NARIX by the Numbers: Montreal 2024 Edition!
As we head into another NARIX, we’re pleased to continue our “NARIX by the numbers” series, where we share a transparent under-the-hood look at our application process, and some trends we’re seeing in the applicant pool.
First, the application process:
We got feedback from our LA application process, that having an applicant cut-off created an unpredictable “end date” for applications. Especially as the event grows in popularity, the window could get shorter and shorter– presenting an accessibility issue for folks unable to submit their apps in time.
This time around, we guaranteed that the window for applications would be open for one entire week. And as a result, we hit an all-time record for NARIX applications: 182 submitted over the 7 days.
If you remember from our LA window, most applications came in on the first few days, with less towards the end of the window. With the guaranteed week, we saw that trend reverse– most applications came in right under the wire on the last day!
Applicant Demographics:
This is now our second NARIX where we’re collecting demographic data, and in general, the pool was pretty similar from one event to the next, with some notable differences likely due to the changing location from the south west to the north east.
On age:
The age ranges of applications remained virtually the same, with only a very moderate decrease in the percentage of applicants in the “26-40” bracket.
On race and ethnicity:
For this event, we saw that over 75% of applications came from attendees that identified as white. That is up from 71% for our LA event. We also saw some shift in the breakout of non-white applications, with more arab/middle eastern and jewish attendees, and fewer black or hispanic/latinx applications.
On geographic breakdown:
Unsurprisingly, the region that submitted the most applications was Quebec itself, where we saw a great level of interest from local rope practitioners. In addition, we continue to get a solid contingency of applications from Washington, California, Illinois, and New York. Notably, Ontario also had great turnout on the application front. Compared to our LA event, we didn’t see applications from many SW states; Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho were all in our LA pool, and not in our Montreal pool.
On gender identity and sexual orientation:
From LA to Montreal, we saw a significant increase in trans and gender-nonconforming applicants, with respondents who answered yes to “are you trans or gender-nonconforming” up from 27.5% to 39%.
We also simplified the sexual orientation question, to be simply a yes or no “do you identify as a member of the lgbtqia+ community, and saw that 81.4% of applications responded with “yes”, and 18.6% responded “no”, which was up from only 8.2% of straight applicants at LA NARIX.
On the acceptance process:
Once the application window was closed, the steering committee reviewed and vetted applications, and sent follow-up questions to folks who had incomplete or insufficient responses to essay questions. As usual, a number of applicants did not make it through this screening process and were declined at this stage, 12 in total.
Then, after reviewing the demographic information, we made the decision to automatically accept applicants who were underrepresented in the applicant pool and in our community: this included applicants over the age of 55+, and non-white applications.
We also made changes to how we automatically accept NARIX org volunteers. In the past, we’ve had members of our volunteer and events committees automatically attend the event. We implemented a cap on auto-acceptances, with only 3 auto-acceptances allotted to each of our events and volunteer committees, and 2 allotted to each of our accessibility, food, and extension committees. Our 5 steering committee members are not counted in the 100-person cap for the event.
That brought the total number of auto-acceptances (between critical volunteers and under-represented categories) to 34 total. The remaining 66 spots were assigned based entirely on a random number lottery, which also determined the order of the waitlist.
Some other interesting data to share:
On un-conference experience:
This was the first time that we asked if folks had attended any kind of un-conference event before. 66.8% of attendees reported, yes, they had!
On switching:
At Philly NARIX, we saw 54% switches, and in LA that number was 48%. Montreal applications continued the decreasing trend, with only 31% of applicants reporting that they switched.
On scholarships:
Thanks to donations (including a few big ones) and careful budgeting, we were able to offer 10 full scholarships and 10 half-priced scholarships to attendees who indicated that they had financial accessibility needs, up significantly from our LA scholarship fund. We do still have a number of folks on our scholarship waitlist, and are able to offer payment plans wherever that helps make the event accessible. Please reach out if that’s you!
Finally, the rapid fire round:
69, the number of attendees we had at the last Montreal NARIX
4, the number of bathrooms added since the last time we were at Tension
239, the number of emails that went out over the last month related to applications
7, the number of typos and mistakes in the emails that went out (sorry folks!)
72, the number of people on the waitlist for Montreal NARIX
14+, the number of hours of meetings during the open application window and review.
51, the number of attendees who said “Yes!” to volunteering during the event
And of course, 105, the number of days between now and July 11th, the day when doors open, and we all gather for the start of another wonderful Montreal NARIX.
