For Team Captains:
Being on a Team Makes It More Fun
It's easier to get started when you join a group, so get a team together. You don't have to work or even commute together, but you must all be employees or currently enrolled students at the UW. A minimum of 4 and up to 10 people make a team.
Chances are if you are doing recruiting you are probably the perfect Team Captain. So roll with it. Get things started and register a team. Be prepared to provide the names and email addresses of your first 4 potential members (including yourself) and your team's name. Take some time with your team name--at the end of the challenge participants will vote on their favorite.
Manage Your Team
1. Register a team
Use the online form. After the team is registered you will receive an email acknowledging your status as captain and we'll send you a Ride in the Rain 2008 poster to display.
Team Captains can pick up their free 2008 Ride in the Rain shirt at the Pedal Off event (Thursday, February 28, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm in the Fisheries Sciences lobby and yard), or if you are unable to attend, your shirt will be mailed to you. The Pedal Off is a great opportunity to socialize with your team mates, access a variety of bicycling resources, and meet additional potential new recruits for your team.
2. Add members
To register your team you will need to list the names and email addresses for at least the first 4 potential members. Potential members will receive an automatic email message asking them to complete their registration. Alert them not to delete the message before they register—they can save the message for later, but they need the link to finish their registration. They are not registered until they complete the form.
It's easy to get a team together. Even if you don't know people who ride their bikes now, you probably know people who live close and would make great bike commuters. The only push some people need is to be invited. If you need to pick up a few more riders, check the website for people looking to join a team. Send them an email inviting them to join your team. It's that easy!
Make sure your team members who are commuting by bike for the first time check the New Bike Commuter box when they register--the team with the most new bike commuters will be recognized at the award celebration.
3. Manage Reporting
Each week during the reporting dates listed below, a tracking form will be available to captains and all team members on the team's admin page. Each member will receive a reminder email with a link to the page where they can enter their week's rides. The form will calculate mileage based on the figure provided by each participant at registration for a one way commute*. Weekly tallies must be entered from Friday through Tuesday of each week. Captains will have access to all team stats and can enter totals for team members if they are unable to.
If captains will be unable to perform this function for any week during the challenge, they need to assign the responsibility to an alternate and let us know so we can arrange for access to the stats.
*Some riders may have trouble assigning a mileage figure to their commute. If they don't know the miles from their home to campus, the online Pedometer will help. If riders normally vary their commute routes, they will need to arrive at a week's average miles that makes sense to them and manage their rides to match it during the challenge.
4. Reporting Dates
A Ride Week is Sunday through Saturday. All rides from the Ride Week must be tallied during the Reporting Window--between Friday of the Ride Week and Tuesday of the following week.
- Report Rides Taken March 2 - March 8
(Submit 1st Week team statistics between March 7th and March 11th - Report Rides Taken March 9 - March 15
(Submit 2nd Week team statistics between March 14th and March 18th) - Report Rides Taken March 16 - March 22
(Submit 3rd Week team statistics between March 21st and March 25 ) - Report Rides Taken March 23 - March 29
(Submit 4th Week team statistics between March 28th and April 1)
5. Reward recruitment
Any rider who recruits 3 or more first-time Ride in the Rain participants (these do not need to be first time bike commuters) will be rewarded with a free Ride in the Rain shirt. Captains should remind team members to post the email addresses of any new recruits with their first week’s results to claim their shirt. (One shirt per participant please.)
Ride in the Rain Posters
A picture says a thousand words. Posters are a great way to increase exposure. Get extra posters to display in your office, lunch room, or on a bulletin board. Send an email to riderain@u.washington.edu (subject: ride in the rain poster). Make sure you give your name, the quantity you desire, and your box number.
Pictures
Take pictures of your team and send to heinsius@u.washington.edu. Print out your pictures and display them on your bulletin board, at department meetings or on your own website.
I'm a free agent looking for a team.
If you aren't already on a team and you want to be, come to the Pedal Off on February 28 and meet Team Captains looking for riders, or go to the website and enter your name as someone looking for a team to join. A Team Captain looking for riders will email you directly. Make the connection and get on a team.
I'm a Team Captain and I need more riders.
Check the website for people looking to join a team. Send them an email inviting them to join your team. It's that easy! Or come to the Pedal Off on February 28 to meet up with potential new recruits.
