A mega that's not really mega....

[+Traditional Bill]

So, right off the bat, most of us know that the main prerequisite for a mega event is 500+ attendees. I know there's some other factors that go into it; location, history, etc.....but what if a mega event, listed as a mega and all, has never had 500+ attendees? Does it not cease to be mega anymore?

 

Anyway, this comes to mind because I've been attending GCHR (GC5CQ70) for the past couple of years and have noticed that the crowd always seemed a bit lighter than other mega events that I've attended. Well, I got to thinking one night and looked back through the history of this event. Not even once has GCHR even come close to having 500 attendees.

 

For nine years it was held as a regular event (maybe this is where "history" comes in when it comes to the mega guidelines), then in 2012, it went mega for it's 10th anniversary (GC3DART) but only pulled in 232 attendees. Then in 2013, 315 attendees (GC42NJJ) and last year, a record attendance level at 354 (GC4MJ91). This year, the event has yet to happen, but currently it's only sporting 167 "will attend" logs (although attendance is normally a bit higher than "will attend" logs).

 

So I'm wondering, if this event has never once met the 500+ attendance level prerequisite for mega events, how did it become mega to begin with? How is it still mega? I feel as if it's almost comparable to a cache that boasts a 5 difficulty or terrain for numbers purposes only and isn't really a 5 D or T.

[+Walts Hunting]

If they downgrade it I don't think you would want to attend this year.

[+Traditional Bill]

If they downgrade it I don't think you would want to attend this year.

 

I likely can't attend this year anyway due to work. That's besides the point, though. I don't care whether they downgrade it or not, I just wanted it to be pointed out because I thought it was pretty strange that this "mega" has been going on for four years now without ever having the required amount of attendees to qualify as mega.

[+palmetto]

The first Mega Event was GeoWoodstock 4, GCRRC6

Attended logs, 319.

 

That event never made 500 attended logs, but because of the high number of families with children and couples logging under only one account, made 500 attendees. That was old standard for determining mega status. It was handled in different ways over time.

 

It's a more demanding requirement now than earlier, an event that does not have Mega status now needs 500 Will Attend logs.

 

Existing Megas get some freedom to fall below 500 attended or will attend logs.

[+cerberus1]

Does seem odd that it's an existing mega, if it's never been one in the first place...

[+narcissa]

By attendees, do you mean attended logs, or actual humans at the event? I don't even know what they count for mega status.

[+Traditional Bill]

The first Mega Event was GeoWoodstock 4, GCRRC6

Attended logs, 319.

 

That event never made 500 attended logs, but because of the high number of families with children and couples logging under only one account, made 500 attendees. That was old standard for determining mega status. It was handled in different ways over time.

 

It's a more demanding requirement now than earlier, an event that does not have Mega status now needs 500 Will Attend logs.

 

Existing Megas get some freedom to fall below 500 attended or will attend logs.

 

True about geowoodstock, but it eventually climbed to well over 500 attendees over the years. I know the precedent was different back then, but this particular mega event went mega in 2012 which was not terribly long ago. To this day they have yet to have over 400 attendees let alone 500. Just thought it was a little strange.

[+Mudfrog]

There's one mega event that i know of that has never had 500 attended logs. However, i'd say, and this is a low guestimate, that there's been an average of at least one additional person come with every GC.com member who logged attended. So even if the cache page showed a total of 250 people logged, i have no doubt that over 500 were actually there. Definitely mega, if you go by actual head count!

Edited August 27, 2015 by Mudfrog

[+The A-Team]

So, right off the bat, most of us know that the main prerequisite for a mega event is 500+ attendees.

...

...in 2012, it went mega for it's 10th anniversary (GC3DART) but only pulled in 232 attendees. Then in 2013, 315 attendees...

Apples and oranges.

 

The numbers you're quoting for those events are the number of attended logs, not the number of attendees. These are two different creatures: attended logs indicate the number of different caching names who logged the cache; attendees is the number of individual bodies at the event. As an example, if 500 members of a family who all cache under a single caching name visited an event, they could be the sole attended log on the event and it would still reach Mega status.

 

If you scroll down a bit on the GC3DART listing, you'll see a note from NicoleLackey that gives the number of attendees:

I have confirmed that this event was attended by 526 people, so I have awarded it Mega-Event status.

Congratulations!

That gives an average people per caching name ratio of about 2.27, indicating there were quite a few couples and families who attended.

[+Traditional Bill]

So, right off the bat, most of us know that the main prerequisite for a mega event is 500+ attendees.

...

...in 2012, it went mega for it's 10th anniversary (GC3DART) but only pulled in 232 attendees. Then in 2013, 315 attendees...

Apples and oranges.

 

The numbers you're quoting for those events are the number of attended logs, not the number of attendees. These are two different creatures: attended logs indicate the number of different caching names who logged the cache; attendees is the number of individual bodies at the event. As an example, if 500 members of a family who all cache under a single caching name visited an event, they could be the sole attended log on the event and it would still reach Mega status.

 

If you scroll down a bit on the GC3DART listing, you'll see a note from NicoleLackey that gives the number of attendees:

I have confirmed that this event was attended by 526 people, so I have awarded it Mega-Event status.

Congratulations!

That gives an average people per caching name ratio of about 2.27, indicating there were quite a few couples and families who attended.

 

You're absolutely right. I completely missed that note from NicoleLackey. I stand corrected. It didn't really look like the mega volume that I've seen at the other mega events I've attended in the past though. It doesn't really bother me that it has a lower attendance rate than other mega events, I did think it was worth inquiring about though.

[+J Grouchy]

The thought of being in the same place as 500 other cachers makes me itchy.

[+niraD]

The thought of being in the same place as 500 other cachers makes me itchy.

Well, hopefully the itching won't get too bad. Otherwise...

[+PA Ladi]

In 2012 there were 525 signatures on the paper log that Groundspeak required to establish us as a "mega" event. There was no padding of numbers. Multiple duplicates and attempts by people to log their dogs as attendees were removed. The logs were submitted to Groundspeak and we were granted "mega" status. On line logs are rarely accurate at large events. We have found that not everyone who attends logs an "attended" log on line. In addition, there are many families who cache under one caching name. The numbers have increased each year. In 2013 and 2014 we were told by the Lackey who attended from Groundspeak that we did not need to worry about a paper log and counting each attendee. They were satisfied that we legitimately met the requirements for "mega". Your impressions could depend on what time of day you are at the event site. Not everyone stays the entire day.

[+Penguincacher]

Hi Traditional Bill (and anyone else interested),

 

As one of the organizers of this event, I feel compelled to reply.

 

The first year we went Mega, our 10th anniversary, we did indeed have 527 human bodies attend the event. We kept detailed logs, and removed duplicate names, and animal names that people tried to sign in with.

 

Our area is a very heavy family caching are. We do have a lot of families and couples who cache in the area under one name/account. We've made sure to track actual bodies at the event, not just "attended" logs. The 11th Annual had 600+. The 12th Annual had 700+.

 

We don't know what this year holds, but pre-registration is right on track to also coincide with Mega standards.

 

We're sorry you can't make it, and hope that you'll be able to come out one year. It's a super fun event.

 

Penguincacher

[+tax-man]

Hi Traditional Bill -

 

I am sorry you were disappointed with the size of the crowd, but as one of the event organizers, I can assure you the event achieved "mega" status. As others have pointed out, we had around 525 signatures at GCDART. Thank you for being one of the 525! We carefully scrubbed the logs to remove duplicates and improper entries, reviewed these with the GS lackey who attended the event, and submitted the logs to Groundspeak, who certified it as a mega event. The following years, we had even more attendees than the first mega.

 

But while the event met the qualifications for a mega, I can understand why it might appear to be smaller than it actually was. First, it is held in a HUGE 8,000 park, one of the largest municipal parks east of the Mississippi. The park is home to nearly 50 geocaches, with many more in the immediate vicinity. It has a campground, extensive hiking and biking trails, boat and bike rentals, and a golf course. There is a lot to do, and people tend to spread out, so you may not see everyone at the same time.

 

I hope you will have the opportunity to come back soon, and we are always welcome to new ideas and suggestions for improvement.

[+godiva2]

Just a question for TraditionalBill....if you attended the HRGC picnic, did you actually count the number of people that actually attended the event.

Edited August 31, 2015 by godiva2

[+narcissa]

The thing with Megas is that geocachers don't want to stay in one place all day or all weekend. They spread out so they can geocache. I would never presume that a Mega was somehow illegitimate because I didn't see 500 people all at once.

[+Traditional Bill]

Just a question for TraditionalBill....if you attended the HRGC picnic, did you actually count the number of people that actually attended the event.

 

The answer to this question should be obvious. I simply said that compared to other mega events that I've been to, the crowd did not appear to be as large. No, I did not do a head count. I don't go to mega events to double check attendance so I can complain about it later in the forums. I simply wanted to point out that there has never once been more than 300-some attended LOGS. I was corrected (and even stated that in a previous post) that for every attended log, there is one or two that attend that don't log. So there's no need to continue even discussing this topic, tbh. In fact, Keystone, can you lock this one up?