PoleCon 2019 Survey Results!

July 2, 2019
Colleen
from the HBIC, General

Thank you for taking our survey!

Every response helps us get better and better! I personally read every single response and email a few people that require responses or have specific questions.

The winner from our survey is Lauren B! She has won a “free” trip to PoleCon 2020 – Weekend Pass + Thursday-Sunday hotel stay.

Overall

This year 96% of you said the event was “Very Good” or “Excellent”

92% of you said the paid workshops were “Very Good” or “Excellent”

98% of said the showcases were “Very Good” or “Excellent”

“I struggle with self-acceptance and I felt so at home and happy at pole con. Thank you! It was life changing.”

“All the vendors were awesome! I can’t wait to go broke again next year! Haha!”

Teachers who received several shout outs included:

Tia Jax
Butter and Filth
Carly Child
Jordan Kensley
Jenyne Butterfly
ACRO PT
Sarah Jade

What you loved:

Many of you loved the BGP Showcase (again – always the highlight!) “The BGP showcase was exciting to watch online last year and even better to see live this year!”
AND you all loved the new creepy showcase! “I LOVED the creepy showcase”
Overall you continued to appreciate the diversity of the showcases. “Keep up the diversity, keep giving us a platform, just keep DOING IT!!”
People also appreciated the boxed lunches, which were new this year.

What you hated:

Not enough time between workshops
Vegans/vegetarians and those with allergies had trouble eating: “Buffet lunches were DELICIOUS. A bit was left to be desired with the bagged lunches and breakfast. I did have some vegetarian/vegan companions that were feeling excluded from meals because of limited options.”

Mixed reactions:

Some people loved the location and some people didn’t.
Some people loved the cloth wristbands and some hated them.

Some things we worked on from last year:

(link to last year’s survey post)

Pricing changes: we increased costs on the ticket to PoleCon (not workshops) so everyone—even people in workshops—could eat lunch and that for the most part worked.
Applying for a showcase: everyone applied at one time on a Google Form. That system really worked for us and it seemed to work for you! We will continue this for 2020. Look out for a blog with some tips on how to apply + the link to apply coming soon.
Volunteer process: we moved to a full-time volunteer concept and we had a lot less of people not showing up for shifts. Still happened a tiny bit but otherwise was pretty smooth!
Checkin/Registration: this year, we did online liability forms and the in person check in was MUCH smoother and faster! Generally, everyone seemed less grumpy/frustrated during anytime they had did have to wait. I’m sure the legal weed had nothing to do with this! =)

Looking Ahead to 2020:

Vegans: I’m trying. We published the menus ahead of time so y’all had an idea of what you were in for. Ditto for my folks with allergies. Every hotel is different, and it’ll always be a challenge feeding everyone well.
Towels: a few people have requested PoleCon towels as swag/to use on the poles for ease of use and to be environmentally friendly. I’ve looked into this before and it’s surprisingly expensive. I’ll see what I can do.
Time between workshops: I’m still really torn on this. I’m writing a blog to help workshop leaders give a good class which includes times management and things like how to turn the poles on spin/static. Not everyone knows how to do that, and a few poles were completely removed from the bases by accident! Adding 10 min between workshops will extend the day by more than an hour. Also, I’m concerned that there won’t really be 10 min between workshops but people will just overrun that time as well.
Parking: it was an issue in Orlando, was totally fine in Denver (because it was free and plentiful!). It’s gonna be an issue in NOLA. If you can help it, don’t rent a car and don’t drive. If you’re local – park offsite/nearby and take a car service or car pool. It will cost money to park.
Price increases for Vendors/Sponsors: there wasn’t one in 2019, expect one (details coming) for 2020.

More detailed blog about changes for 2020 (mostly details on pricing for vendors/sponsors) coming in a few weeks.

Thank you for being a part of PoleCon <3

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Colleen

Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 12 years, is the CEO of PoleCon and the Executive Director of the IPIA. She teaches pole, lyra, floorwork, and mobility online and in-person in the DC metro area. She has been active in leadership roles in several international businesses over the past two decades and is also an award-winning pole dancer, artist, writer, and speaker. She is certified in several movement modalities and wrote the book "Mobility for Pole" to help pole dancers move better.