Dail Croome, of Bend, right, hits the puck while playing with others in a pickup hockey session Tuesday afternoon at The Pavilion in Bend.  

Imagine getting up before dawn for a critical event. Your heart is pounding. Beads of sweat form on your brow. An energy bar and water are at the ready.

No, this is not the start of an Iron Man triathlon or ultramarathon.

But it’s just as nerve-wracking.

It’s the Bend Park & Recreation District online registration, a three-day, high-intensity competition between Bend parents who want to enroll their kids in activities, camps and swim lessons.

“The 6 a.m. start time is not much earlier than I normally wake up, but the anticipation caused me not to sleep,” said Alyson Brown, a Bend resident who signed up her 9-year-old son, Orin, for swim lessons. “I was up way before my alarm was set to go off at 5:50 a.m.”

Brown is one of thousands of parents to brave the district’s registration system, which switched from a one-day event to a three-day affair two years ago due to system demand. In August 2022, record numbers of people going online simultaneously crashed the system, forcing the district to consider ways to alleviate demand on its network.

Registration changes

The registration period now runs from Monday to Wednesday, with high-demand programs offered on different days. The district also uses an online waiting room, randomly assigning users a number to anyone online at the 6 a.m. start time.

The early start usually means one or two parents fumbling in the dark, squinting at calendars to organize their schedules months ahead or hunting for a credit card to pay for their activities. Even before the event begins, tense days are spent reviewing the activities on offer in the district’s online “playbook.”

But Brown doesn’t mind the early wake-up, believing it lightens up the line.

“If it was at 8 p.m., there would be more people trying to sign up and maybe that’s why they do it at 6 a.m.,” she said. “It went fairly painlessly. We got everything we wanted this time.”

More online activity

The most recent sign-up period occurred last week when the district opened registration for its summer activities and fall sports leagues. It registered 17,800 activity enrollments and waitlist registrations, a near-record — and without incident. After the systemwide crash in 2022, the district invested in improved technology to manage the system.

Julie Brown, a spokesperson for the district, said even with more individuals than ever signing up for activities, the wait times to register have decreased.

“With each registration event, we gain insights that help us adjust the metering rate, which is dependent on our server’s performance,” she said. “As a result, we’ve been able to steadily increase this rate, allowing us to admit more patrons to our website more quickly.”

The smooth registration process last week was a far cry from the event two years ago when the visitors found the site unusable for more than two hours. At the time, registration for activities was 800% higher than the comparable period in 2018.

“Distributing the registration process over three days has successfully mitigated server pressure and diminished the rush associated with single-day registrations,” said Brown, of the park district.

‘It’s really stressful.’

But even without a system meltdown, some users find the experience overwhelming as they fight for limited spots in popular activities.

“It’s really stressful. My heart was racing,” said Rachel Grenier. “You have one chance to sign your kid up. To make sure they are taken care of for the summer.”

Grenier, who signed up her 13-year-old son Jonah for park district programs, said creating a lineup of activities requires some pre-planning and backup options if certain activities or classes are full.

“There are a lot of moving parts. You have to make sure you do it right because you only have a very short amount of time to get it done. It’s stressful,” she said.

Sign-ups occur four times a year, in March, August, December and February. Those patrons who forget to set an alarm often find that early birds have plucked many of their first choices.

Brown, the park district spokesperson, said the technology is designed for equity and anyone signing in at 6 a.m. has an equal chance to get to the front of the line — the type of device or internet speed doesn’t change the outcome.

Facility availability challenges

As for the stiff competition for sign-ups, the district said the main culprit is facility availability. Michael Egging, recreation business manager for the district, advises parents to look for off-peak times for swim lessons, such as in the early morning or evening. Some time slots for swim lessons this summer are still available, he said.

But the options remain slim, and filling everyone’s first choice is a challenge.

BPRD registration numbers

During last week’s online registration event, 4,325 individuals signed up for activities from approximately 2,800 households. Around 95% of the enrollments were done online, the rest were done over the phone or in person at recreation centers.

By comparison, in the spring of 2023, the district saw 4,071 individuals sign up for activities from 2,590 households.

“We are getting closer to that level of not being able to fill the need,” said Egging. “Bend’s population growth, combined with indoor capacity at desirable times remaining the same, has led to many full programs.”

Bend mom Cidney Bowman said her husband was up early last week in search of swim lessons for their fourth grader, Grant, 10, but came up empty.

“That was frustrating,” said Bowman. “We have tried many times, and he’s yet to be in a swim class, which is unfortunate because it’s a critical skill. But we’ll keep trying. For his age level, there are a lot of kids needing that same skill.”

The three-day registration format will continue for the foreseeable future, the district spokesperson said, and she described the community support for the process as “overwhelmingly positive.” But changes could be made to the days and times when the process occurs.

“An earlier survey showed 6 a.m. as the preferred start time, but patron behaviors and expectations evolve over time and the district is able to adapt if needed,” she said.

Bend parents appear willing to consider other options, at least to keep circadian rhythms on a steady course.

“It is worth getting up but it is tough,” said parent Alyson Brown. “Still a week later my sleep is not back to where it should be.”