Hereford Open (II) Questionnaire Feedback

[dave coles]

Following the Hereford Open (II) all competitors were sent a questionnaire asking for their feedback on the event.

All respondents were put into a free draw with the prize of free entry to our next event being won by Lewis Quinn of Gracie Barra Essex

Our responses follow each section in italics.

The aim of the questionnaire is quite simple.

1. listen to our customers

2. take the feedback on-board

3. improve things for the next time.


Firstly the following questions were asked and the respondents had the option of replying

Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Poor



Information about the event on our Website
Excellent 82%
Good 15%
Satisfactory 3%

The way that any queries were dealt with prior to the event
Excellent 85%
Good 15%

Ease of Online Registration
Excellent 97%
Good 3%

Leisure Centre Facilities
Excellent 50%
Good 47%

Registration and Weigh-in on the day
Excellent 93%
Good 7%

Communication with fighters on the day
Excellent 62%
Good 23%
Satisfactory 15%

Spectating Area
Excellent 50%
Good 39%
Satisfactory 11%

Did your weight category start
Early 35%
On time 58%
Late 7%


Respondents were then asked;

What was the best part about competing in the Hereford Open

The following responses were received:

gold medals

Competing in BJJ for the first time.

My sons have competed in both the Hereford Open events and I have been extremely impressed with the organisation of both events. Both started on time and very well run. The fights were very organised and the event actually finished ( junior sections anyway - didn't have any adult entries ) before proposed finish time. Which is a first for any competition I have been to or competed in in my life. All the team that organised and ran the event were extremely helpful and also all the other competitors and coaches were extremely supportive and helpful to myself and my competitors. All in all a very enjoyable experience and would recommend the Hereford Open to any club looking to compete in the sport .... My thanks and congratulations to Dave Coles and his team on a superb day

It was my daughters first competition, she trains under Shaky @ Tillery Combat.
We thought it was very a friendly competition, very well organised.
I think her fights started on time? We were a little confused because it was our first event, but Shaky sorted all that side so they all knew what was going on! It was good that you could video the fights, unlike Tae Kwon Do, who are really anal about cameras. I like how you get the kids out of the way in the morning. Excellent day out! And the very best part, she didn't get hurt and came home with a medal.

first competition experience, very relaxed and well organised staff, all participants and teams were very good natured and supportive to all.

The opportunity to have the challenge of entering and fighting in a competition which was feasible and testing the skills I have learned in a real situation. I was attracted to the event because it was white belts only and so it seemed not too overwhelming,

The overall experience of the Hereford open was very pleasant and well organised this was my first time competing and although nervous about it the way the event was organised and ran was one less worry.

Everybody was pleasant and was nice to see the respect and admiration all the fighters had for each other the referees and officials were all very professional and friendly.

Winning my first fight in my first competition! But in all seriousness it was very well run, from registration through to the day itself.

Winning silver....just missing out on gold!

Taking gold in my category. As my first competition I thought it was very well run and the organisers were very accommodating to those competitors who didn't make weight.

Great atmosphere, and a very competitive division (I fought in the 94.3kg weight class). As this was my first competition I don't really have anything to compare it too but I'm hoping that all BJJ comps are like this (from what I gather, this isn't the case though!).

The friendliness of the competition (especially as it was my first).

The organisation - you knew what was happening and when. Getting more than one fight (I lost my first one but the repackage system allowed me to get a bit more experience).

The price - value for money especially as you get at least two fights.

Winning

Being able to weigh in at any time; pre-competition publication of brackets and schedule; post-comp publication of results within a few hours; facilities for spectators; running on time (amazing feat!)

The excellent and professional way in which the comp was run. You knew where you were what was happening before etc.

Good healthy competition, with a nice relaxed atmosphere

The cafe did a lovely salad, here in Wales, leisure centre cafes only serve burger and chips.

The best part was being able to have 5 fights.

Only my third competition so not many to compare it with but the whole experience was good. Entry fee was reasonable and with the repercharge system it was great value for money.

It is good to see people who are more interested in establishing a good competition than making a quick profit. I had to chose between Bristol and Hereford this month the repercharge system certainly swayed it in your favour.

Was my first competition , really enjoyed , good atmosphere , and organised.

Seeing how I compared against other fighters. Unlucky for me my senior weight was combined with the adults. I did enjoy talking with other "older" fighters on how long and how often then train etc..Will be good to meet up with them again hopefully at the British Open in March

the atmosphere and organisation

Friendly professional atmosphere

it was just a great day, I was informed of the weigh in/fight times as soon as I entered, bit of banter with some of your lads which put me at ease. good reffing

Good spirit between competitors, a relaxed worry free day, we could focus on our matches while everything else was taken care of.

This one and the last one were so well organised, I like that the medals are given out quite quickly so people can go home if they wish.

It's been a pleasure to compete at the Hereford opens, as it should be!

[dave coles]

Finally we asked;

Have you got any suggestions as to how we could improve things for our next event

The replies to every response are shown in italics.




It would have been good to have the competition details and date on the medals.

Competition details will be on the medals for the Hereford Open (III)


Could bronze medallists get a T shirt ?


Originally t-shirts were going to be for the gold medallists only, but our sponsors Black Eagle provided us with some extra and we were able to give the t-shirts to the runner-up too.



I appreciate it's an expensive event to organise, and the entry costs are good, so maybe no T shirts and 1st place should get a small trophy?

The medals for the Hereford Open (III) will be of a much better quality and we are hoping to again have t-shirt prizes for the junior competitors

Pity it's such a long wait until September.

We can't do much about this one!!!


I got called early and was confused when to warm up, so some indication of how long before your fighting would be useful. e.g. knowing if you're on in two fights time on mat 2?

We currently give one fights notice, at our next event we will attempt to give fighters at least two fights notice.


You should think about organising trail/qualifying events for the British open around the country so they can limit competitors actually going to Birmingham and make it more of a BJJ spectacle.

This is something that is not under our control.


Although we were called to weigh in there was no weighing in. I think this was because of the small number of competitors in my category. However, this didn't matter because I think I was matched with a female of equivalent weight to myself.

This did relate to the ladies category, and yes it was because the ladies was run as an open weight.


Maybe 4 matted areas to cut down waiting time of each cat.

We have progressed from one mat area, then to two and have now run two events with three mats. The main problem is having enough referees and experienced table staff to put on a fourth area, but this will eventually happen. But we will not put mat areas out if we are unable to keep the mat running.


Would be nice to of been told it was the final!

This is something we will endeavour to do for our next event. The table staff who collect you from the warm-up area carry an A3 sheet with the bracket on. You can at any time ask to see this to see how you are progressing. A guide to how the sheets work can be found here. http://www.thecombatacademy.com/HowT...argeWorks.html



The winners medals could be improved.

See earlier reply.


Recognition of how well a whole team performs, maybe a prize for the winning team.

We could announce this along with the individual result. The problem is by the time the absolutes are finished there are not many people left.


Anyone who doesn't make weight by the biggest margin wins an amusing t-shirt.

We are trying to encourage everyone to make weight! Although we could name and shame along with the results!

As I was in the 94.3kg class, my fights were the last on the mat, and fighting for the bronze I was in the very last fight in my class. Now, this would have been fine if I hadn't entered the absolute, consequently I was called for my first fight in this division while I was pinned down in side control during my last fight. Having about 5 minutes to recover before fighting in the absolute may have been a bit short for my somewhat feeble cardio. Anyway, this wasn't really a problem for any others competitors and I'm probably just bitter about losing in the absolute. Other than that, everything was spot on.

We will endeavour to offer a minimum of 10 minutes rest between fights at our next event.


Only one minor thing I would change is the location of the medals area. I didn't realise where it was for a while. I didn't place but it would have been nice to be able to see the medals presentations from the spectator area.

We will look at this for our next event, but we are slightly limited by space. We will also announce medal presentations over the PA system.


Have a trophy for the team with most victories/points.

See earlier response


Announce on the tannoy when a final is about to take place, who is fighting in it and what mat it is on.


As stated earlier we will look at this for our next event.


Encourage pre-registration for the absolute division to get more people doing it?

Pre-registration for the absolute will be added to our online registration for our next event


Have stalls selling gis, equipment, etc.

We are somewhat limited with regards to doing this because of the space. We do provide bleacher seating for over 300 spectators, which does use a lot of our space. But we are hoping our sponsor Black Eagle will set up a stall for our next event.



It would be cool but not necessary if you had a proper website for the Hereford open. I know you have one but it could be a bit more specific and contain all the details from the previous comps in a nice format etc

Event details are hosted on our website, but we have taken this on board and the pages will contain details from previous events.


Maybe get a photographer? put some pics up on this website?

We are in the process of trying to get a photographer for our next event.


Really happy with the way you guys do the comp itself and all of the communication you give on the forums think that's handled really well.

I would have preferred starting as planned instead of early as it came as a surprise and I had to rush to get changed. Obviously, it was great comp well organised

We will try and give at least 15 minutes notice if a bracket is going to start early.

Perhaps having someone taking photos or filming to then sell to competitors after the event?

See above

With talk about adding a blue belt division, why not look at having a cap on the experience of the blue belt( i.e. 1 or 2 year max) as this competition seems more geared towards the novice side of BJJ. This might encourage blue belts who are a little apprehensive about competing to enter a comp and would also keep the number of contestants in a manageable number. This would stop the day getting too congested.

The 'problem' is we sold out of competitor places three week before the event, and it was for white belts only. Including Blue Belts is something we are looking at.



My only grumble about the day (and it is a minor one) is that we were called to warm up before our brackets started too early. We had to wait until the juniors had finished and this was approx 30 mins, so I had cooled down and had to warm up again before our bracket started. If you had used all three mats you could have finished off the juniors quicker before starting the adult tournament. Don't take the grumble as any form of criticism as it was a great day out. Thanks very much and I look forward to the next.

We will try and give accurate notice of when brackets are starting.

my cat started over 1,30 late was not told , which was disappointing.

I believe this was for the +100 category. I have looked through the paperwork and spreadsheets and realised that this was entirely due to a mistake on my part. The spreadsheet that calculates the start times stated 3.30 pm. I made a mistake when transferring the information and put down 2.00 pm. I apologise for this error and assure you that this will be checked and double checked next time.

On a positive note, out of 150 competitors, 142 started on time or early.


think it about right. If it's not broke don't fix it. But you have mentioned a blue belt category. But think this should be for Blue belts of less than say 12 -18 months


Comfy seating in the spectator stand

The comfort of the seats is something that is out of our control. It must be said that we are one of very few competitions that offer elevated bleacher seating sufficient for 300 spectators. At some events it is not possible to sit and watch the fighting.

Medals were a bit ropey, but I guess we didn't really go for that.

See previous comment.


The only thing I can think of is maybe t-shirts to competitors. Wouldn't even mind it if I had to buy it. Just a nice souvenir!

Black Eagle originally offered competitor t-shirts as part of their sponsorship. The reason this was declined is that it ties up several members of staff for a considerable amount of time giving them out. That is why we went for the option of having Black Eagle BJJ Kimonos as prizes for the winners of the absolute.
Hereford Open t-shirts can be purchased from Black Eagle.

[sharratt32]

T.Shirts where givin to runners up???

[dave coles]

T.Shirts where givin to runners up???

only in the kids brackets

Black Eagle put up kiminos for the adult absolute, senior absolute and ladies category

[sharratt32]

Ah, ok, just checkin, thought I had missed out on a freebee, lol. Thanks