Yesterday I tried to sign up for an activity only to find out that it wouldn’t let me because I was wait listed on an activity that had some overlap so there was a conflict. Bummed me out because I would not think that being on a waitlist would count as being registered. I can understand not letting you register for multiple activities and then “choosing” at the last minute which one you wanted but being on a waitlist doesn’t guarantee anything and even if you decline a waitlisted signup there are other people on the waitlist that could go. I was just bummed out to find out about in the middle of my attempt to sign up.

I read the comments from earlier and agree that allowing a person to register and get on multiple activities is not productive and could lead to people choosing the one they like best late. However, being on a waitlist doesn't guarantee a spot on a trip. Being on a waitlist is not the same as being registered so it should not be treated as if you were. The system is capable of identifying "serial cancellers" so addressing that concern directly is better than assuming everyone has bad behavior..

I have had over 50% or more people cancel late on my last 3 hikes and 1 trip had to be cancelled (night before the hike/morning of the hike), This idea doesn't work and will negatively impact how many people are willing to lead outings. For climbing or scrambling course students this may make sense in order to complete their course but never for hikes and other outings. Make a choice and meet the obligations of your commitment to what you sign-up to do.

I would agree that someone should only be able to sign up for one activity on a given day. If waitlisted, it would be reasonable to contact a leader of the other event the day prior to see if there is room on the roster & drop off of the waitlisted activity. This has worked for me as a leader, and the hiker gets to go on a trip. Everyone wins.

I'm not seeing how this could be a good idea. With all the late cancellations happening already putting a large burden on volunteer leaders, this could only add to the burden. Participants are already cancelling late for a myriad of reasons (including seeing that the trip they really wanted just opened up) without consideration of the other participants - especially the ones on the waitlist who may not be able to scramble to get their gear together on short notice or made other plans and may have really wanted to go on the trip. I fear this will only encourage inconsiderate and rude behavior which leaders will end up taking the brunt of and may decide to quit leading.

Trip Leaders are volunteers who spend many hours organizing an outing, usually because they love their activity and enjoy helping others. In addition to researching the route and weather conditions they must monitor weather changes, participant changes, and create alternate backup plans as appropriate. Participants are not always courteous and timely regarding trip cancellations. Some of the most difficult leader tasks involve revising the plan or roster at the last minute and attempting to communicate changes with participants and those who desire to participate. Sometimes the leader is already out of cell phone signal on the night before the trip, yet cancellations do occur. Do we really want to pile more work and frustration upon the trip leaders and other participants at this critical time? I have seen many leaders and participants go to extraordinary efforts to help participants have an enjoyable trip. But making the job more difficult would threaten the morale and participation of our volunteer leaders.

I believe this is a bad idea. There will inevitably be no-shows because people will choose their preferred trip and forget or not bother to cancel the other one. This will result in frustration and a lot of extra work for leaders. Also, someone who is waitlisted on someone else's less-preferred trip will probably miss an opportunity. As a leader, I do not want to deal with this kind of thing.

A better approach to guaranteeing a spot on the trip is to lead trips.

Several years ago, participants could sign up for more than one trip. I had several who signed up then didn't show the morning of the trip, causing others to want to sign up for multiple trips. The net result was not what you're intending...

This idea places a burden on your designated back up leader who then must spend Friday evening calling the waitlist. Please remember that our leaders are volunteers and managing late roster changes is time consuming as it is.

Currently I believe even if you're waitlisted for an activity you can't even sign up for another wait list. Relaxing this rule would provide more scheduling flexibility for people wanting to get into climbs. As long as there's a hard rule that you can't be signed up and on the roster for more than one trip at a time, allowing one to be waitlisted for other trips should not cause any bad side-effects. For example if a leader contacts you to let you know that a spot is available on a trip you are waitlisted for, you'd have to give up your spot on the trip you're already signed up for in order to be able to switch. This last part might require some changes too, since on some trips the reservation window closes early and you can't cancel manually, you'd have to contact the leader directly.