So then, anybody up for trying to organise something?
If we put heads together now it might well be possible for 2013, last time this was discussed it was too close to the start of the season to make it a reality, at the moment it could be possible.
I personally think we should try and hold one event at a large non-RC event to help raise the profile of the sport with potentially interested people. Anybody got any thought on this?
Some things that would need considering (along with my thoughts in brackets), pleased to hear everybody's thoghts too, but please keep it constructive!
1) 1 or 2 days (personally I think most people would find 1 day easier and it would help keep the numbers high in the first season or two whilst it built in popularity)
2) Control tires like nationals / regionals? (again I'm all for this, know what you need for any venue before you get there and saves buying and carrying 20 diferent types of tire "just in case" which means more space in cars for lift sharing .. with the cost of fuel these days that is / will become increasingly important. Could have 2 or 3 options per venue, not all venues have to agree but my guess is they probably all would anyway!)
3) Number of events per series (I think you need at least 3 from 5 to count and 4 from 6 is better but more than 6 events would probably thin out the entry to individual events).
4) Limits to driver licences? (I say no, people like to be able to compare times to the Cragg / Martin / Yardy / Lee etc. of this world. I do however think that there should be a separate throphy / award to encourage the lower grade drivers in ... maybe most consistent so somebody with 4 x E7 results would beat somebody with 3 x A1 and an A2)
5) Impose limits on cells / motors etc. (I say keep it to the electric board lists personally, having scrutineered nationals I know how hard it can be to explain to somebody that their choice of equipment doesn't meet requirements, EB lists are rock solid and apply to almost everything)
6) Only 1 class per driver per event? (I say yes, leaves as many entries available for as many people as possible. If there were spaces within say 2 weeks of the event maybe drivers who had expressed an interest in running 2 or more classes could be offered a 'guest entry' in their chosen second class to fill those spaces but not for points. My thinking here is that it doesn't matter to the club if they get 120 drivers in one class or 60 each for 2wd & 4wd or indeed 60 drivers all doing both classes. Where it does matter is if we have 80 drivers, 60 of whom want to do 2 classes and 20 who want to do only one class who do we turn away? Not everybody runs both classes, in the Mid West region for example we get 20-30 more drivers at 2wd events than 4wd events)
7) All venues to be to national standard? (Again I say 'mostly yes', if your getting 120 drivers to a meeting they need somewhere to get something to eat / drink from and somewhere to use the loo. Would a large BBQ and a couple of porta-loos surfice? Probably. This means that any club up to running a regional would be able to 'step up' and run one of these events with minimal fuss, doesn't have to be one of the long standing / established clubs. I do however think the clubs chosen should have run a regional / large individual event so that it is proven they can run such a large meeting.)
I would need to discuss with Tony Meridith and the rest of the Kidderminster crew but I am fairly sure that Kidderminster would be putting themsleves forward for selection. I am fairly confident that Ledbury would be interested too.
Let the flames bit lit ... this sort of discussion is all good!!!
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