Do you support your local club at club racing level?

[turbo_brick]

Just been reading through the thread about Bury struggling to get attendance at club nights

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12198

Just wondering how many actually do support their local club on club race nights on a regular basis? (As in at least a couple of times a month)

If you don't, why?

[DCM]

Well, the regional scene is poor in this area, so I do as much as I can to support my locel club, and try to point things in the right direction as much as I can.

[Col]

Since the birth of my wee little one I've stopped racomg at all but club meetings. With racing less I was able to take a much more active roll in the club and now help out with race control whenever I'm down (usuall every other week) as that seemed to be the area we were struggling in.
It'd be a real shame if Bury were to close as it was always my favorate outdoor track.

[ashleyb4]

I suport my local club i try to go down once every two weeks to cut take the track up and cut all the grass then relay a new track. and tidy about a bit.

A

[turbo_brick]

The reason why I started the thread was my dissappointment that Bury is closing due to lack of support, or even possibly closing. The simple fact is for those who only race regionally and nationally is if these local clubs don't get the support they need to run, there won't be anyone to hold the regionals and nationals they like to attend!!!! The first to complain will likely be those who go when they feel like it, when it suits them, not those who've supported the club as much as they could. Bury is a few hundred miles travel for us, but we've popped down for club days when funds allow. I can't believe how few support their local clubs then just expect them to be there when they want to race at a higher level. I think the message comes across firmly, use your local clubs or loose them!

Col I am sure every other parent like me understands where priorities must be, but it is nice to hear even if your circumstances have changed, you'll still support them however you can.

There also seems to be a major issue getting youngsters involved in clubs, the problem we seem to have up here is a lack of new people coming into racing, so when peoples priorities do change and when they no longer race there is noone to continue it. We've seen the same people for years racing with very few new members coming in in our region. Every year it's the same drivers at regionals etc.

Jarrow as a club we'll be trying to get these youngsters interested, get them involved. We're in the process of buying a few cars to be used as club cars, can't afford many due to the lack of fund but we're doing our best. Hoping to contact local youth clubs etc about getting the kids involved, maybe doing a demo evening as we are organising for the disabled group. RC racing may never die off completely, but a slow decline is what we're seeing happen.

Getting to a sorry stage when even the likes of an excellent track like Bury is looking at closure due to lack of support.

[Darren Boyle]

I have this sort of discussion with many racers from our local area too on a regular basis. It justs seems that lots of people dont want the "hassle" of helping at a local club and would rather travel to somewhere where it is all laid on for them..

It is always the people who dont support the local clubs who are first to moan when they are no longer about too....strange that!

[DCM]

for a club to thrive, it needs to be run on a very regular basis, so you don't have to 'check' the calendar to see if they are racing that week, and regular can be every other week, or a week night etc. Once a club moves away, people find other things to fill the spare time, then they look and see all those thousands of pounds on the shelf collecting dust, then the rot sets in, and by that time, it is to late.

Also, when a club runs, people can be put off by the cost or the amount you 'look like you need' to.

[turbo_brick]

DMS you might have hit the nail on the head there, I suppose it does take more effort to support a local club, but I do wonder if there will also be a lack of response by those who don't want the 'hassle' in this thread. Maybe they'll listen now the likes of Bury are looking at closure that what we say as clubs will happen if noone supports it actually will happen, they can't run on nothing, becomes a bit more 'real' doesn't it.

DCM this is why we're looking at the 'investment' for the future of the club by buying these cars, we understand people, especially parents, don't want the initial outlay to find out they don't like it (I have 2 children and know how 'faddy' they are) Then hopefully those who are interested in racing regularly will eventually move on to buying their own.

We do usually have racing every week but there has been a few dates this year, due to venue closure we haven't been able to open, couple of weeks there just wasn't enough attended, at present we have about 1/3 to 1/2 of the members racing we had in October last year. Ok we're still doing better than some clubs but knowing how much effort goes in, it's wondering what to do next to try to gain support and not face what Bury are now.

**Maybe I should have posted this in general, if someone would like to move it**

[Lee]

As much as i would like to race at a local club i just dont have the time, i usually dont leave work till 7pm on a weekday so by that time any local club night is well under way, i then have the family and just want to chill out, i race nearly every weekend as it is, i really cannot find the time to put in to a club

[Northy]

I'm with Lee here, it's all a balance for me. I have to keep me, the wife and now the little one happy.

I race Nationals and Regionals, and find very few free weekends other than those, yet I STILL get people saying we should run more regional rounds!

The NE regional series (8 meetings) was combined into 6 weekends total this year to allow more club days.

I do sit on my local clubs committee and try to help the club as much as possible outside club nights, helping organise big meetings and a new winter championship that atrackted people to come and race at the club that wouldn't have normally made the trip.

I'm also a person who doesn't like to race week in, week out, I do actually get sick of it, and like a weekend off.

My local club is also a good 30 minute drive.

So those are my reasons. Make of them what you will.

I do agree with all the points about new blood though and I've also thought what we could do to attract new members. We have held meetings at other large public events in the past, but fitting them into the racing calender is hard work - it's always the same few people that do this stuff.

I sometimes think clubs have the wrong idea about attracting people, a big one off meeting will only attract people currently racing, no new people, we need to work out how to get the new people into the grass roots of the sport.

Any ideas welcome.

G

[telboy]

I would, but we don't have a local off road club in our area any more.
Worksop is the closest for me, and I get there as much as poss when the winter comes round. Although this year it may be a struggle with the twins being born.
I've already had orders not to race anymore.......but I don't think that will happen. You need some free time.

[DCM]

maybe the national and regional series are over shadowing the club life then, as the clubs are what feeds the regionals and nationals?

[frogger]

I would love to visit my local 10th club (EPR) more for racing but I also do 18th scale off road racing and so there are 2 reasons I don't get to the track that often, firstly my son who is 5 also races with me and they let him marshall on his own at the micro club (smaller cars and there are lots more kids racing there so the child friendlyness is generally slightly better) and number 2 it seems my local club and the 18th scale club always race on the exact same days! So when I have to make a decision about racing with or without my son there really is only one way to go. At least I go racing on average twice a week so I am supporting the sport in general.

As for supporting my local micro club - no absolutely not, miserable bunch of bastodians.

[bigred5765]

same as g and lee as much as we would like to, nats regionals and OD club day to suit practice

[Kopite]

there is also the matter of the rising costs of, well, everything...

I imagine a lot of people simply can't afford to do club racing and the big ones.


I do remember the days though, when there used to be 2 or three heats full of tamiya hornets/grasshoppers etc... and i can't pinpoint why, but i enjoyed racing a whole lot more in those days than i do now!

[ben]

I voted yes

[Lee]

I agree stan, i used to love going to the local club and racing my cougar 2 in the stock class, it really was so much more fun

[Jonny_H]

I no longer seem to do club meetings, unfortunately.

It's a simple matter of time and energy - both in the week to strip/clean/prepare the car between meetings, and at weekends to actually go racing.

When I was a student I used to race every week (although mostly indoors, which is easier on the prep) but nowadays I probably do ten meetings a year.

It doesn't help that every time I race at my local track I seem to break the car, but that's a different matter...

(edit) One other thing that makes a difference is timing. Club meetings at Ashby used to start around midday, which meant you could go racing and still get a lie-in on a Sunday; and at West Bridgford, the Friday evening meetings fitted well with the rest of my life at that stage. Now, racing inevitably means getting up earlier on a Sunday than I do in the week.

[jim76]

I don't make it to club races anymore either. Main reasons being time (balancing the number of weekends away with having a young child), and money (cost of fuel and tyres/spares).

The issue of attracting new blood was often raised at my old regular club, but we never managed to find any good solutions. Suggestions were things like a cheaper stock class (mardave etc) to allow youngsters to compete on a budget (or minimise parent outlay!) and level playing field.
I think the hiring out of "club cars" is a great idea, as this was reasonably succesful at my old club until the person who organised them moved away.

[burgie]

I race weekly at Southport with my two sons. Because we only race in club meetings the cost implications for me are small - we all run lipos and brushless motors, and we use Schumacher Blue Tyres or Ballistic Greens for the wet, so that's roughly 3 pairs of rear tyres every month and every other month three pairs of fronts as well. Despite what many people think, the costs of this sport/hobby can be controlled, and races can still be won.

Because the club runs weekly in a public park, we tend to pick up new drivers year on year as well.

Maybe the fact that many drivers don't do club meetings because they prefer to race nationals or just regionals is a big pointer to why clubs such as Bury are struggling?