Nationals entry is planned to go live after the inlands.
That way efforts can be put into promoting 2 individual events rather than diluting each one and losing the focus
Early entry is there for the reason, we need to let the club have some idea of numbers 3-4 weeks before the event, partly for catering purposes but general bar stocking etc, also means we have some sort of a clue as to what money we have to spend on other bits and if its pre-entry you don't have to sit there for hours waiting for people to fill in paperwork and take money that someone then has to pay in the bank.
The nationals is designed to break even and not be a burden on the class funds, its also not aimed at making massive profits, entry is dependent on what the club charge, this year its actually quite high so the cost will increase. Next year there is a minimum charge which is the same until it gets to 30 boats then it changes to a number of entries cost, we have to factor in the possibility we might not get the entries, if the forecast is a bit poor the week before it might put people off, but if they have paid then they are more likely to come.
Don't forget for the last few years all the breakfasts and meals have been included in the entry, if the club suddenly has to buy an extra 10 meals it makes their cost dis-proportionally higher and its a bit poor saying Friday morning they suddenly need to fine another 10 meals.