Our annual STAR (Sport Touring Association Rendezvous) for 2022 is over and from the comments we have heard it was a resounding success once again. Since it takes place over 5 days, it’s really difficult to sum it up in just one article. This is especially true when you consider all of the planning and organizing that takes place before attendees even begin to arrive. In a short series of articles, I’d like to take you readers through the process of planning and organizing, setup and meeting while there, and finally the riding and activities that take place at STAR. In the meantime, if you’d like to see pictures from the event you can find them in the Photo Achieves that you see a tab for above.
The first step in any rally is to pick a spot. This usually takes place a year or two before a STAR rally. The requirements are short but are often difficult to find all in one place. There must be good roads close to the hotel. This is the number 1 consideration for a STAR rally. We come to ride while at the event, and not just to ride to and from our events. I think that this separates MSTA rallies from most others. Since the majority of our members like to use hotels, the hotel must have the capacity to handle 300+ attendees. It must have dining facilities on-site, along with other options off-site but within walking distance. We have a member meeting, seminars, vendors, and a closing banquet at our STAR rally, so it must have space to handle these things. It must have parking for the bikes, cars, trucks, trailers, etc. that our attendees use to get to the event and while there. It must be affordable. We try our best to keep the room rates around $115 or less per night, including a full breakfast. Finally, since we always have STAR in June, it must be somewhere that it won’t normally be too hot. Wanting good roads and nice temperatures eliminates a large portion of the country right off the bat. The plains states are not going to be considered because of the lack of good roads. The deep south and desert states are going to be eliminated because of the heat. Touristy areas are not going to be in the price range we need. The need for meeting, dining, and banquet facilities eliminates many locations in the heart of riding country. Finally, since we are going to bring anywhere from 250-500 people to a STAR we need to reserve the spaces often 1-2 years in advance. For example, while we have already announced the 2023 location (Knoxville, Tn.!), we are already looking at possible 2024 locations.
Once a location is chosen and the contract is signed, we can take a deep breath for about 4 months. Around the time that our regional rallies are finishing up, say right around Thanksgiving, STAR planning begins again in earnest. We always want to open up registration the 1st of the new year, and in order to do that we have to have the registration site set up. But before we can do that, we must have picked a raffle bike and made arrangements to buy it and have the logo and shirt designs finalized. Arrangements for the Tuesday lunch ride at STAR must also be finalized before we can open up registration. These things are generally handled by the EC and the STAR registrar teams prior to any formal STAR planning meeting are held.
Once the 1st of the year comes and registration opens, the final planning for STAR, with the planning team and the Hotel begin. This takes place over the next 4-5 months. The facility gets a visit from some members of the team to make sure it is still OK to use. How best to use the meeting spaces at the hotel, where to place the vendors, where to put the bike wash, where to put on-site check-in and registration is decided, where to place the route boards and information center is figured out, and all the logistical details involved in housing and feeding the attendees are handled. Meanwhile, communication with vendors and door prize contributors is going on. It really does take a whole team of volunteers to pull this off, and we always seem to have a great one. Finally, after almost a whole year of organizing and planning it’s time to Rally…whew! Here’s where the work really begins for many people. Transporting goods, setting up displays, putting meeting and seminar plans together, making sure that the AV equipment is working correctly, making sure the lunch ride will go off without a hitch, checking with the hotel people on last minute changes or needs, and all the other little details that are involved with hosting a 5-day party with 300+ of your closest friends, it’s all part of the package. In addition, each and every member of the team is also making sure their bikes are ready for the trip and that they have packed everything they need.
Next….we are at STAR, let the FUN begin!