State Fair 2009 question 3
The third in our series of State Fair questions deals with the dog entries.
In the past, as with dairy cows & goats, the dog exhibitors have had to fill out entry cards which you then send along with the paper copies. We hire someone here to enter that information into the database.
We've noticed that a lot of the information on the cards is no longer necessary--different check-in processes mean that less info is really needed on the card.
We're thinking of changing the process to be more like the horse entry process--where you type in the class number and the horse's name on the electronic entry form. In the case of the dogs, you would be typing in a class number, dog name, and dog breed. The class numbers would handled in a way that would allow you to quickly go look up a number if you needed to... if the young person did not enter a correct number on their paper entry form.
What do you think? Would that be burdensome in terms of data entry? How many dog exhibitors do you have in your county--if it's only one or two, would it be a pain to do that? It looks like no exhibitor enters more than about five classes. They seem to have at most 2 dogs, which would mean a maximum of 4 classes--obedience for each dog, then handling & rally.
More blog comments on your thoughts, particularly if you are a county that has LOTS of dog exhibitors!
Comments
Sounds good to me, go for it. Sounds easier to me.
Jan
Posted by: Jan Henningsen | September 23, 2008 03:11 PM
wouldn't be a problem. good way to do it!! no more of the cards that i never have enough of!!
Posted by: linda cline | September 23, 2008 03:12 PM
We don't have a LOT of dog entries, but we seem to consistently have a few each year. I'm all for moving to having as much of the entry in ONE PLACE instead of on separate cards. Less entry forms/tags/etc mean less pieces to get lost, misdirected or forgotten.
Posted by: Amanda Allen | September 23, 2008 03:14 PM
We also do not have a lot of dog exhibitors but I like the idea of adding it to the entry and not having the cards, less paper.
Posted by: Steph Erpelding | September 23, 2008 03:36 PM
I like that idea, lets get everything the same so we know we won't be forgetting anything on some entries.
Posted by: sue barnes | September 23, 2008 04:03 PM
Our county has not had a dog entry at the State Fair but we have had inquires. The new process sounds easy enough to handle and less paper. Good idea.
Posted by: Kim | September 24, 2008 08:19 AM