Registration Process Options
If your goal is to fill three or four sheets of ice, then over the phone registrations and manual collection of money and waivers is fine.
If you wish to run a larger program where manual registration, collection of funds, and collection of waivers is time consuming, then electronic registrations systems such as the one the Calgary Family Curling Association (CFCA) uses, will save you a tremendous amount of work. The CFCA chose to implement an electronic registration system since it was launching programs at 3+ clubs at the same time.
For the sustainability of the family curling program you wish to start, it may be a good idea to make the league as easy to run as possible. An electronic registration system will do this. However, you won’t save any time the first year since you will spend time setting up the website to look like you want it to. The second registration is when you will save the most time. An electronic registration system also gives your program a professional first impression.
Choosing a registration vendor: We are not financed in any way to make a recommendation. We did a lot of research into various systems and found that the SportsSignup product was best for the Calgary Family Curling Association. It offered both an easy to setup website and a built in registration system. It is relatively easy to use, though it takes a little while to figure out how to customize it. We will continue to use this vendor next year. However, we recognize other vendors may have improved their offerings and that we did not find all of the vendors out there, so please look around at the various options. The main point is that an electronic registration system can be an incredible asset if you are willing to put the time into setting it up.
Sports registration systems generally charge a fee per registered player and a credit card transaction fee. As a result, you will have to increase your registration price by a few dollars per player.