tc3team

I thought I would create one discussion area for helping YOUR local club, and where other clubs can use this info to help their own club thrive.

What tips can you give to others and help clubs thrive?

In the day of sedans we have high end cars, with complex brushless motors,ESC's,cells and charging/discharging systems.....

This isn't welcomed with open arms to the newcomer when they see the cost. To me, there are quite a few qualitys a club/class needs to have to make it thrive, or a combination of them.

1) The obvious.... low cost racing... LOW cost I hear you regular A main guys with the latest chassis.... surely not... Yep. A support class of low end sedans, or 1/12th alongside the usual sedan qualifying/mains may reach out to the newcomer, or up and coming future A main wannabe's.

2) friendly atmosphere, where EVERYONE talks to each other, not a select few of the elite chatting amongst themselves and laughing / backstabbing / ignoring others regardless of age / gender / ability. STAMP out this kind of a$$ before your club pays for it - with less people hanging out there.

It's usually a minority of racers, (sometimes well experienced hot shots who really should know better ) who spoil the racing for others.

3) challenging, varied tracks. Some clubs even have a strict track rota that they follow in a championship series, so the tracks are never always flowing, or complex or the same 2 times in a row

4) A well organised,unbiased committee, and SOLID championship/rules structure. None of this "i'll allow it for him, but not for her ruling favortism" RULES are RULES".

Too many rules kill racing, but too little and its no longer a race, its a bash fest...

5) A club that thinks of fresh ideas to keep the classes of racing supported to continue and grow,where possible.... GOOD clubs LISTEN to their members or regulars to see what needs improving.....

6) SAFETY. EVERY member should be aware of the risks involved in racing. It is easily overlooked... Racing should be fun, not something that is an accident/misuse of cells waiting to happen.

Theres a few to get things started. No matter how small/big/well thought out, put your thoughts in and help everyone.

Discuss...

sosidge

I think the most important think that is overlooked by a lot of clubs is simple "marketing".

We live in the information age - if people don't know about the club, nobody will come.

There is no excuse for not having a website for your club, no excuse for not keeping it up to date, no excuse for not keeping your members informed with it.

Get flyers and posters in all the local hobby shops. Even push the boat out a bit further and get the local press involved or volunteer to run special meetings at public events.

If you rely only on word of mouth among existing members your club will slowly but surely die.

And yes, keep it friendly, apply the rules even-handedly, and select your classes and track layouts based on including as many people, while keeping the racing standard high enough to maintain peoples interest. A very difficult balancing act.

tc3team

+1, well said

Overcomplicated and bad use of colour/font on a website can easily put people off looking into a local club's racing too.

In short, keep it simple..... the r/c racing equipment can be the complicated bit,lol

Bigshades

iTrader: (28)

Offer discounts/Givaways to newcomers. Sometimes i'll sell them an old esc or charger for 1/2 of what i'd sell it on here. Also, sometimes i'll hand out some of my old practice tires to a rookie for free. I believe this installs a sense of friendliness in the air. And now i become the "nice guy who gave me tires" or "the nice guy that helped me race for the first time". Its a great way to make new friends.

BobJenkins

I'm not an internet poster usually, I get more from them than I could possibly add to them, but tc3team seems to be causing stirs on most of the UK club forums. I potter around most clubs in the south east and follow the general conversations and all I see is tc3team start offering "advice" to a club he goes to once and then upset the regular members enough for them to get angry on their websites.

From reading his post above it seems he has some sort of social complex that people don't like him. Well I think he's right, because I don't like his attitude. He is bad mouthing enough clubs that no wonder newcomers aren't joining the sport.

If you wonder why numbers are declining, maybe you should look a little closer to home.

Rant over, sorry.

ODB

iTrader: (2)

You definitely need the entry level classes, such as a TCS Mini running the stock esc and motor to keep the cost down. As new drivers find they enjoy the hobby, they will warm up to the higher costs of premium gear, much like golf or tennis. It is easier to get people to start racing for under 300, than it is to get a person on the fence to spend two or three times that.

It is also good practice in general to always keep your cool. No one likes to be around an obnoxious driver who yells at the other drivers or turn marshals, even if you get hacked to high heaven. It happens to all of us, shrug it off, it is a hobby, not a source of income.

Let your friends or family members borrow your gear to introduce them to the hobby. If you have an old AM radio lying around, throw it in the TC3 you no longer race, and power it with a $20 venom stick pack. If they break something, show them how to fix it. Chances are you already have the spare parts on hand so that costs nothing. We are not looking to get them to TQ, we just want them to get a hands-on introduction to our sport.

Make small talk with the onlookers. Talk about the classes you race, the vehicles drivetrain, motor, etc. None of this is obvious to the person who happens to walk into the hobby shop on race day. Mention to them the low cost form of racing. You may be busy prepping your car, but intentionally ignoring people is not going to help this sport.

I12PonU

iTrader: (10)

360speedway on Long Island is the place to be. There goes my first post.

imprsme

iTrader: (91)

Clubs need to start thinking "outside" the box.

Instead of running your races at the same place. Have a few races at the Local Car shows or Local Festivals or see if Lowes, Home Depot, Local Mall or Wal-mart will let you race in thier parking lots.

I agree that there needs to be some form of "cost control" racing for the newcomer.

Maybe in the Form of a Mini Cooper, Vintage class, RTR class, Novice or any of the above.

I am all for if the guys bring off road trucks and want to run on th etrack Cool..its ppl and it may draw that one new guy in. This is on asphalt of course.

There are WAY too many tracks inwhich the owner just sits behind a register and collects $$$ never ask why some ppl stopped racing or never worries about the racer until none are there...


BUT We as racers can do some things also..
if you show up to a track and don't like the layout or the boards or the traction. DON'T bad mouth it. if you are negative you will make someone else that is right on the verge negative also..then it just snowballs. I know I have done this before and have now seen the errs oof my ways.

Deal with it, the track is the same for everyone.

Not every track owners are Muti-millioniares and can have plasma screens on the walls!

Go have fun and spread the good word! LOL

slcf1

iTrader: (8)

My 2 cents...

• You will always need a friendly environment. I mean as friendly as possible.

• There is always one or two great racers who are there to help others on and off the track. Those guys are massive to the new crowd. Keep them around as much as possible.

• Have one easy class to enter. 18R box stock is a good example.

• Have a simple way of communicating with your racers. Phone calls are good because you get a lot of problems or concerns resolved over the phone. Emails need clarity and simplicity. No rants or chewing out your club members. Always positive and upbeat communication.

• Avoid the danger of always changing your rules and classes. Tell those who badger you to make changes that you'll look at it and perhaps the club will try it next year. This helps with cost and confusion with your racers. Off-road has an advantage that there are basically 3 electric chassis. On-road is very complex and there are multiple pitfalls. If someone is a pest and annoying quietly pull them aside and ask them to cool it and think of the overall good.

• When people complain about costs remind them if you ran Karts you'd spend at least $7,000 per season ( starting new ) to run in a cost controlled class. R/C racing is cheap. Cheap. Cheap.

• Play politician but you can't make everyone happy. At some point you have to run your club. Running by committee never works. Have a small group of 3-5 racers that you can consult with over decisions.

• Consistency is your friend. Always race when you say you are going to race.

• Run a tight ship. Get the racers in and out. Start the races with or without all the marshals. Things will mend themselves.

tc3team

This is a thread for anyone to contribute their constructive thoughts into the topic.

You're welcome to your opinion, but I don't see how you're contributing to it, apart from making assumptions about someone who has seen a lot in 14 years of racing including seeing how some clubs have fallen apart.

You sure seem to have done that well in your one and only post.

Please note the word some...

Back on topic...

Another good thing to consider is how the members skill level is placed amongst others. A class considered to be for the newcomer should ideally not be plagued with more experienced racers.

It would just be a hollow victory for the experienced (any genuine club racer with consideration for the newcomer would feel like that) and would also discourage the newcomer from coming back to the said club after being lapped X amount of times.

joe of loath

iTrader: (1)

one thing I must add, is that clubs must move with the times. Where I race, 80% of the racers are over 40, and won't be racing for ever. I have seen NO new intake from anyone my age, at all, except me. a few have turned up, certainly, but left again when no one talked to them, offered them advice or helped them.

I was lucky, I bought a motor from someone, and he let me use the corner of his pit table for my car as mine was locked in the car at home (long story). so we got talking, and he gave me the best piece of advice yet.

"most people here will tell you to buy X or Y product. don't listen to them. all you need to do, is not crash. hell, you could probably beat them all anyway if you did that."

go figure

joe of loath

iTrader: (1)

oh, I forgot to add, too many people take RC too seriously! FFS, it's racing toy cars, no need to get anal about it!

I go racing, and everyone is heads down to their pit table, tinkering. no one talks. its sad! I would find it so much better it it was more sociable. of course, I've only been to one track, and it is one of the fastest in the country, and is almost always used for the nationals at one stage or another.

timmay70

iTrader: (5)

You need to invite more people like you to the track. Devil's advocate: did you ever stop to consider that some people got into the hobby to be able to do just that, tinker? Some folks just aren't that social. Others do it to get away from their nagging, always talking, other half. Now, I'm not saying that it is wrong to have a socially active track. If you want more people like you, you probably need to start that new sub-culture.

I have always seen my racing as a method for self-improvement. I am happy if I go away from the track feeling like I did well, or learned something. Even if it is frustrating while I am there, I figure that it all leads to something better later.

tc3team

On the other end of the scale though, as Joe is saying, I too also enjoy a sociable club to race at where everyone is almost like part of a being in a family Great guys and great racing = FUN!

I dont expect everyone to be as sociable as me, but just a reply to a "hello" is sufficient, if they want to chat more then great, if they don't then that's cool, providing not everyone else is the same way inclined and you can hear a body pin drop from the other side of the track....

I have learnt from experience it's best to look around for a club to race at where you feel the most happiest at (on track and off it), or you simply won't enjoy your racing as much as you could do elsewhere...

Too little chat and you begin to wonder if there is anyone else you are racing with or have to be part of an elite group to get an answer, or too much to the point where you can't focus on your pit routine and it all gets too busy... there is a fine line sometimes.