2015 Gallipoli Ballot - 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings

[Flying mermaid]

Hope it all goes well - sounds very much like it will.

Might be a case of mischief making from SMH slagging News Corp - wouldn't be the first time!

That had crossed my mind

 

[amaroo]

Amaroo, I got an email confirmation today to say my acceptance has been noted. (Sent you a private message but your inbox is full)

Got an email confirmation today...the IT interface/process seems pretty crook!

 

[amaroo]

For those that are hoping for a call-up in the second round ... got this email update today.

E-NEWS FOR GALLIPOLI 2015 COMMEMORATIONS IN TURKEY Issue 3

E-news aims to keep you informed of critical dates in the ballot process and provides helpful advice on how to prepare and what to expect at the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015. Less than two months left to accept your offer Did you know that 39% of all ballot applicants who were offered a double pass to attend the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015 have not yet accepted their offer? That's more than 1,400 people! To date, 5% have declined their offer and 56% have accepted. Of those who have accepted their offer, only 40% have completed all mandatory questions. If you do not accept the offer and complete all questions in the Passport Details section, and all questions in the Travel Detailssection of your ballot account by 11:59PM (AEDT) on 25 October 2014, your eligibility for attendance passes will be revoked. Even if you accept the offer, but do not complete the mandatory questions, your eligibility for passes will be revoked.

 

[Princess Fiona]

For those that are hoping for a call-up in the second round ... got this email update today.

E-NEWS FOR GALLIPOLI 2015 COMMEMORATIONS IN TURKEY Issue 3

E-news aims to keep you informed of critical dates in the ballot process and provides helpful advice on how to prepare and what to expect at the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015. Less than two months left to accept your offer Did you know that 39% of all ballot applicants who were offered a double pass to attend the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015 have not yet accepted their offer? That's more than 1,400 people! To date, 5% have declined their offer and 56% have accepted. Of those who have accepted their offer, only 40% have completed all mandatory questions. If you do not accept the offer and complete all questions in the Passport Details section, and all questions in the Travel Detailssection of your ballot account by 11:59PM (AEDT) on 25 October 2014, your eligibility for attendance passes will be revoked. Even if you accept the offer, but do not complete the mandatory questions, your eligibility for passes will be revoked.

So I'm still in with a chance ?

 

[amaroo]

So I'm still in with a chance ?

A big one. Many entered without giving a second thought to the time, expense and difficultly involved in attending this event.

Attending the actual dawn service isn't going to be a walk in the park or cheap! .... no doubt a big turnoff for quite a few. The numbers quoted in the update that are "in doubt" are huge. It's quite possible the actual numbers attending on the day will be much lower than they are expecting......

 

[therudies86]

We handed back our slots. For us, and it was a very personal decision after much discussion and deliberation, we chose to hand back as (1) some others would hopefully gain more benefit than us and (2) we could do other things with the time/money.

I imagine there'll be quite a few in a similar circumstance, so if you're hoping for tickets, hang in there

 

[Flying mermaid]

So I'm still in with a chance ?

The military history people we have booked our tour with were always convinced that there would be a large number of people who would enter the ballot but when actually having to spend the money to get there would back out. Initially all you had to do to accept your invite was to supply your passport no, so they were convinced there would be large nos of no shows on the day. As I understand it ( but perhaps Amaroo can confirm), you now have to give details of actual travel arrangements. Possibly the questions that haven't been answered relate to travel arrangements? We are quite happy to go to the alternate dawn service being organised by our guys, but also feel we might end up with last minute tickets.....

 

[Atleastonce]

The military history people we have booked our tour with were always convinced that there would be a large number of people who would enter the ballot but when actually having to spend the money to get there would back out. Initially all you had to do to accept your invite was to supply your passport no, so they were convinced there would be large nos of no shows on the day. As I understand it ( but perhaps Amaroo can confirm), you now have to give details of actual travel arrangements. Possibly the questions that haven't been answered relate to travel arrangements? We are quite happy to go to the alternate dawn service being organised by our guys, but also feel we might end up with last minute tickets.....

We had to supply arrival time and date and if with a tour name of tour etc... We are all booked with tour and flights.

 

[QF029]

I received an email this afternoon advising that I had been successful on the waitlist and offered 2 tickets. I guess they've come from the 5% who have declined.

Edit: I wasn't aware there was a ranking for the waitlist but I just checked and I was in the top 100 so I guess there was a pretty good chance of getting tickets.

 

[amaroo]

I received an email this afternoon advising that I had been successful on the waitlist and offered 2 tickets. I guess they've come from the 5% who have declined.

Edit: I wasn't aware there was a ranking for the waitlist but I just checked and I was in the top 100 so I guess there was a pretty good chance of getting tickets.

Excellent! Are you going?

 

[amaroo]

The military history people we have booked our tour with were always convinced that there would be a large number of people who would enter the ballot but when actually having to spend the money to get there would back out. Initially all you had to do to accept your invite was to supply your passport no, so they were convinced there would be large nos of no shows on the day. As I understand it ( but perhaps Amaroo can confirm), you now have to give details of actual travel arrangements. Possibly the questions that haven't been answered relate to travel arrangements? We are quite happy to go to the alternate dawn service being organised by our guys, but also feel we might end up with last minute tickets.....

The list of Q's is a mile long :shock:

Acceptance of large number of conditions
Passport detail
Name, address, postal address
Departure date, booking numbers, tour operator
Travel insurance
Assistance requirements

What is interesting: hardly any of them are slated as a mandatory Q .... not even passport details. You can tick the critical boxes (name, DOB, acceptance of conditions,address,contact No) and have no intention of ever attending......how many do we think will do this?

I can see this turning into a farcical situation. Could be the smallest attended Dawn Service in years...

 

[Pushka]

I'd hope that people going to the bother of responding to the Ballot would then follow through with travelling. I'm pretty sure that would be the case.

 

[amaroo]

I'd hope that people going to the bother of responding to the Ballot would then follow through with travelling. I'm pretty sure that would be the case.

#83 doesn't fill me with confidence.

 

[QF029]

Excellent! Are you going?

Probably but after I missed out in the ballot I hadn't given it a second thought and made alternate holiday plans. I'll spend sometime on the weekend researching flights and tours and decide if it's feasible.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Good luck with all that. My preference would be to go when no one was around

 

[Flying mermaid]

I'd hope that people going to the bother of responding to the Ballot would then follow through with travelling. I'm pretty sure that would be the case.

I don't have the same confidence - it is part of people's psyche to go into a lottery and then find out the costs if they actually win..... Our tour people who have been very active in all the consultation over the last 3 years have always believed that there was a strong possibility of having large numbers of no shows and all the backpackers being allowed in at the last minute in order to have decent numbers - what that does to security is anyone's guess!

 

[Flying mermaid]

The list of Q's is a mile long :shock:

Acceptance of large number of conditions
Passport detail
Name, address, postal address
Departure date, booking numbers, tour operator
Travel insurance
Assistance requirements

What is interesting: hardly any of them are slated as a mandatory Q .... not even passport details. You can tick the critical boxes (name, DOB, acceptance of conditions,address,contact No) and have no intention of ever attending......how many do we think will do this?

I can see this turning into a farcical situation. Could be the smallest attended Dawn Service in years...

Dear oh dear - this is typical! I understood that the passport and travel details were going to be mandatory as this was a way of ensuring people actually showed up. Possibly they will be following up people who don't fill them in, otherwise it will be a bit of a fiasco.....

 

[Groundhog]

Could be the smallest attended Dawn Service in years...

Don't bet on it, there will be plenty of spare pollies in Canberra that can fill some space.

I am interested in how many AFF members will be going
I count 3 so far
plus myself and the other half.

Costing me a fortune as i have to take the kids and have paid for a friend to come and baby sit for 2 days in Istanbul while we do the short tour

 

[Chesterwally]

Hubby has scored in the ballot, so we will be there. Very excited, but yes I am sure that there will be more pollies on the ground than anybody else

 

[straitman]

I'm still hopeful that the ANZAC fairy with wave her wand and I'll be able to go.