With the applications for the RCA Showcase Seminar and Awards 2024 closing in just over a week, Paul Swain, Head of Raceday Experience & Communications, tells us more about them.
The Racecourse Association’s Showcase Seminar & Awards is the marquee event for British racecourses. Hosted at the Champion racecourse from the previous year, the annual event is a celebration of excellence and innovation in racecourse operation, customer experience and marketing.
Since 2011, the event has been recognised as a must-have ticket; each November, the Showcase Seminar brings the best speakers from British horseracing and the wider sports/ leisure worlds to present a world-class programme leaving delegates inspired to deliver enhanced experiences at their own venues. Speakers including Eurovision, the R&A, Arsenal FC, Center Parcs, Silverstone and Wimbledon have all been welcomed to share their stories.
The Showcase Awards are the only recognised industry awards for British racecourses. Across nine categories, the awards take a holistic approach to racecourse operation and celebrate initiatives which truly raise the bar. An overall Showcase Champion is crowned and is recognised as the ‘Racecourse of the Year’. Our Champions roll of honour is: Doncaster (2011), Goodwood (2012), Chester (2013), Ascot (2014 & 2016), York (2015), Aintree (2017 & 2022), Hamilton Park (2018), Pontefract (2019) and Musselburgh (2023).
Each year, an independent judging panel will review upwards of 70 submissions to leave our Finalists, all of which will make it to the Showcase Hall of Fame for others to take the ideas and enhance the experience at their own venue. It is this archive of best practice which makes the event unique and cherished amongst racecourses; we firmly believe that if you attend the event, you will come away with at least three tried and tested new initiatives to implement.
Recognition of Community Engagement is a longstanding pillar of the Showcase Awards. The Racing Together Community Award (previously Corporate Social Responsibilty) is consistently one of the most competitive as racecourses continue to develop their community engagement strategies and implement impactful initiatives within their localities. Last year’s winners were Ayr Racecourse for their outstanding community partnership with Ayrshire Cancer Support—you can watch a video case study documenting the initiative and its legacy here.
Over the years we have seen a wide range of initiatives win the Racing Together Community Award, highlighting the distinctive ways in which each racecourse can, and does, engage with its local community. From Beverley’s community raceday buses to Uttoxeter’s prostate cancer screening and Cartmel’s local-first mindset, each have been a worthy winner and offered inspiration to other racecourses.
A special mention must go to Aintree Racecourse as four-time winners of the Racing Together Community Award. The racecourse is the heartbeat of its locality and involved in a wide range of initiatives to support all—from Dementia Friends events to health and wellbeing seminars for school children and almost everything in between. Aintree Racecourse remains the benchmark in terms of consistency across many years and genuine excellence in the field.
The RCA’s role between now and the Showcase is twofold: we will be busy administering the awards submissions and preparing to host the event alongside the team at Musselburgh Racecourse. It is an annual cycle; as soon as it is over, we begin championing our winners/finalists all over again to help share the best practice to all. It is our pleasure to host the Showcase Seminar & Awards each year, and we look forward to welcoming the industry to Scotland in November.
The Showcase Seminar & Awards takes place on Thursday 7th November at the Signet Library, Edinburgh. For full event details, please visit the RCA’s Showcase Hub here.
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