 10% surplus.
• Receipts are submitted at cost. No overheads will be accepted

Larger events require additional planning. This may include:

Finances

• A budget should be developed for large supported events
• Advances are available only upon review and an agreed budget
• There are a few events where a nominal fee is provided to the RO.

Reference: Audax Australia Regulations

Accommodation Guidelines

• Often accommodation is the responsibility of the rider for events <1000km.
• Accommodation may be part of the event fees for ≥ 1000km.
• For large events booking accommodation well in advance is usually needed to ‘lock in’ a date. Try to avoid full payment well in advance, deposits are better.
• If the event “returns to central location” each night, then arranging accommodation is possibly not needed. Just ask the riders to book their own accommodation.
• If accommodation is required, the riders’ bags will likely need to be transported to and from the accommodation.
• Bunks and shared huts at caravan parks are popular but not everyone has the same needs. Some are happy to pay more for a larger ‘share’ of a hut. This is where assisting the riders to collaborate could be of value.
• Regional reviews should occur for all events with accommodation before booking.

Food Budgeting

• Food should aim to be ‘proportional’ to the number of registrations.
• A good practice is to budget at a cost per rider per meal.
• Examples: Breakfast $8/rider, Dinner: $16/rider, etc.
• Don’t budget by buying in bulk, if the rider numbers are low, the finances will be under further strain because bulk buying is no longer practical.

Event Review and Analysis

• Events with > AU$1000 expenses must be approved by the Regional Committee before bookings or commitments.
• Financial scenarios should be undertaken for all large events:
  • What is the impact if the event is cancelled 3 months out, 1 month out or 1 week out?
  • What if there are only 5 registrations, 10, 20, etc?
• If a significant event risk or issue occurs, the Ride Organiser must communicate it to their Regional President and others as appropriate. The objective is for the Regional Committee to assist in managing the risk or issue and minimise any additional burden on the Ride Organiser.