One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to summer camp. Mine was a dance camp combined with classic camp activities like swimming and making friendship bracelets. I looked forward to it every year. But I remember my parents grumbling about some of the logistics. The sign-up process - in particular - was clunky, and that made the check-in a bit chaotic as well. It didn’t exactly stop me from going…but it created a lot of headaches.
Even decades later, it’s a problem that still exists for a lot of event organizers who are hosting multi-day events with registration: sports clinics, dog shows, robotics competitions and the like.
And these events aren’t just for kids. It could be a comedy festival where performers register for their spot in the lineup. A chili cook-off. A charity poker run. An arm wrestling tournament. The common theme is that these events need more than your standard ticket: they require participants to sign up or register, in addition to offering paid or free spectator passes.
Some event organizers try to split their software: one for spectator tickets and one for registrations. But that leaves you logging into two different platforms to constantly check sales & signups. And trying to reconcile two different reports with the number in your bank account.
Why not save yourself those headaches? Here’s how to use your Passage account to sell tickets and keep track of registrations, whether they are free or paid.
Which Types of Events Use Registration?
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to separate your participants from your spectators. Here are just a few examples:
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Esports & Gaming: Players register for brackets and tournament seeds; fans buy GA tickets to watch the matches live.
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Dance & Performing Arts: Dancers register for categories (Solo, Duo, Group) and sign digital waivers; families and friends book seats in the audience.
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Sports: Athletes register by weight class or age; spectators choose between ringside or bleacher seating.
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STEM & Robotics: Teams register their pit crews and mentors; the public buys tickets for the battle arena.
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Charity Races & Cook-offs: Runners register for bibs and timing chips; supporters buy Festival Access or Tasting Tokens to cheer them on.
One Platform, Two Journeys
Whether your registrations are paid or free, Passage allows you to tailor the checkout flow to the person on the other side of the screen. You can accomplish this by creating separate events (at the same venue) for each type of access. From there, you can completely customize the checkout process.
Custom Questions: Need to know the jersey size of your participants? Passage gives you the power to ask custom questions right in the registration process. Spectators can zip through the ticket purchasing checkout without having to answer registration questions.
Free vs. Paid: You can easily handle free registrations alongside paid VIP spectator tickets. You might choose to offer free passes for volunteers, parents, scouts, or any other category of visitor. Passage lets you create as many different ticket types as you want, at any price point, and make them available online, in person, or both.
Digital Waivers: Whether you're hosting a competition or a camp, there's a good chance you'll want your participants to sign a liability waiver. But you probably won't need one for folks who are just watching the event. Passage makes it simple to assign, track, and store digital waivers for participants while leaving them out of the spectator checkout altogether.
Maximize Your Revenue with Upsells
Keeping everything on one platform isn't just about convenience; it's about increasing your per-capita (per person) spending. You can offer strategic upsells and bundles directly in the checkout flow when your guests are already primed to purchase.
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For Participants: Offer essential add-ons like jerseys, equipment, meal packages, or even event insurance (Refund Protection).
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For Spectators: Sell commemorative programs, VIP parking passes, "shout-out" ads in the digital program, or limited-edition event merchandise.
Streamline Operations on the Big Day
When the big day arrives, the Passage Manager App turns your mobile device into a professional box office. You can check-in a participant, verify their registration details, and then immediately scan a spectator’s QR code or sell a same-day ticket with the same tool.
Beyond the gate, you gain real-time insights. You’ll know exactly how many competitors have checked in versus how many fans are in the stands. And because everything is processed through one system, all your revenue (from registrations to popcorn vouchers) hits your bank account on a consistent two-business-day schedule.
Ready to supercharge your event registrations? Get up and running in under 60 seconds, or schedule a call with one of our friendly event experts and we’ll set everything up for you!
