West Coast CFR SCCA autocross for 2013


It is time to plan a schedule for 2013 of SOLO events for the West Coast of CFR SCCA.

Two items need to be addressed before we can proceed with the planning,


1. Is there any interest in SCCA events given the number of other autocross events in the West Coast area?

2. Will there be enough volunteers to occupy the key Event Official positions?


No West Coast SOLO events were held in 2012 due to the lack of volunteers to man the key positions of officials.

The Event Official positions that need to be filled are:

Event Chairman
Assistant Event Chairman/Chief of Course
Safety Steward
Chief of Registration
Chief of Inspection
Chief of Equipment
Chief of Timing and Scoring
Chief of Workers
Trophy Chairman
Driving Instructor

Please let me know your thoughts.

Dave Welsh

dwelsh56@hotmail.com

 

I would LOVE to go to a west coast event. It's a long drive (for me) to go to Orlando, and even longer to go to the east coast.

 

Check the AutoX schedule for a ton of AutoX events on this coast. Issue it that there are so many events outside of the SCCA that they are looking for commitment on some positions for this year. IMHO.

 

Anything is possible.

I would love to see a club break out of the boring mold of how we think an autocross should be run.
IE, registration, tech, drivers meeting, classes, run groups, work assignments, trophies/awards, etc. Every club is the same boring stuff with different people.
And every club thinks that their events are the best ever. It's funny to me.

I think if you did something different it would be a hit... or a huge miss, haha.

 

The real problem with SCCA autox is that it costs too much. Last I checked, you must purchase a membership in order to participate. IMO, that is why it died here. People voted with their wallets and went elsewhere.

 

Yeah that too. Although I think you made a typo there. You don't NEED a membership, it's just more expensive without one. What innovations has the SCCA come up with that warrants the higher prices? Live timing? Ustream feeds? That's the only thing I have noticed that is new to me. Not a lot of progress in the last 10 years that I have seen.

I've asked this question before and got shut down. Telling me I have no idea what it costs to put on an event.
Going to my first SCCA event tomorrow in over 2 years. Hopefully I am blown away by what I get for my $45 and weekend membership, haha.

 

It was fun. 89 cars, 6 runs, and done by 3:30pm. Maybe that is worth $45.

 

The question to ask here is what is CFR East doing to get 90 entries and sell them on a $45 entry?

First, what percentage of their entries are non-member $45 entries?

I know the long-standing rebuttal to the SCCA's high non-member rate is that it's cheaper if you buy a membership, and the membership pays for itself in 6 events. Here's a little tidbit I've picked up from being involved with FAST for too many years: in this area, even a club that regularly sees 70-75 entries per event and has a pretty healthy base of "regulars" only has about 50 people who will attend more than 5 events in a year. We have about another 150 people who attend between 1 and 5 events per year. (and an untold number of "used-to-be-regulars" who come out every other year or so) So, a pricing structure that strongly rewards the 50 "members" would be alienating three times as many "non-members". Might not be a big deal if the difference was only $5 per event. But, if it's $15... that's significant. Something to think about.

Are there competing clubs on the East side, as there are over here? Odds are, if it weren't for the 4 other clubs that are allowing novice and/or casual autocrossers to compete for $30-35 (I think Corvette Club is $40 now), you probably COULD get a lot of $45 entries. But, given the choice, all else being equal, most people will choose to save $15. (and don't forget all the starving college students... $15 is a big deal to them) If you have competition here that they don't have on the East side, and you want/need those entry-level people and/or those casual entries to help pay the bills... you have to compete. Accept that there are a LOT of people who might attend 2-3 events per year and they are NOT going to buy a membership. To survive, you're going to have to appeal to them.

What do people get for their money? This again comes down to competing programs and expectations. Most clubs in this area include lunch and beverages in their entry fee. All the clubs are pretty much running at the same sites, so this is a pretty significant perk. The one club that's charging MORE for an entry fee shouldn't be the one club that IS NOT providing that perk.

There is absolutely a market here for SCCA-level autocross competition. There are people who want more serious competition, and want a "ladder" of higher level events to climb. But, to have a successful program, you need more than just them. You need some less serious people to fill out the roster and give you enough entries to pay the bills. Those are the people who will attend your event just because it's on par with all of the other events in the area and it happens to be convenient for them to attend on a particular date... and this is where CFR-W suffered.

I know there are SCCA membership policies in place, and a lot of club politics to deal with. I don't envy that situation. But, if you can get past those hurdles... there are plenty of autocrossers in this area.

Finding the half-dozen people that you're looking for to organize and run an event is just part of what it's going to take to get CFR-W back up and running successfully. It's really going to take a little bit of strategy and marketing.

 

Well put Loren.

 

There is definitely different thinking between the West Coast and East Coast SCCA members.

We have good numbers on the East Coast for a lot of our events and there are a few different clubs over here. I just think people like to run more than anything else and just come out.

Dave I would like to volunteer but I don't live over there. Vivek is willing to volunteer as well.