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This Year's Attendance

Not official but somewhere over 5200 of the happiest rally goers ever:wow.

Voni
sMiling
 
So down almost 25% from the 6700 at last year's rally. I wonder if the 10,000 member attendances from the past will ever be repeated?

Hope everyone had a safe and satisfying time.
 
Well, you've got at least two people going next year. Got my rooms booked and both my wife and I plan on volunteering. MOA really impressed us and we want to be a part of the next rally. But no chair positions, at least not in 2013.
 
Just my opinion but when you hold a rally in the middle of July in one of the hottest parts of the country you should expect the attendance to be down. This trend will continue as long as the MOA holds there national rally at one of the hottest times of the year. I know this subject has been beaten to death but no one should be surprised at the turn out. The national rally should not be a survival test and until the powers that be realize that, you will never see record setting attendance.
 
Just my opinion but when you hold a rally in the middle of July in one of the hottest parts of the country you should expect the attendance to be down. This trend will continue as long as the MOA holds there national rally at one of the hottest times of the year. I know this subject has been beaten to death but no one should be surprised at the turn out. The national rally should not be a survival test and until the powers that be realize that, you will never see record setting attendance.

The record was set in July.
 
Just my opinion but when you hold a rally in the middle of July in one of the hottest parts of the country you should expect the attendance to be down. This trend will continue as long as the MOA holds there national rally at one of the hottest times of the year. I know this subject has been beaten to death but no one should be surprised at the turn out. The national rally should not be a survival test and until the powers that be realize that, you will never see record setting attendance.

I agree. Must be we're the only ones who think this.

Record set in July????? Where? I'll bet it was in a northern area KNOWN for cool weather.

Just my $.02 worth.
 
That number probably isn't bad considering where the rally was held. I imagine the majority of the rally goers were from that general neck of the woods and are used to an environment that would seem like hell on earth to most nor-westerners. Nothing wrong with that because the idea of holding the rally in the four regions of the country gives all the opportunity to attend a national rally. Next years event will no doubt attract much larger numbers. Too bad the powers that be can't select different times of the year to favor more desirable conditions in different parts of the country like maybe fall in New England for example. Oh, and why not include Canada for rally location? After all it is an "international" event, no?
 
I agree. Must be we're the only ones who think this.

Record set in July????? Where? I'll bet it was in a northern area KNOWN for cool weather.

Just my $.02 worth.

Since 1972 there has only been one rally not in July. It was in June. It was in Texas. It wasn't a record. It was going to be too hot. But the temps were in the 80s in Fredericksburg that week.

I personally favor September but not if we want younger riders - less than 50 or so. Their kids are in school and they won't come. And probably won't join. I think the board should try it. But they will weigh the pros (lots) and cons (lots) and decide. Last time I was convinced they were all screwed up I got myself elected to the Board, and then President. But now I think they are doing a good job and don't want to run for anything.

I think we should go back to Canada - but then folks with felonies or DUIs can't get in. Sorry - Canada 2014 for me!!
 
Where was the record attendance rally held? Was it Burlington Vermont as I was thinking that one was over 9000?
 
Escuses

I believe that most who do not come to the rally for reasons of distance/weather/etc. are the people who would not come no matter where you did it or when you planned it. I think most just get their thrills complaining.

I had a great time and consider the weather to have been outstanding. The storm I hit on the NC/VA border coming back on Sunday is a different matter all together.

BTW, I got chilled riding back.
 
not if...

So down almost 25% from the 6700 at last year's rally. I wonder if the 10,000 member attendances from the past will ever be repeated?

Hope everyone had a safe and satisfying time.

It will not likely happen if the MOA continues to ignore global warming and insists on holding the rally in insane sites in the peak of summer, can we look forward to Death Valley in july? I'm sure its available.
 
Whether or not we choose to believe all the propaganda, the weather certainly does seem to be getting more extreme. At a minimum some consideration should be given to these extremes. I did attend, rode the Saddlesore out on Wednesday in the tripple digit heat and rode another 1K straight home yesterday and will admit I stayed in A/C space off-site which takes away from the whole experience, that and the absence of Guinness on-site.
 
Attendance...

First the location is going to have a huge role in attendance, perhaps even more than the weather.

As Co-Chair of the Vermont rally (well over 9k IIRC) I'd love to say we came up with a magic formula but we didn't.

It was the perfect conditions to break a record. As an aside even in VT we had a 90 degree day.

The economy had yet to crash.
Within 500 miles of the rally site is the highest concentration of riders in the US.
It was in Vermont. All those riders love to ride Vermont and can get there in one day, many can get there after working a full day. Plus folks from around the country know Vermont as a great place to visit on two wheels.

Now we have a double whammy of an aging demographic and a challenging economy that conspire against big numbers for the National.

As for the time of year, it's the same story. The retired folks or riders without families want a rally in a different time of year because there is a perception that no matter where we go it will be brutally hot. The riders with families want a rally when school's out.

It's weather and while you can try all you want it can't be controlled or accurately predicted when contracts are signed. All the board can do is look at historical averages and roll the dice. Last year Bloomsburg was a furnace, this year same week it was delightful.

I don't think Vermont will ever be topped for attendance but it can always be matched for quality because every National is pretty damn great if you ask me. I don't see a correlation between attendance and quality. IMO The only reason to worry about attendance is financial.
 
Whether or not we choose to believe all the propaganda, the weather certainly does seem to be getting more extreme.

There really is no debate about the fact that the climate is changing. Almost nobody debates that. Those who do debate the issue argue it is not human caused. The cow fart argument so to speak. But that is not for us to argue here.

It does have implications for future planning, but weather and climate are not the same. And all we can do at the moment is look at historical weather. And pick facilities with lots of buildings for shelter and cooling.

First we ask what should we expect?
Then we ask whether the facility will be great if the abnormal - heat, rain, wind - happen.

No matter where we have a rally, some big portion of folks will ride through bad weather to get there from all over North America.
 
Since 1972 there has only been one rally not in July. It was in June. It was in Texas. It wasn't a record. It was going to be too hot. But the temps were in the 80s in Fredericksburg that week.

I personally favor September but not if we want younger riders - less than 50 or so. Their kids are in school and they won't come. And probably won't join. I think the board should try it. But they will weigh the pros (lots) and cons (lots) and decide. Last time I was convinced they were all screwed up I got myself elected to the Board, and then President. But now I think they are doing a good job and don't want to run for anything.

I think we should go back to Canada - but then folks with felonies or DUIs can't get in. Sorry - Canada 2014 for me!!
There are other problems besides the ones you mentioned in doing it in Canada. I talked to one vendor I know who stated that he would not go back there, as it was such a hassle getting his goods across and back again when he went the last time we had the Rally there. For me, the many vendors in one place are a large part of why I go to a rally, so the fewer numbers of them at a Canada rally would be a drawback to having it there, just like it is for western rallies, as many vendors will not travel so far to attend them as well. Since it looks like a lot of rallies are going to be in hot places from now on, with maybe the exception of next year, I would like to see maybe a return to what we did in Charleston, WV, with the rally in a city. I know there were some problems with that, but I think they can be worked around. If we can find a place with the facilities we need, with enough nearby hotels to accommodate all members who wish to stay there and nearby camping for members who insist on it, that would be preferable to having to camp in extreme heat for those who simply won't do it. The rally this year would have been better attended this year I think if an option like that were available. People could stay in air conditioned hotels, and then walk to rally events and restaurants. That would be better for a lot of members who now already stay in hotels, but are fairly far away from the rally.
 
Rally

I've been to Rally's all over the country and at different times of the year, spring, fall, summer from Daytona to sturgis, MB to Hollister and there never seems to be a perfect weather scenaro at any location....one of the largest and most attended rallies in the country that I sure you have all heard about in Sturgis SD can have 100+ days and huge rain storms and I dought there going to change the date of that rally to suit a few. As bikers it just what we do.
 
Rob

You did have the right combo, you had a younger MOA, 6 years younger. Now success is we few, we very few, we band of core members ( brothers). :dunno
 
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The record was set in July.

although this is true it is also a bit misleading. if the rally is always held in July then at some point record attendence will be set in the month of July.

there will always be one group that will go to the rally no matter where or when it is held. and then there is another group that makes there decision based on location and weather considerations. neither side will never completely see the others point of view. the point of view i am interested in hearing is the MOA's. do they want the same group of die hards to attend every year, or in addition to the die hards that will attend no matter what do they want to attract new faces/members to their premier event. if attracting new members to the rally is something they are interested in then i would be curious to see how many new members went to one rally and choose not to attend a second rally because it is held in a month and area of the country that will be a blast furnace.

for me personally i choose not to attend this year (and last year) because i get no joy in riding or camping in 100 degree heat.
 
I made a bet that the attendance will be lower than last year and I was right. You don't ned to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.You hold a rally in the middle of July in Sedalia???:violin I'll also bet that next year attendance will be higher because of location and weather. Any takers?
I and bunch of other people that I know did not attend because of the weather. Why should we? We ride for enjoyment not for misery. Ask the folks who went to Oregon couple years ago and they'll tell you how nice the weather was.We are not Harley riders we ride atgatt.
As for the timing it does not matter as much as the location.Unfortunately South and South East weather sucks during the summer.
As a side note please hold the "I survived" type comments this is not a survival contest, it's supposed to be fun.
 
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