How do you grow a club?
12-14-2015, 12:59 PM
#17
You're right. I will often sit out a round or two of qualifying to relax and get ready for the mains.
At the local level, with smaller fields and bumps up into the A-mains, if you're good enough you can work your way into the A-mains if you have problems in qualifying.
3 rounds of qualifying is too much, IMHO, but if others want it then that's OK. I don't see the thrill of round after round after round of qualifying. If you can't get it done in a couple of rounds of qualifying then it's not your day.
The other thing that gets me is when somebody, who has been blocking me for the entire qualifying session, turns to me and says 'good race, buddy!'. I just want to push them down the driver's stand stairs. lol... Dude, it's QUALIFYING. If someone catches you, let them by.
The ONLY race that matters is the last one. And that's what I focus on.
Mark
At the local level, with smaller fields and bumps up into the A-mains, if you're good enough you can work your way into the A-mains if you have problems in qualifying.
3 rounds of qualifying is too much, IMHO, but if others want it then that's OK. I don't see the thrill of round after round after round of qualifying. If you can't get it done in a couple of rounds of qualifying then it's not your day.
The other thing that gets me is when somebody, who has been blocking me for the entire qualifying session, turns to me and says 'good race, buddy!'. I just want to push them down the driver's stand stairs. lol... Dude, it's QUALIFYING. If someone catches you, let them by.
The ONLY race that matters is the last one. And that's what I focus on.
Mark
12-14-2015, 06:32 PM
#18
For any club to be successful, they need to focus on getting new people and trying to keep them. They need to recognize that this hobby is expensive and try to keep the initial costs down. They also need to recognize that not everyone is going to race for the same reasons. Most people just want to have fun and don't care if they are racing in ROAR or IFMAR approved classes.
Another thing to consider is that not everyone has the time to invest an entire day at the track. Many people have busy lives and their time spent playing with their r/c toys should be fun and not a second job. I've seen tracks offer classes with reduced fees and shortened programs for the "fun" classes. An example would be the novice program having fewer qualifiers and possible having their main run during the 2nd or 3rd round instead of during the "mains" round.
Here is something I would like everyone to consider. There are never too many classes. There are simply classes that work best for the people racing at a specific facility. Help the local racers build classes that are fun that people want to be a part of. Those classes can be modeled after existing classes or something totally new. But we all need to understand that we cannot force someone new to be a part of this hobby by making them run what we are running. We can simply try to show them how much fun we are having and let them make their own choice.
One final thought. To grow a club or facility, it is important that everyone makes sure the newest members are having fun. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of our own fun, but more often than not you will be rewarded for it. Seeing the person you helped leave with a smile on their face eager to come back next week is more important to me than just trying to win another club race.
-----------
I will add there is a time and a place for competitive racing in this hobby. But I've seen too many people act like every minute they are on the track is like they are qualifying/racing for a world trophy. It should be okay to dial it down for weekly club racing and just have fun with the rest of mere mortals. Right?
Another thing to consider is that not everyone has the time to invest an entire day at the track. Many people have busy lives and their time spent playing with their r/c toys should be fun and not a second job. I've seen tracks offer classes with reduced fees and shortened programs for the "fun" classes. An example would be the novice program having fewer qualifiers and possible having their main run during the 2nd or 3rd round instead of during the "mains" round.
Here is something I would like everyone to consider. There are never too many classes. There are simply classes that work best for the people racing at a specific facility. Help the local racers build classes that are fun that people want to be a part of. Those classes can be modeled after existing classes or something totally new. But we all need to understand that we cannot force someone new to be a part of this hobby by making them run what we are running. We can simply try to show them how much fun we are having and let them make their own choice.
One final thought. To grow a club or facility, it is important that everyone makes sure the newest members are having fun. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of our own fun, but more often than not you will be rewarded for it. Seeing the person you helped leave with a smile on their face eager to come back next week is more important to me than just trying to win another club race.
-----------
I will add there is a time and a place for competitive racing in this hobby. But I've seen too many people act like every minute they are on the track is like they are qualifying/racing for a world trophy. It should be okay to dial it down for weekly club racing and just have fun with the rest of mere mortals. Right?
12-14-2015, 06:46 PM
#19
Great ideas, Indy.
One thing that I do to help grow the hobby and the classes I like is to provide loaner cars, free of charge. I provide the radio, car, equipped with transponder ready to race to anyone who would like to try on-road. I have a USVTA and an F1 loaner car ready to go. I only charge for any broken parts that occur.
So far this season, TWO guys have gone out and bought F1 cars after having a ball driving my loaner car.
The USVTA car is perfect for introducing guys to on-road. The speed is manageable and the car (a TC4) is pretty durable. A lot of times people are interested but are reluctant to spend the $$ to find out if they like it. This way they can try it out relatively risk free.
I've convinced my friends to build loaner cars too. They don't have to be state of the art, and a lot of us have older, obsolete chassis/motors sitting in a box. They might not win the A-main (although I have been beaten by my own loaner cars a couple of times this year) but they're good enough to introduce someone to on-road.
It also gives you a chance to spend time mentoring newbies and helping them learn the ins & outs of a raceday. Tuning the chassis, learning the routine of driving/marshaling/charging batts, tire prep, etc.
We can't always leave it to the hobby shop owner or track owner to provide cars and support for new folks, as they are usually pretty busy on raceday doing other stuff.
Just some ideas!
Mark
One thing that I do to help grow the hobby and the classes I like is to provide loaner cars, free of charge. I provide the radio, car, equipped with transponder ready to race to anyone who would like to try on-road. I have a USVTA and an F1 loaner car ready to go. I only charge for any broken parts that occur.
So far this season, TWO guys have gone out and bought F1 cars after having a ball driving my loaner car.
The USVTA car is perfect for introducing guys to on-road. The speed is manageable and the car (a TC4) is pretty durable. A lot of times people are interested but are reluctant to spend the $$ to find out if they like it. This way they can try it out relatively risk free.
I've convinced my friends to build loaner cars too. They don't have to be state of the art, and a lot of us have older, obsolete chassis/motors sitting in a box. They might not win the A-main (although I have been beaten by my own loaner cars a couple of times this year) but they're good enough to introduce someone to on-road.
It also gives you a chance to spend time mentoring newbies and helping them learn the ins & outs of a raceday. Tuning the chassis, learning the routine of driving/marshaling/charging batts, tire prep, etc.
We can't always leave it to the hobby shop owner or track owner to provide cars and support for new folks, as they are usually pretty busy on raceday doing other stuff.
Just some ideas!
Mark
12-14-2015, 06:58 PM
#21
I only ask for a $50 damage deposit, and if there is no damage the person gets it all back. So far, I haven't had to replace a single broken part in any of my loaner cars yet.
If you do provide a loaner car, don't forget you'll need a charger too since a new person borrowing the car probably won't have one.
Mark
12-14-2015, 07:03 PM
#22
Yeah, I agree with this. I don't see a need for 2-3 hours of practice, then 3 rounds of qualifying, and then the mains. It's just too much, too tiring, and some guys see 'qualifying' as racing. And in the end, it doesn't mean much as it just determines the starting order for the main, which usually changes in the first turn pile up! 
I'd rather have double A-mains than round after round of qualifying.
Mark
I'd rather have double A-mains than round after round of qualifying.
Mark
It's interesting, I guess I'm just old school and go racing to get away and enjoy myself. I enjoy tinkering and trying new setups, tires, and such, for myself thats part of the enjoyment. Besides if I only spend two hours at the track it just means that I have that much more time at home with the wife telling me all the things I should be doing around the house.
I also don't see the difference if you run one qualifier and double mains or two qualifiers and one main, unless your using some fancy new math it's still three races no mater how you slice it. And Just some food for thought, short race days usually lead to tracks closing.Now back to the op's question, alot of good info and ideas have already been presented. I have found that the number one reason that people will or will not stay around is the atmosphere/ownership. If the pits are an uninviting place with grummpy racers that are afraid to talk and help you are doomed. But if new people feel welcome and a part of the group you have the oppourtunity to gain new faces. We had a track in this state with an off-road and carpet track under the same roof. Ownership was a mess and hired staff that went out of their way to piss on anyone that even thought about running on-road; result that facility is now closed.
12-14-2015, 07:04 PM
#23
To add to the loaner car idea, experienced racers can also offer to help setup and/or fix a new racer's car. This can be done during a club race or the more experienced racer can take the car home and fix it before the next meet. Often newer/less experienced racers make simple mistakes when building their kits that adversely affect the handling.
I wouldn't consider myself the best setup guy, but I can at least help most newer racers get their car mechanically sound. This week I helped a younger racer with a TT-01 and ended up finding the shock shaft was missing an e-clip (not) holding the piston in place. I quickly fixed their car before their lower main and they earned a bump up to the A-main. There are still more issues on that car, but at least they went home happy.
After I found the problem and showed it to them, I made the point to emphasize that I've made the same mistake in the past. This helps a newer racer feel okay that they made a mistake when a more experienced racer has too. Sometimes it may take a few times for a new racer to learn from their mistakes, but they will have more fun if there are people who are helping them.
I realize that some people feel that newer racers need to learn and do everything on their own if they are going to take this hobby seriously. But on-road can have a steep learning curve. Rather than complain about the new guys driving poorly, take their car out for a test drive and if possible make it easier to drive. While not everyone is a good driver when they start, most will do pretty well if they have a decent car to learn with.
I wouldn't consider myself the best setup guy, but I can at least help most newer racers get their car mechanically sound. This week I helped a younger racer with a TT-01 and ended up finding the shock shaft was missing an e-clip (not) holding the piston in place. I quickly fixed their car before their lower main and they earned a bump up to the A-main. There are still more issues on that car, but at least they went home happy.
After I found the problem and showed it to them, I made the point to emphasize that I've made the same mistake in the past. This helps a newer racer feel okay that they made a mistake when a more experienced racer has too. Sometimes it may take a few times for a new racer to learn from their mistakes, but they will have more fun if there are people who are helping them.
I realize that some people feel that newer racers need to learn and do everything on their own if they are going to take this hobby seriously. But on-road can have a steep learning curve. Rather than complain about the new guys driving poorly, take their car out for a test drive and if possible make it easier to drive. While not everyone is a good driver when they start, most will do pretty well if they have a decent car to learn with.
12-14-2015, 07:04 PM
#24
For any club to be successful, they need to focus on getting new people and trying to keep them. They need to recognize that this hobby is expensive and try to keep the initial costs down. They also need to recognize that not everyone is going to race for the same reasons. Most people just want to have fun and don't care if they are racing in ROAR or IFMAR approved classes.
Another thing to consider is that not everyone has the time to invest an entire day at the track. Many people have busy lives and their time spent playing with their r/c toys should be fun and not a second job. I've seen tracks offer classes with reduced fees and shortened programs for the "fun" classes. An example would be the novice program having fewer qualifiers and possible having their main run during the 2nd or 3rd round instead of during the "mains" round.
Here is something I would like everyone to consider. There are never too many classes. There are simply classes that work best for the people racing at a specific facility. Help the local racers build classes that are fun that people want to be a part of. Those classes can be modeled after existing classes or something totally new. But we all need to understand that we cannot force someone new to be a part of this hobby by making them run what we are running. We can simply try to show them how much fun we are having and let them make their own choice.
One final thought. To grow a club or facility, it is important that everyone makes sure the newest members are having fun. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of our own fun, but more often than not you will be rewarded for it. Seeing the person you helped leave with a smile on their face eager to come back next week is more important to me than just trying to win another club race.
-----------
I will add there is a time and a place for competitive racing in this hobby. But I've seen too many people act like every minute they are on the track is like they are qualifying/racing for a world trophy. It should be okay to dial it down for weekly club racing and just have fun with the rest of mere mortals. Right?
Another thing to consider is that not everyone has the time to invest an entire day at the track. Many people have busy lives and their time spent playing with their r/c toys should be fun and not a second job. I've seen tracks offer classes with reduced fees and shortened programs for the "fun" classes. An example would be the novice program having fewer qualifiers and possible having their main run during the 2nd or 3rd round instead of during the "mains" round.
Here is something I would like everyone to consider. There are never too many classes. There are simply classes that work best for the people racing at a specific facility. Help the local racers build classes that are fun that people want to be a part of. Those classes can be modeled after existing classes or something totally new. But we all need to understand that we cannot force someone new to be a part of this hobby by making them run what we are running. We can simply try to show them how much fun we are having and let them make their own choice.
One final thought. To grow a club or facility, it is important that everyone makes sure the newest members are having fun. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of our own fun, but more often than not you will be rewarded for it. Seeing the person you helped leave with a smile on their face eager to come back next week is more important to me than just trying to win another club race.
-----------
I will add there is a time and a place for competitive racing in this hobby. But I've seen too many people act like every minute they are on the track is like they are qualifying/racing for a world trophy. It should be okay to dial it down for weekly club racing and just have fun with the rest of mere mortals. Right?
12-14-2015, 07:19 PM
#25
I've raced at a facility in the past with toxic staff or racers. The best suggestion I can offer in that situation is to take any/all issues directly to ownership. Try to be positive with any suggestions to improve a facility, but be prepared for them to fall on deaf ears. If possible, make them understand how the poor staff is preventing you from spending more money at their facility.
A good example is "I love racing here but X, Y, Z employee or racer makes me want to leave as fast as I can. Often I realize after I left that I needed to buy a replacement part that you stock. Because it may be difficult for me to stop by your facility before the next week, I often end up buying the part from a different source."
Or if the track offers food/snacks, "I like racing at your facility and I used to buy snacks at the track. However because of X, Y, Z employee or racer I'd rather go out so I can get away from them for a few minutes."
Typically if you can show ownership how poor staff or racers who are jerks are affecting their bottom line, they will make changes. If they don't make changes and/or let it be known that you complained, then it will be your choice if you want to continue participating there.
A good example is "I love racing here but X, Y, Z employee or racer makes me want to leave as fast as I can. Often I realize after I left that I needed to buy a replacement part that you stock. Because it may be difficult for me to stop by your facility before the next week, I often end up buying the part from a different source."
Or if the track offers food/snacks, "I like racing at your facility and I used to buy snacks at the track. However because of X, Y, Z employee or racer I'd rather go out so I can get away from them for a few minutes."
Typically if you can show ownership how poor staff or racers who are jerks are affecting their bottom line, they will make changes. If they don't make changes and/or let it be known that you complained, then it will be your choice if you want to continue participating there.
12-15-2015, 04:27 AM
#26
Great ideas, Indy.
One thing that I do to help grow the hobby and the classes I like is to provide loaner cars, free of charge. I provide the radio, car, equipped with transponder ready to race to anyone who would like to try on-road. I have a USVTA and an F1 loaner car ready to go. I only charge for any broken parts that occur.
So far this season, TWO guys have gone out and bought F1 cars after having a ball driving my loaner car.
The USVTA car is perfect for introducing guys to on-road. The speed is manageable and the car (a TC4) is pretty durable. A lot of times people are interested but are reluctant to spend the $$ to find out if they like it. This way they can try it out relatively risk free.
I've convinced my friends to build loaner cars too. They don't have to be state of the art, and a lot of us have older, obsolete chassis/motors sitting in a box. They might not win the A-main (although I have been beaten by my own loaner cars a couple of times this year) but they're good enough to introduce someone to on-road.
It also gives you a chance to spend time mentoring newbies and helping them learn the ins & outs of a raceday. Tuning the chassis, learning the routine of driving/marshaling/charging batts, tire prep, etc.
We can't always leave it to the hobby shop owner or track owner to provide cars and support for new folks, as they are usually pretty busy on raceday doing other stuff.
Just some ideas!
Mark
One thing that I do to help grow the hobby and the classes I like is to provide loaner cars, free of charge. I provide the radio, car, equipped with transponder ready to race to anyone who would like to try on-road. I have a USVTA and an F1 loaner car ready to go. I only charge for any broken parts that occur.
So far this season, TWO guys have gone out and bought F1 cars after having a ball driving my loaner car.
The USVTA car is perfect for introducing guys to on-road. The speed is manageable and the car (a TC4) is pretty durable. A lot of times people are interested but are reluctant to spend the $$ to find out if they like it. This way they can try it out relatively risk free.
I've convinced my friends to build loaner cars too. They don't have to be state of the art, and a lot of us have older, obsolete chassis/motors sitting in a box. They might not win the A-main (although I have been beaten by my own loaner cars a couple of times this year) but they're good enough to introduce someone to on-road.
It also gives you a chance to spend time mentoring newbies and helping them learn the ins & outs of a raceday. Tuning the chassis, learning the routine of driving/marshaling/charging batts, tire prep, etc.
We can't always leave it to the hobby shop owner or track owner to provide cars and support for new folks, as they are usually pretty busy on raceday doing other stuff.
Just some ideas!
Mark
Quite often a parent will wander in to the shop with a child or two, and watch the races. If I see them, I'll offer a car and transmitter to them to try during a break, with the proclamation "If it breaks, I DON'T CARE"! They always have fun, and a few (within a few weeks) even purchase a car to get started.
12-15-2015, 07:38 AM
#27
Tech Prophet
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Sounds like you guys have right attitude. But are still looking at it from the inside. Don't worry about what class new people should run. Focus on just getting us to the track. Get us used to running on a course. Or even with other drivers. Said it before, I've driven less then 10x in 3 years with others. And I drive 3 times a day.
12-15-2015, 07:56 AM
#29
Sounds like you guys have right attitude. But are still looking at it from the inside. Don't worry about what class new people should run. Focus on just getting us to the track. Get us used to running on a course. Or even with other drivers. Said it before, I've driven less then 10x in 3 years with others. And I drive 3 times a day.