Rec Department Registration System Suffers Mystery 'Meltdown'

Technicians are trying to get to the bottom of a system crash that paralyzed the Wauwatosa Recreation Department's online registration system when it opened Saturday morning and kept scores of residents from getting classes they wanted.

Rick Beattie, director of the Rec Department, said Monday it's still uncertain why the system tanked during the first two hours or so of registration, but he's personally focused on helping those who were locked out get satisfaction.

"We have our School District IT Department working with the software provider to find out what happened," Beattie said. "They're responsible for load-testing the system. We're still struggling to know what caused the meltdown Saturday morning."

The software in use is not new this year, Beattie said. But more and more residents have opted to use online registration for popular summer classes and programs.

"Last year, it worked much better," Beattie said. "It's a Vermont Systems program called RecTrak, and most rec departments in the area, including Brookfield, use the same system.

"What makes it a little more cumbersome for us is the scope of our programs. We have many more offerings than most departments, including some summer classes that are just very popular.

"That large glut of people trying to get on at the same time may have just overwhelmed the system."

Indeed, dozens of comments on the Rec Department's Facebook page in response to long, frustrating and ultimately futile attempts to register attest to the likelihood the system was sunk by the weight of its community's fervor for the programs and for electronic registration.

Online is supposed to offer a jump on the rest

In-person, snail mail and FAX registrations – seemingly Stone Age methods in this decade – didn't open until Monday, meaning advance registration online beginning Saturday was the only way anyone was going to get into the most popular sessions.

Many people posted on Facebook that they jumped in to register online right at 8 a.m. when it opened. One woman said she had set an alarm for 8 to remind her to grab the first opportunity to get her child into a swim program that always fills up quickly.

"Unfortunately," Beattie said, "a lot of those people who went on at 8 o'clock got dropped (by the system), and they had to go off for other commitments. When they came back, the system was back up and working but some of the high-demand programs were filled."

Beattie said that in some cases, the department is able to increase the numbers allowed to register for programs. But not always.

"If we can add more, we're doing that," Beattie said. "But we can't for every class."

"For example, the Starfish swim classes for very small kids, held at Tosa Pool, are extremely popular," Beattie said. "But because the children are so young, there is just a finite number you can have in one class, for safety and supervision."

Beattie said that besides those who had to give up their attempts to register and come back later after their desired programs were full, there was another group of people even more upended by the system crash.

"At some point, the technician here had to restart the server," Beattie said, "and people who came on after that or started over after that were able to register.

"But there are still about 78 'pendings' out there who, for lack of a better way of saying it, are still whirring in cyberspace."

"We're embarrassed by this," Beattie said. "It's clear we need better software and systems to handle this and make sure people can register for the programs they want."