I think everyone agrees that the inaugural 2023 event we had back in March was a success. We had a few hiccups along the way, and we want the community's feedback on how we can manage the next event to make it even better. Post your ideas in this thread, and the planning committee will seriously consider all input for the 2024 event.
Some concerns of my own:
1) We ran into trouble with import duties/tariffs on the prizes for Canada, which caused some of us some significant personal expense to get those ransoms paid and get the prizes delivered. We also had some shipping expenses for one vendor that sent one of us a big prize box and had us distribute it ourselves. We can't really control how our prize vendors operate. We were actually quite blessed with the sheer amount of merchandise they donated. I have my own idea to help alleviate the burden of incidental costs associated with running the contest, and I'll post that below.
2) Was 96 hours the right amount of time for the challenge? 96 hours is pretty brutal when you are folding on every machine in the house, but some people said they are open to a longer challenge, possibly a week or 10 days. Personally I have mixed feelings towards that, but I am curious to see what the community thinks.
3) I want the event to be about 3 weeks sooner than last year, which would put it towards the end of February. Would that be cool?