The value that "Elite" Climbers bring

We understand that the focus of your event is your charity. However, ultimately your goal is to increase the number of participants who are potential fundraisers.
The stair climbing community in the USA is a tight-night and thriving group. They are likely to:

• Promote your event on the various stairclimbing websites (most notably www.towerrunningusa.com and www.towerrunning.com).
• Promote your event via social media
• Increase media attention to your event (by the fact that top ranked climbers are participating and travelling to your event)
• Produce results that astound other participants.

Elites can also be a pain in the a$$ (note to other elite climbers - STOP being a pain in the a$$). But they can also be a wealth of knowledge to help you create a successful event. So ENGAGE the stair climbing community to grow your event, and grow the sport of stair climbing!

But.......stop calling them "Elite"

Very few participants at your event will self-identify as "elite". Thus, using this term at your event does more harm than good - because some potential participants may choose NOT to register for your event because they don't see a category for them. Majority of climbers would however like a clear stairwell so that they can climb unencumbered.
Instead of using the term "elite", it would be better to create race categories for "competitive" and "non-competitive" climbers. Within the competitive climber section, you should look to Towerrunning USA to help with rankings - so that you then have "ranked" and "unranked" competitive climbers.
Once again - engage the stair climbing community to help here.

Successful climb for the larger competitive category

Climbers who have a positive experience are more likely to return, and are also more likely to share that experience with their friends (directly or via social media). The reverse is also true - a poor experience may mean they don't return, but they still share that negative experience.
There are some common sense rules that can increase the chances of a positive climbing experience:

• ​A clear stairwell
  • Separating competitive climbers from non-competitive climbers is a good start.
  • Ranking competitive climbers (again seek outside help from towerrunning USA) will ensure congestion is reduced for the most time-sensitive climbers.
  • Sending climbers every 10 seconds, and potentially every 20 seconds for the competitive climbers will reduce the number of people in the stairwell.
  • Consider introducing a time "gap" every 5 min. Such as a 30 sec gap before sending the next climber. This will also reduce the number of climbers in the stairwell at any one time.
• Begin the event on time
  • Climbers will warm up and eat/drink to coincide with the start time. 
  • If you are running late with the start - advance warning is a good thing to allow climbers to adjust their race preparation.
• Accurate (and responsive) timing.
  • You typically hire a timing company to do this - it is their one responsibility, and it isn't too much to expect that they do their job.
  • Please (please please) post on your website WHERE we will go to find the results after the event.
• Low bib numbers for competitive climbers
  • This is NOT just for the ego of the climbers. It helps the volunteers also.
    
  • If you have ranked climbers (or just have a competitive climb section), then the most frustrating thing at the start line is when a new climber wants to muscle their way in - thinking that they are going to ace this event. HINT: They likely are not going to do well.
  • Any climber who thinks they have been missed from the competitive section should be allowed to slot in - just don't allow them to slot in among the first 10 climbers - unless they can somehow prove they deserve to be there (which is unlikely unless the other climbers agree to let them in).