[Organizers] Cancellation Policies

[Perry Shafran via Organizers]

Putting my meteorologist hat on, it should be known that a Winter Storm Warning should definitely be cause for cancellation.  The official criteria for a WSW is the following:
1) 5+ inches of snow/sleet in a 12-hr period or 7+ inches of snow/sleet in a 24-hr period and/or2) Enough ice accumulation to down trees or power lines and/or3) Life threatening/damaging combination of snow/ice with wind
Now putting on my organizer's hat, the question is should I keep the dance going if the conditions are lower than the warning criteria?  Tough call, because while some people who are die hard contra dancers will brave any conditions for a contra dance, your attendance will definitely be a lot lower.  Here are some things to keep in mind:
1) Can people get to the dance and get home safely?  It doesn't take a whole lot of snow or ice to make roads treacherous, and in certain conditions you can get a sheet of ice with less than 1/2 inch of snow on the ground.  Happens to us in DC all the time.  So going by the WSW alone probably isn't enough.

2) How much will it affect attendance?  If the majority of dancers don't come because they don't want to be stuck or get into an accident then you might want to cancel.  Or if dancers don't care about snow and will likely have a great time, don't cancel.  I guess it depends on how well you know your community's desires.
3) Will performers not want to brave the travel?  Say you think that you'll have enough dancers to have a fun dance and you don't believe that conditions are all that bad.  I kind of think it is critical to get the performers' perspective on this.  If they really don't want to risk it, you might have to go through emergency plan B (find another local caller and musicians on short notice) or just say, well, I guess we have to cancel.  You should either compensate performers who are travelling and, for locals, book them at the next earliest opportunity.  Also volunteers should have the opportunity to no-show if they don't feel comfortable travelling.  Be sure to have contact information of the performers so they know the status as well.

4) Use ALL avenues available, web, FB, email, whatever you have to inform dancers, that the dance will be cancelled.  Have a firm plan in place - if you know by 3 pm that the dance status will be known, you should state that on the website at all times ("We will inform dancers by 3 pm if the dance is cancelled so watch this website and FB for the latest") and quickly put on the status, either dance is on or off, as soon as you decide.
I should mention that often I have seen forecasts that call for bad weather that doesn't materialize. I have cancelled dances before due to the forecast only to have nothing bad happen, weather-wise.  Conversely, I have also kept dances running due to forecasts that looked OK only to have unexpected conditions worsen during the evening.  Try not to second-guess yourself.  We try hard to produce the best weather forecasts we can possibly give, but of course it should be known that it is a forecast and they don't always pan out.  It's tricky - if a storm takes a slightly different path, even of 1 or 2 miles, could be the difference between 1 inch and 10 inches of snow.   So you will make a few decisions that were wrong in hindsight, but you made the best decision possible with the information available at the time.  Hopefully dancers will understand.  ;)
Perry


      From: via Organizers <organizers at lists.sharedweight.net>
 To: organizers at lists.sharedweight.net 
 Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 12:11 PM
 Subject: [Organizers] Cancellation Policies
   
Hi all,

In Rochester NY we are often blessed with unpredictably significant quantities of snow over a short time.
Generally speaking, it is known by 3pm if the evening dance will cancelled due to weather.
We are reviewing our procedures for canceling the dance, and wondered what other communities do to:

0) Decide if a dance should be cancelled? 
    We are thinking of basing it off Winter Storm Warning by National Weather Service

1) Let the community know the dance is cancelled 
    Easier if everyone knows to check for a Winter Storm Warning...
    But post on website, and facebook event page are also done here

2) Compensate performers who have arrived or are en-route when the dance is cancelled. 
    In particular, touring performers who may be in the city on their way to the next gig...

Any thoughts are appreciated.
Bob Fabinski
 
 


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