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genesbmx
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Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 838
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Location: Wenatchee, Washington
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 Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:08 am Post subject: Ridge To River Confusion And Bad Vibes |
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*** Ridge To River Confusion And Bad Vibes ***
Wenatchee, Washington -- 04/16/2007
The 27th-annual River 2 River Relay in Wenatchee
seen some confusion and a few complaints over the
weekend as seen from a spectators point of view.
Thumbs up to the competitors but a thumbs down to a hand
full of the volunteers, law enforcement, spectators and coordinators.
Allot of confusion seen due to the bike leg not going down Methow
Street. Methow and Crawford Street for the last 26 years was one
of the best seats in the house to watch the event from. Not this year
as the bicycles did not ride down Methow Street. They changed the
bike leg to run all the way down the Squilchuck Hwy. in to Mission
Street then up Crawford Street. Allot of people wondering what was
going on as traffic was seen backed up all the way in to East Wenatchee
over the bridge due to the road being closed off at Mission and Crawford
Street for the event.
The coordinators of the event should have made a better attempt to
let the people in Wenatchee know what was going on with the change
of the Ridge To River bike coarse.
After finding out that the bike leg changed roughs, we ended up at
the Squilchuck Market parking lot. ( Squilchuck Hwy. & Mission ).
We sat there for about 45 min and watched some law enforcement
officer with allot of confusion, trying to finger out how things where
going to work out for the event. As we sat there we herd allot of
confusion among people wanting to go to there homes and a few
others that did not like the idea of the bike rought on Mission Street.
We sat there and sat there as the bad vibes among the people where
felt. Some guy in a pick-up-truck that thought he was gods gift to the
world thought he knew everything about everyone and how it was
to be running. The guy gave bad vibes to a good hand full of people.
There is always some nut job that thinks they know everything and
try's to wreck the event. So, a few of us thought we would go back
up to Methow and Crawford Street to get away from the bad vibes.
As we get to Methow and Crawford Street we all park at Linkin Park
and we thought we would take some photo shots of the bikes
as they came up Crawford Street. A few people already there
with the same idea. As we shoot the first 4 or 5 bikes going by
like allot of people where doing that was there. Some guy was
walking around and shooting photos too and was asking for
names of people shooting photos of the bikes that was there.
As he is asking he is also telling people that the place he works
for has the rights for the photo shoots that we are taking of the
bikes as they go by. Some lady there somewhat put up a yelling
match with the guy. The word was in the grape vine that the guy
was getting names of people so they could file legal suits on people
if they put the photos on the internet or shard them with competitors.
With the word of this going around, fast, with in a 30 min time zone
Methow and Crawford Street connor had little people watching
from there as people got scared off. So with this and bad vibes from
the other spot at the Squilchuck Market parking lot we thought
we would just scrap this years Ridge To River event in all.
`Why even bother with it, if it is not fun to watch it happen'.
So we left and went home.
So, people will NOT see any photos from Gene`s BMX this year
and we dought we will be in support of the Ridge To River event
next year. If people can not have fun at an event that was made to
have fun We see it as a 26 year fun event in Wenatchee comes to
a end due to bad vibes among people.
Gene`s BMX hopes that all the competitors had fun at the event this year.
And to the photo guy barking foul at allot of people, We hope you fold
and go chapter 11 soon. Your photos on the web suck as they are small
and all taged up with watermarks and they are hard to view as seen in the
past. In other words,. Your photos are a wast of space on the web as is
all you and the place you work for care about is money and not about
the fun of the event it is for people watching it. I know I would not
wast my money or time on your photos and if anyone else does they
are fools.
It is a few people like you and that guy in the truck that wrecks a
nice small town event that was intended for its small town people.
You both know who you are and a hand full of others that was
rude to people that we seen and herd at the event, you to know
who you all are and we also say shame on you too.
It is sad to see the Ridge To River event start to fall apart like this.
We hope that the volunteers, law enforcement, spectators and
coordinators can do a better job next year to make the event fun
to watch again.
-- Have fun everyone and be safe.
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com |
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ncwportal
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:02 am Post subject: |
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| genesbmx wrote: |
As he is asking he is also telling people that the place he works
for has the rights for the photo shoots that we are taking of the
bikes as they go by. Some lady there somewhat put up a yelling
match with the guy. The word was in the grape vine that the guy
was getting names of people so they could file legal suits on people
if they put the photos on the internet or shard them with competitors.
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US copyright law,
copyright.gov/title17/
Fair use,
copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107
A good example of Fair Use is the movie 'Supersize Me' whichs shows
hundreds of images of the McDonalds trademarked golden arches.
Context is what matters in fair use.
Another example which probably explains this situation better is the
Eiffel Tower at night. A company installed lights on the Eiffel Tower
and rumor got out that it's against the law to photograph the Eiffel
Tower at night, even from a public street. Well, it is true, to a
certain extent. You can't photograph the Eiffel Tower at Night and
then use the photo to sell your magazine or as a backdrop in a movie.
You can't profit or sell an image of the Eiffel Tower at night without
obtaining permission. Under Fair Use you can of course photograph
the tower and write commentary about it, or use it to report some
news and so forth. Of course the Eiffel Tower isn't in the U.S. and
doesn't fall under our copyright laws, but the idea is the same.
Just for fun, go to Google images and type, "Eiffel Tower at night".
This is most likely the exact scenario that happened at R2R. A company
bought the exclusive rights to sell photographs/images of the R2R
event. This means, for example, if a magazine wants to publish images
of R2R they must purchase those images from this company, or lets
say a bike company wants to use images from the R2R event to sell
it's bikes. Once again, they will have to pay this company.
This company has no say in photos used under the 'Fair Use' law.
If you publish your photos with commentary or just the simple fact
of reporting the event with photos, you have every right under the
law to do so.
This person was most likely misinformed or ignorant in telling
people they couldn't take any photos of the event for any purpose,
which simply isn't true.
Feel free to post any photos you have from the event. Post them
anonymously on my forum if you still feel intimidated. You could
even post them anonymously on Wikipedia, pretty sure their
lawyers won't back down to frivolous threats.
Most likely a simple misunderstanding, it's sad that it happened
though and I can understand the frustration of everyone out there
trying to take photos. |
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genesbmx
Site Admin
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 838
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Location: Wenatchee, Washington
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| Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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ncwportal,
Yep good examples, McDonalds and the Tower
title17 is still a big topic of law but yes that is the way to go.
My web site is based on the title17 without profit or payment for
non-profit research and educational purposes under fair use.
In the 11 years of my web site Iv only had 1, one person
go side ways with me over photos. It was in a big debate
over a pay BMX web site and the guy tryed to change the topic
to a bark match to a copyright debate The case was where some
kid sent me some photos to post up and I did but I did not do
my school work and just posted them up with out questions.
Funny thing was the photos sat on my site for 7 years before
the guy barked about them and before he could realy yell foul
the delete worked well and that ticked him even more as the
guy just wanted to make troubles and have something to bark
at. This was back in Dec 2006 and it is still driving the guy nuts
becouse I just killed the photos to ease the troubles of it all and
the guy don`t have anything to bark at now. no loss on my part.
Iv yet to see any place on the web get rich from sales of photos
I get hounded all the time by alot of places that try and do sales
with there photos when Im at the same event I don`t resize or
watermark up my photos and that realy ticks them off as I point
this out to people and I tell people my photos are free for people
to use or do what ever with them with a hint hint it would be nice
of a link back to the web site to show support but they don`t have
to.
What I somewhat poined out in my upper post where the
Ridge To River photos on the web is about the money and
not the event its self in support. I have to say it talks for its
self as they have posted them up now. Surf on over and look
at the photos. They are thumbs sized and locked and the biggest
thing you see when you click on one to look at is a memo form
to buy the photos. Yes I know the guy is trying to make a buck
but in all that is not what the Ridge To River event is about.
As I tell most pay web sites, get a lotto ticket if you think your going
to get rich via photo sales on the web you would have better luck..
I would be glad to post the few shots I took of Ridge To River
but I killed them as I don`t want anything to do with it. Sorry.
My thing was it looked like people where not having fun with
the event as some of the things I saw just rubbed the wrong ways.
Im not out to push anyone in to chapter 11 but what the guy
at Ridge To River was doing, yelling foul was not right at all.
I know the ins and outs of what I can and can not do But the
everyday person that was standing there with a cam does not
know and the guy scared the most of them off. Thats Sad as they
are the people that are what makes the Ridge To River event fun.
In all the guy snuff the fun out of being there.
Why support an event if people are not having fun with the event.
This is how I see it. Yes I know not everyone had a frawn on the
face but the mass that I did see did and as we seen this, bad vibes.
The gut talks and you walk, There is a time when you
know when to go and this was one of them times. It just
did not feel right to be there...... No fun at all to be there.
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com |
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ncwportal
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:47 am Post subject: |
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Just in case anybody is reading this thread and is still not sure about
where they can and can't take photos,
Non-profit or not, no private company can stop anybody from taking
photos or video from a public street/sidewalk. They may or may not have
a say in what you can do with those photos, such as profiting directly from
them, but at no time ever can they stop you or anybody from
taking them. This doesn't mean law enforcement can't get you for
loitering or breaking personal privacy laws, so you don't have a free
pass to do whatever you want, just thought I would mention that 
Back on subject though, it's too bad the R2R was a bust this year. I
couldn't make it because it was the same time as my kids baseball
game. From the sounds of it, I didn't miss much.
Last edited by ncwportal on Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ncwportal
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:49 am Post subject: |
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| I want to post some URL's but it says I need 5 posts first, so here is #5. |
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ncwportal
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
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Ty
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| thank you guys for the information. |
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genesbmx
Site Admin
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 838
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Location: Wenatchee, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Ridge to River In Free Fall: Steve May:
‘If things continue as they are, we’re looking at the end of the race’
Wenatchee, Washington 04/24/2007
The Ridge to River Relay, one of the city’s longest-running
and biggest athletic events, could use an energy drink.
The racers themselves are fit and enthusiastic. So are the 1,500
volunteers who make the 35-mile, six-leg race happen every year.
But as the junior edition of the race has grown, the number
of participants in the adult race has sharply declined.
Only 496 athletes participated April 14 in the 27th edition of the race.
That number is down 58 percent from 1,179 in 2000 and 71 percent
from 1,708 in 1995....
Numbers took an extra-hard hit after the 2005 race, when the ski
legs of the event were canceled for lack of snow at Mission Ridge.
“If things continue as they are, we’re looking at the end of the race pretty
soon, unless somebody steps up and does something a little different,”
said Steve May, 56, a former Ridge to River board member and veteran
athlete of 25 editions of the race. “Many people I talked to this year said,
‘I don’t even know when the race is.’ Something has changed. The word
is not getting out.”
Roger Clute, executive director of the Wenatchee Convention & Visitors
Bureau, says the race’s longevity makes it a good promotional tool.
“I don’t think Ridge to River will go away... we hope it does not go
away,” he said. “It’s one more thing in our quiver of events.”
Longtime racers want to ensure the race doesn’t go away.
They plan to meet May 1 at Eastmont High School
to discuss the decline and how to stop it.
Better promotion may top the “to-do” list.
“It’s like we’re rebuilding it. We have to rebuild the excitement,”
said Brian Ropp, executive director of the Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP).
The 16-member Ridge to River Relay Association voted last
year to let RSVP manage both the adult and the junior events.
Ropp says the move this year to simplify the rules and eliminate some
race categories has made the event easier to understand. He says the
numbers will rebound with better promotion and by controlling costs.
This was RSVP’s first year in charge. The group has retained Jennifer
Korfiatis to continue as race coordinator. She’s managed the race since
2002.
A spokesman for the event’s main sponsor, Alcoa, says the company
has no plans to pull its sponsorship because of the declining numbers.
“I have the utmost confidence in Brian Ropp and RSVP. He’s a
longtime organizer in the community,” Jim Baxter, spokesman
at Alcoa’s Wenatchee Works smelter said this morning. “Ridge
to River was and continues to be a good event for us to be
associated with. I’m not really concerned about the race’s
long-term viability, because of Brian’s coordinating expertise.
Alcoa’s sponsored the race since 2004 and pays
$12,000 annually for naming rights, Baxter said.
RSVP is a non-profit organization whose volunteers perform community
service. It has provided the volunteers for Junior Ridge to River since
2004.
The group sponsors three major athletic events: the Wenatchee Valley
Duathlon in March; the Cycle Washington Memorial Ride in July; and the
Hot August days bike ride.
Ropp said Friday that combined marketing should both get
the word out about the race and reduce promotion costs.
He also hopes to inject some new energy for spectators at the finish line
by adding musical acts, food sales and booths to the finish line area, which
moved this year from Riverfront Park to the much larger Walla Walla Point
Park.
Both the adult and junior events together cost
about $100,000 annually, organizers have said.
Ropp said Friday that revenues from this year’s race won’t be final until
mid May. He said he expects this year’s races to net a modest profit, and
next year’s even more.
The longtime racers interviewed for this report praised the race itself,
its organizers and the volunteers. But they agree the race is long, tough
and competing today with more leisure-time activities than it once did.
The adult race starts at Mission Ridge and covers a 35-mile course that
includes Nordic and downhill skiing, running, bicycling and paddling on
the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers.
“The novelty of this type of race has worn off,” May said. “Those who
did it for one, two or five years because of the novelty are just not
doing it anymore.”
Some racers say the event’s move this year to Saturday, rather than the
traditional Sunday, makes it harder to participate. The 2008 race will also
be on a Saturday.
“In my opinion, it was an experiment that failed,” said
Tom Feil, 53, of the low number of participants this year.
Feil, a 26-time racer and current board member, says a Saturday race
date conflicts with the sports schedules of junior- and high-school aged
athletes, who already attend a roster of Saturday sporting events. He
said it also interferes with the work schedules of most athletes.
Dale Jones, 57, has competed in all 27 editions of the race.
He said he was forced to join another team this year, because
this year’s Saturday race day conflicted with the work schedules
of four of his six usual teammates.
Jones says Sunday is best for out-of-town racers, because it
gives them a chance to arrive the day before — Saturday —
and get to know the course. Organizers estimate that about
half of the competitors are from outside the Wenatchee area.
Bruce Huntoon, 56, of Manson says he doesn’t favor the move to
Saturday, but doesn’t think it reduced the number of participants,
which has been in decline for years.
Huntoon, who has also competed in every edition of the race, said judges
this year allowed some teams to use the faster road bikes instead of the
regulation mountain bikes. potentially disgruntling rules-conscious teams.
He said “little things” that would get the participation number up include
enforcing the rules and offering better-designed and colored T-shirts.
“If you want to advertise your race, you make a
cool T-shirt that people are proud to wear,” he said.
Ridge to River entries*
Teams Athletes
1995 - 406 1,708
2000 - 304 1,179
2001 - 316 1,191
2002 - 295 1,073
2003 - 239 912
2004 - 253 966
2005 - 243 997
2006 - 166 579
2007 - 153 496
Teams have six members; duo or tandem teams have two members;
iron men and iron women are individuals who do the entire race; totals
are teams and individuals who finished the race
* Approximate
** No ski legs for lack of snow
CC - Wenatchee World.
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I will be one to agree that the Ridge to River Event is lacking.
My above quotes show some of its lacks just this year alone.
I also agree with Steve May`s quote:
‘If things continue as they are, we’re looking at the end of the race’...
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com |
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genesbmx
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Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 838
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Location: Wenatchee, Washington
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 4:27 pm Post subject: Longtime Racers Meet To Energize Race Turnout |
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*** Longtime Racers Meet To Energize Race Turnout ***
East Wenatchee, Washington -- 05/02/2007
Ideas that ranged from updating the Ridge to River Relay Web site to
injecting more fun into the race emerged Tuesday from a gathering of
longtime race athletes and passionate R2R supporters.
Racers Tom Feil, Bruce Huntoon and Dale Jones organized the meeting
to brainstorm ideas to increase participation and enjoyment in the
27-year-old, 35-mile race that includes Nordic and downhill skiing,
running, bicycling and paddling.
The meeting is a response from the experienced racers' concerns
about race participation, which has declined approximately 71
percent since 1995, according to Wenatchee World estimates.
Brian Ropp, executive director of the volunteer group RSVP, which
now manages the race, and race coordinator Jennifer Korfiatis couldn't
attend the meeting due to previous engagements.
About 25 people, including members of the Ridge to River advisory
committee and RSVP board, gathered at the Eastmont Junior High
School library.
Feil, the meeting's main presenter, said suggestions would be
submitted to the board for consideration. Attendees listed their
suggestions in a short survey that organizers collected after the
meeting.
The gathered racers expressed a general consensus that the
race itself not be altered for the many athletes who still enjoy
the challenge and variety.
But they made many suggestions to make it more
desireable to both the pros and recreational-type athletes.
"My kids want to try (the adult R2R race), but I'm terrified of them
doing the Wenatchee River," said Jim Heinlein of Wenatchee, a 10-
time racer who favors creating a new division that could eliminate
the Wenatchee River leg of the race.
R2R takes place in April, when the river runs
high and fast from melting mountain snow.
"If it's our goal to get more people to come back to race, why not open
the Columbia Course to pros?" said another longtime racer Dan Kelly,
of the shorter course that doesn't include the Wenatchee River leg.
To bring back the recreational, or less hard-core, participants,
who used to far outnumber the pros, Kelly also suggested creating
a division with a more light-hearted focus. "To bring those people
back, let's make it fun; maybe make it less competitive," he said.
With a show of hands, an easy majority of the
group said they preferred a Sunday race date.
"If you want to a local, nice race, you have the race on Saturday,"
Jones said. "If you want to bring out-of-towners in, have it on a
Sunday."
Jones, Feil and others said racers
need Saturday to preview the course.
Chance Harris, an ironman participant for the last four years and
member of both the RSVP board and R2R advisory committee, told
the group that a survey of past racers revealed a preference for a
Saturday race.
None of the racers present said they
remembered seeing or taking the survey.
"That could be the biggest factor to participation," said Mark Broberg
of Wenatchee, a 22-time ironman-division participant. "If it makes more
difference to people to have the race on a Saturday or a Sunday, that's
the bottom line."
"Out-of-towners need fresh information," said Al Neace, a Wenatchee
-area photographer and Web designer. "The Web site is out of date
and has lots of misinformation on it. ... You should keep it fresh and
appealing."
"Participation has been going down for about the last 12 years," said
Larry Michael of East Wenatchee, board president. "You can debate this
Saturday/Sunday thing, but I don't think that any one thing has caused it.
No one thing is going to make this rebound."
CC - Wenatchee World.
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com |
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ncwportal
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:39 am Post subject: |
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I just came across the following,
"The Photographer’s Right"
A Downloadable Flyer Explaining Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography
http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
and it reminded me of the guy telling people they couldn't take pictures from a public park.
It's a good read for anyone who likes to take photos. |
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genesbmx
Site Admin
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 838
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Location: Wenatchee, Washington
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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*** Korfiatis Stepping Down From Ridge to River ***
Wenatchee, Washington (KPQ) -- 07/31/2007
Jennifer Korfiatis has stepped down as director of the Ridge to River Relay
Race. Korfiatis announced her decision on Tuesday's KPQ Morning Update.
She said she will remain active as an event organizer, but she says her
other work demands prevent her from continuing on in her current capacity.
Chance Harris will replace Korfiatis. He currently works as
a Ridge to River volunteer and is employed by Golds Gym.
CC - http://www.kpq.com
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com |
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