In the vein of creating 'great experiences' off the track, Events (with the support and guidance of fellow BMXNSW Directors) made some adjustments to key components of the BMXNSW Dinner and event collateral eg merchandise and official event program. Whilst the adjustments were minor in nature, they offered a healthy return on the time invested to make the change. A summary of the changes are below.

-Merchandise. In 2018, Events engaged a graphic designer to provide a fresh look for State Championships merchandise. In addition to a fresher look, the range of merchandise was expanded and an online store created as the 'shopfront' for the merchandise, rather than using OSM. The combination of a new look and easy point of sale process resulted in sales exceeding $15,000. Some things did not sell as well as others eg beanies and tanks and inclusion of these items in the 2019 merchandise range will be reviewed.

-BMXNSW Awards Dinner. In 2018, a change was made to the purpose of this dinner to achieve a higher attendance at the dinner. Previously the event to celebrate the now defunct Dynamites and Crackerjacks, the dinner (as a trial) became the event to celebrate the Top 3 riders in the State Series classes. Each Top 3 rider received a meal and custom jersey as part of their award. The dinner was also moved to the Friday night, as a way of finishing the racing year on a high before the weekend of racing got underway. Moving the State Series presentation also streamlined the opening ceremony at the track on Saturday and removed the necessity to have a presentation at the track on the Sunday morning. The changes were well received by the majority of members with 310 people in attendance.

-BMXNSW Official Event Program. In 2018, Events reviewed the content of the official event program and considered the factors that would make riders/parents/grandparents retain the program as a memento of the event. As a result, the program was a mix of official rider information / entries and photographs of riders and officials throughout the 2018 year. The program elements captured the spirit of the host club, Castle Hill BMX Club by including rider profiles and a short photographic history of the last State Championships held by the club.

-Event branding. Design consistency across the merchandise, programs, trophies and plates delivered an integrated look for the event. This is important from a customer experience perspective as when 'everything fits together', confidence in the product (ie event) grows and people want to have that experience again.

The changes would not have been possible without the support of the BMXNSW board and I extend my sincere thanks to them for letting 'the new girl' trial some changes in 2018.

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