BPA Director's Chair

2012 BPA Survey Results—Timing (When)
Jan. 12, 2013

If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably figured out that I don’t put a lot of stock in surveys. The question of when WBC should be held is one of the more obvious examples of built-in bias in this particular survey. Obviously, if a conference that traditionally has been held during the first week in August sends out a survey asking for the most convenient time to hold such a conference, the answer is likely to come back the first week in August. Why? Because the people most likely to answer the survey in the first place are the people who have been attending regularly ... in the first week of August. Those who find that time inconvenient simply haven’t been coming at all or with less frequency. So, it was not unexpected when the survey revealed the most popular choice to be .. ta da .. the first week in August.

Most preferred week:                           Week most likely to prevent your attendance:
1st week in August ...... 498                  1st week in August ..........  54
4th week in July ........ 457                  3rd week in July ............  63
3rd week in July ........ 393                  4th week in July ............  69
2nd week in August ...... 366                  2nd week in July ............  92
2nd week in July ........ 294                  2nd week in August .......... 110
4th week in June ........ 251                  4th week in June ............ 154
Later in August ......... 204                  None ........................ 158
Earlier in June ......... 186                  1st week in July ............ 270
1st in July ............. 184                  Later in August ............. 288
                                               Earlier in June ............. 289

What You’d Like to See…	What You Want Not to Change	How I See It…
Avoid Other Conventions 5: As far as dates go, I expect you’re aware of it, but in 2016 and 2018-2020, Gencon will be during the usual WBC dates of the first week in August. 2015, too, but I guess that’s already contracted.		We indeed check and try to avoid conflicts with other major conventions before signing a contract. The same cannot be said of the major conventions checking for our dates, nor should they. However, when we sign a contract, we’re stuck with those dates. If a Gen Con changes its published future dates for whatever reason, there’s not much we can do about it.
Avoid my Anniversary, summer, etc 9: It is currently scheduled during my anniversary week in August, making it unlikely that I will ever attend unless it is changed. / Quite frankly, I love WBC how it is and look forward to it all year—it is my wife’s and my favorite week. We fly in from England and a move in the date may very likely keep us from going because of our limited time window.		Every week is inconvenient for some and convenient for others. All we can do is try to select the one that matches our available options with the preferences of the majority, although there is something to be said for consistency. On the other hand, changing dates could expose new people to the conference who otherwise might never attend.
Avoid School Year 3: I would go every year if it did not conflict with beginnings of my daughters school year which begins the first week in August and sometimes the last few days of July. As it stands now, I sometimes go to the convention, but my wife and daughter stay home and wish to be there. If you held it the second week of July then we might book to come years ahead of time because we love it.		I agree that if our ideal target date is in the summer we should try to hit the window of school vacations as well as we can. Ultimately, the decision will be based on the facility’s available dates and the Board’s preferences.

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