Philly NARIX, by the numbers
As acceptance letters go out, inboxes are checked, and invoices paid, it feels like 6 long months of planning are finally showing: Philly NARIX is officially coming to life! It’s a bittersweet experience; the pleasure of reading so many applications from all across North America reminded us of the passion and joy that we all share for rope, and for the other amazing humans who do rope. And with more applicants for this last NARIX than we could possibly have hoped for, we’ve also had to send a lot of waitlist letters, and “we hope to see you next time” messages.
Of course, as absolute nerds, this process itself has been really interesting. Along the way, we’ve produced a lot of data– data that we want to share with you now! With that, here’s NARIX by the numbers; a sneak peek at what happened behind the scenes.
148: The number of applications we received.
We received applications from 25 states, and 3 provinces, in what may have been our most applications received for a NARIX yet. Our top 5 regions were New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Washington, and Texas, in that order, with Canada, Colorado, and California close behind.
(Sorry Canada, we don’t mean to lump all those provinces together, but damn google sheets geocharts won’t break them up for us, so you’re getting bundled in aggregate.)
80: The number of attendee spots available.
While NARIX’s size varies by venue, our Philly event will be about the same size as 2022’s Montreal event, with 80 spots open for attendees. Previous events have ranged from the mid-60s, up to the 120s, and with the recent influx in applications, we are definitely looking to be more than 80 in the fall. That said, we recognize that part of what makes NARIX special is the small group; so don’t worry, we don’t plan to grow too fast!
58: The number of spots on the waitlist.
Not every application made it through the process– some needed more information, others weren’t aligned with the culture and values of NARIX. But many wonderful, thoughtful applications were perfect, and still ended up on the waitlist. For the fiftyeight of you who received a waitlist number, we still hope to see you soon– whether it’s because your number comes up for this one, or because you get priority on the next event.
328: The number of emails we’ve sent in the last 48 hours.
Between acceptance letters, waitlist letters, rejection letters, invoices, waivers, waitlist updates, responses to questions, and confirmation emails, the NARIX inbox is humming away, full speed ahead! If we’re a bit slow to respond, or you haven’t heard from us, it’s likely just a matter of time till we make it to your message. And please continue to monitor your inbox, as we’ll be sending out a volunteer survey, more information about the venue and the area, and weekly waitlist updates for folks still waiting to hear their status.
17: The number of attendees that had priority access.
There are two ways to get on the priority list for NARIX:
The first option, which many of you will experience this fall, is to apply and be approved but then miss out on the NARIX event. Whether that’s because you’re on the waitlist or because it turned out you couldn’t attend, we want you to have priority next time– we had a few of these from Montreal; folks who were confirmed and accepted, but had to drop out. 9, to be exact.
The other option is to volunteer on one of our NARIX subcommittees. We’ve talked about the subcommittees in a previous blog post, but our subcommittee members are the folks who dig in and make NARIX happen, meeting throughout the year to negotiate with venues, map out food plans, draft volunteer schedules, and basically everything else you can imagine. This is more than a few hours at the event (and we need that help too!)– subcommittee members are part of NARIX staff, owning workstreams and deadlines and we could not be more grateful for their work organizing not just Philly, but two NARIX’s at once. <3
96: The number of applicants who offered to volunteer.
One thing that makes us real proud is the sense of community participation across applicants: almost 65% of NARIX applicants indicated that they’d be open to volunteering during the event itself. And speaking of volunteers, we’re going to need a lot of them! During the event, we’ll have shifts for check-in, food prep, clean-up, board duty, and other task-based jobs, as well as a need for camp counselors and other specialized roles. In order to ensure that everyone gets a chance to also enjoy the event, we’re hoping to recruit as many volunteers as possible, so that the number of shifts each person works can stay fairly short and minimal. Please keep an eye out for our volunteer survey, and sign up to take a shift and make a friend!
8: The number of scholarships we were able to offer.
NARIX runs on a really tight budget, but accessibility and inclusion are a key part of our mission and values. Even so, we still weren’t able to offer scholarships to everyone that needed them. While we continue to confirm attendees over the coming weeks, we’ll also be determining how to best support folks who can’t attend without financial assistance.
76: The number of days until Philly NARIX.
We’re ending with this number, because it’s the number we’ll be counting down, right up until the last second. Right to the moment when the doors are open, and the lights are on, and the first people start walking in. Because in just under 10 weeks, we’ll be sitting in a circle, saying hello face to face, and kicking off NARIX #10 at The Owls Nest.
