Announcing a family-friendly ticketing strategy focused on delivering packed stadia and a ‘Games for Everyone’, the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee unveiled that access to sporting events at one of the world’s greatest multi-sports Games will start from just £15 for adults.

Except it would appear if you have three kids, as most events have a four ticket limit per address, meaning that I cannot take all of my family.

Leaves a bit of a bitter taste

you take the wife out?..

1000 seats divided by 4 seats per family equals 250 families
1000 seats divided by 5 seats per family equals 200 familes

which is fairer and gets the most people included?

gets the most people included?

Both solutions get 1000 people included.

which is fairer and gets the most people included?

Maths fail.

Just don’t promote the ticketing strategy as being family friendly if they mean only families of four or less.

Yes, we noticed this. Found a few events that allowed you to apply for 5 but Mrs TGA did it all so I can’t recall what.

If only there was a silver lining to this cloud of a scenario whereby she has to sit for several hours trying to ogle Tom Daley’s arse while three children moan that they are bored/hungry/thirsty/needing the loo, while I have wait patiently in the peace and quiet of a local hostelry with my book. 🙁

Find a family of three to hook up with? Surely it’s equally unfair on them?

Struggling to muster up a sense of outrage here. Maybe you shouldn’t have had so many kids. 😛

Find a family of three to hook up with? Surely it’s equally unfair on them?

How so, they can just buy 3 tickets?

Isn’t there a better deal for family tickets than buying 4 individuals?

I think you just buy x adult tickets and y kids tickets. I’m sure she got 1 adult and 3 kids for most of the ones she applied for.

(‘Got’ = applied for obviously)

Isn’t there a better deal for family tickets than buying 4 individuals?

No.

Ah – bugger!

I think you just buy x adult tickets and y kids tickets. I’m sure she got 1 adult and 3 kids for most of the ones she applied for.

The risk with that is that you just end up with 3 kids tickets in the ballot and nobody to take them.

Yeah, but can’t you return them in that case?

the problem is the max number of tickets you can apply for is 4.
my plan is for me and the wife to apply for 4 tickets each for the velodrome sessions we want, and hope we both get them.

And having to pay for the MTB?
Can’t we just ride there for free??

my plan is for me and the wife to apply for 4 tickets each for the velodrome sessions we want, and hope we both get them.

Credit cards need to be registered at separate addresses so you will need to get a friend/neighbour etc to do it for you

oh, was planning to look tonight anyway, ta for heads up.

That is a bit of a ****-up. Have you tried calling and speaking to someone?

We found this out, too. Pile of tosh.

In fact, not only pile of tosh, but failure to achieve the “fairness” they’re claiming to want.

4 ticket limit is quite common with alot of sporting events and concerts. For the ones with big demand it is often just a 2 ticket limit.

I spoke to someone there earlier and they basically said tough. Only advice was to get someone else from a different address to apply a well but chances of us both getting tickets are slim and seats wouldn’t be together.

Leave your least favourite child at home ?

We have chosen lots of events with 8 and more ticket limits. Less than 40% of seats are in max 4 ticket zone.

matt – we have done the same, but can’t get to the velodrome as a complete family

but can’t get to the velodrome as a complete family

Also can’t get into any Swimming events, Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Diving or any medal events in athletics. 🙄

As only 1 in 7 families has more than 2 dependent children (ONS analysis of 2011 census), it seems the organisers have opted to work from a majority family size (of 1 or 2 dependant children).

Seems fairly reasonable to me….

That still means 1 in 7 families miss out. Not very inclusive is it?

They could restrict abuse by ticket touts by limiting the number of adult tickets sold per household but loosening the restrictions on child tickets.

Just in case anyone had forgot (for instance the chumps in charge of ticketing) families do have more than two generations. So the average number of kids is a bit irrelevant TBH.

@ frank, that’s an excellent idea

Did I miss the memo declaring it a fundamental human right to get to go to very rarely held major sporting events with every single member of your family? This just seems like massive #firstworldproblems

There’s a high demand for tickets so they limit the numbers any one group can have – how is that unfair in any way?

Replace “People” with “Families” in the maths

I assume you also complain that flights & holidays are more expensive during school holidays?

Get over it. 1 Parent can go the other can have some fun

Grum, the point is that they make a big deal of having a ‘Family Friendly Ticketing Strategy,’ this is the same strategy that excludes lots of families from even applying for tickets for most popular events.

I don’t have a right to tickets, but should be able to apply (for my family) like my neighbours who have one less kid..

I assume you also complain that flights & holidays are more expensive during school holidays?

Stupid comment, of course I don’t. No idea how that relates to this, I’m not asking for freebies or favours. 🙄

I fit the model of 2 parents and 2 kids, however what did surprise me was the price of the tickets. the whole ‘affordable’ thing is a mockery 👿 For velodrome and swimming there are 3 price category tickets, the first 2 don’t have any child concessions and are something like £90 and £70 per seat respectvely. We have applied for the cheap seats, at £40 for adults and £20 for kids, so still £120 per event. That said, seeing as it will be massively oversubscribed we’ll be lucky to get tickets anyway.

Our kids (7 and 10 yrs old) were keen to go to opening ceremony, and knowing that at Hampden a decent seat makes all the difference, we were dissapointed to find that good seats for the 4 of us would be a whopping £1k…..

Iain, I assume you also complain that flights & holidays are more expensive during school holidays? 😉

frank – absolutely 😛

nah, it’s the whole push by Glasgow to make out that tickets are from £15 and its an affordable family event. Yes, there are some at that price, but the reality is that for the events that will attract most interest the prices are jacked right up. Thing is, they can charge what they want, as shown by the massive oversubscription to the main events, it just means that less locals/young families will be able to see it.

What a contrast say to the Youth Worlds at the Velodrome last month where a family ticket was £25

I don’t have a right to tickets, but should be able to apply (for my family) like my neighbours who have one less kid..

And as a single person, should I be afforded the same rights and benefits as those with a family? I’d love to have a parking spot right outside of the supermarket, discounted entries to “single persons days out”, and discounted “singles friendly” meals and reduced cost and content “singles friendly” bog roll?

You made the choice to have a larger than average family, and the fact that the average is what gets catered for most often shouldn’t come as a surprise, and shouldn’t raise ire. Frankly you should be grateful you’re in a position to be able to go, and be able to afford tickets.

As someone else said, this falls squarely inside the brackets of “1st World Problems”, and a little perspective won’t come amiss.

Unless of course this is a troll, and if so, I’ll give it a generous 7/10, more swearing, random capitalisation and poorer spelling required.

dan, you’re missing the point.

As a single person you have exactly the same rights and whatever (w.r.t. commonwealth games tickets) as a couple, a married couple, a parent with one child, a parent with someone elses child, a single parent with three children, a child with three parents, or four parents who’ve left their children in the lost luggage office in glasgow central. Or just four strangers who met in wetherspoons last week and decided they all wanted to see the 100m.

Basically, the four person thing is just an arbitrary number which completely sucks donkey balls.