There are a few things I've been thinking about lately regarding the attendance policies for the VA meet:
1. I really think we need to consider implementing a policy that reconsiders the attendance of significant others, spouses and other family members (children, etc.). My primary concern is that as we continue to age this issue will only continue to get worse and will likely get to a point that is unsustainable or accelerate us to an already inevitable point of unsustainability (as interest in attending the meet continues to grow over time). I know that we've had several instances of non-eliters/karters attending throughout the years, and that this year is not a novel situation. The real issue here is that we are essentially invading the Weatherton's home for a week. They have gone above and beyond any reasonable measure of expectation in their generosity, grace and patience in hosting us. They've communicated, with key members of our community, the need for capping the maximum amount of attendees due to various logistical constraints on their home (# of beds, septic concerns, etc.). This has meant, and will continue to mean, having to turn people away who are interested in attending the meet and I'm not sure it is fair to deny someone who is a part of the community the chance to attend simply because someone else has decided to bring other people with them. I look at this year's Google Sheet and see that in addition to the cap of 30 people, we have an another 10 people who want to come and/or will be forced into offsite accommodations, and that does not include the 3 other people (spouses and children) not currently listed on the sheet who are seemingly planning to attend. At what point do the Weatherton's just say "enough is enough, you've outgrown us" and decide to shut things down? Even though I would hate to see that happen, I wouldn't be terribly surprised about it. If the potential long term sustainability of this is important to you (even if it's not, there may be others who do), then this is something you need to give careful consideration to.
To be clear, this is not a personal judgment of anyone in particular or directed at anyone specifically and I'm sorry if anyone is offended by this (that is really not my intent). As a husband and father, I'm keenly sensitive to any sort of judgment or criticism directed at my family. This is purely commentary on what I perceive to be a looming logistical challenge regarding the long-term sustainability of this event.
2. I think we also need a defined set of rules governing who is secured a spot in the "top 30" for cap space. It's been disheartening to see people express interest in attending but then not be given the chance to attend due to being locked out of a secured spot inside the cap space. Much like point #1 above, I think this will only continue to get worse over time and I think having a well defined set of rules will go along way to making sure that everyone feels they are being treated fairly. To be more specific, having someone like duff show up out of nowhere with no communication, while potentially amusing, isn't fair to someone who's been communicating and working with the group for several month. Similarly, having someone like Clemens added at the last minute, while other people have been expressing interest for several months, doesn't seem quite fair. Finally, I think we should implement some sort of commitment date (via flight/travel/payment confirmation) so that we avoid situations like PYL this year who won't know until ~3 weeks prior to the event whether or not they can attend. If a situation like that occurs and that person is unable to attend, someone on the "waiting list" may not have enough time to make travel/work arrangements.
