Does anyone know GenCon's official policy on late arrivals?
In the past there have been discussions on TD filling the "empty" slots of no-shows with people from the waitlist but there has been concern that officially, if you have a ticket to the event, you are supposed to be able to play up to X minutes within the start time. Any idea know what X is?
Though Grind always sells out officially and attendance is high (94% in 2013 and 92% in 2012) there usually are a handful of empty slots due to no-shows. Given how hard it was to get Grind tickets this year (due to slightly fewer runs), I was thinking maybe we could develop some sort of Waitlist for True Grind.
Since Grind is officially 90 minutes long this year and the first 30 minutes are coaching, it would probably work well with any GenCon requirement of allowing people with tickets to play even if they arrive slightly late. I'm thinking we could start trying to fill empty slots 15 minutes in (half way through the coaching time), or maybe 10 minutes in.
Using a forum thread (probably a week to a month before GenCon, so that people's schedules are more up-to-date), forumites can indicate Grind times they are interested in (in case there is an opening) and then right before GenCon they can provide a cell number (sent via private e-mail or PM) and indicate a preference between phone and text.
By the time of GenCon, I can then take all that info and randomize the order (so there's no concern about rushing to post first). And if a Grind event is 15 minutes in and there are empty slots, I can try making a few calls to see if anyone is free (and nearby) who wants to fill in (they can just provide generic tickets to cover the event cost). People can also sign up for the waitlist on-site as well.
I realize that TD often uses a waitlist system for their main adventures, however it usually doesn't work quite so well with filling Grind slots. Grind is often located far away from the waitlist person, Grind is more specialized, and has a shorter window where we can fill an empty slot. This way we can aim for a 100% participation rate! And it encourages greater participation on the forums.
So can someone tell me the official GenCon policy for late arrivals with a ticket?
And any feedback on a potential True Grind waitlist system.