i can see why the "come back later if we have any left" thing... no telling who will actually show at a regatta, and you don't want to overstock SWAG.

Too bad no one seems to want to pre-register online (or even worse, pre-pay for a regatta). I suspect that doing so would solve a lot of issues for the PRO (events, sponsorship, meals, swag, support boats, budget, etc)