114th Boston Marathon - April 19, 2010
Marathon Amateur Radio Communications is a consortium built on the cooperative efforts of the Framingham Amateur Radio Association, and Minuteman Repeater Association. These clubs work together to provide radio communications in support of the Marathon from Hopkinton to Boston.
Common Questions about the Registration Process
Q: Why does it seem like you have to register twice?
A: There are two steps to the registration process. The first step provides MARC with the information
we need to make assignments and to contact you. The second step provides similar information to the BAA.
The BAA requires all volunteers to go through their registration process. Unfortunately, that
process does not ask all the information that MARC needs. Additionally, feedback from the BAA database
is a manual and very slow process. The MARC registration process gives us the information we need
immediately. Furthermore, the BAA registration system is very glitchy. People get assigned to non-ham
teams. Non-hams get assigned to our teams. Last year, over fifty ham volunteers would have "slipped
through the cracks" if we had relied on the BAA registration system. We've tried to make the signup
process as simple as possible and apologize that it can't be made any easier.
Q: I can't find my volunteer ID
A: Your volunteer ID should have been printed on the card you received in the mail from BAA. If you
didn't get a card there is a way to retrieve it online: When you get to the BAA login screen, look for the
link further down the screen. It's easy to miss, and many people do.
Once you go into that system, you will need to remember one of the phone numbers or your
email address from last year as well as the exact way you gave them your name. If you gave them "Bob
Smith" then you can't use "Robert Smith" this time around or the lookup will fail. Likewise,
if you gave them your home phone number but told them it was a work phone, you will have to enter it on
the lookup form under work phone. If you've tried everything and still can't retrieve your volunteer ID,
contact K1IW and he will try to help you (email address is below).
Q: I entered my volunteer ID and zip code into the BAA login screen, but it won't accept them. I know I
have them correct. Why isn't this working?
A: You must enter your zip code exactly as you provided it to them last time. If you moved or your zip code
changed for any reason, you must use your old zip code.
Q: I contacted "Elisabeth" like it says to on the BAA page, but she didn't get back to me. What
gives?
A: Elisabeth is the sole volunteer coordinator for the entire Marathon. It gets really busy this time of
year for her. Contact K1IW (email address below) instead and he will try to help you.
Q: I have a special request about my assignment, what should I do?
A: Please enter it in the 'comments' section of the MARC/step 1 registration form. Do not enter it under
the 'special requests' on the BAA site; that information is never sent back to us.
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