Spring is coming! That means it’s time to start talking about what’s happening this spring/summer for Galaxy RC Racer’s first full year program! I know that the second half of last summer went so smoothly that it feels like we put a full program together, but it was only a half season! We are thrilled about what’s coming up this year and can’t wait to hit the track with you!
First thing’s first: We are still meeting at Edmonds/Woodway High School, but are being moved to the South lot. This is arguably a better surface with fewer cracks, divots, and seams than what we had last year. There’s also more space to work with, and while we aren’t making any promises we do think we can have a novice/practice ring setup in this area along with the main track. We’re thinking it might be even better for those sudden gusts of wind we kept getting last year that carried some tents away too. There’s tons of pit and parking space which should be simpler overall. In any case, we are looking forward to seeing what Justin Gilkison has in mind with track layouts.
As always there are still a couple of things to lock down, but we got the first set of approved dates from the school district which gets us through July (see below for the first 8 scheduled race dates). August/September will come as it gets closer. TCS is also confirmed to be hosted by Galaxy RC Racers and sponsored by Broadway Hobbies! We aren’t announcing the date officially until Tamiya has confirmed, but early indications look like it’ll be July 26th.
So, what business is left to do? Most importantly, we have to get the bill for the space and pay it. That should come in the next few days and once it is paid we are fully locked. The budget is all set aside for that so there’s no risk that it will fall through on our end. Next, we have to figure out power with the new spot and getting an inverter type generator that can handle 3,000+ watts to make sure everything we need to run can be run. We’ve started to look into that, but if anyone has a lead let us know! Finally, we need to get the road-rail cleaned up, Collin needs to learn how to back up a trailer, and a few other miscellaneous items.
We are also looking to build a loaner program for folks that are interested but don’t want to dump the money into the hobby just yet. We want everyone to have the chance to give on-road RC racing a shot and we think a healthy loaner program is the way to do it. We are also going to be exploring student outreach opportunities to help fulfill the mission of I.S.S., and we’ll need help with that too. So, do you have any cars, electronics, kits, tools, or other RC paraphernalia laying around that you’d like to donate? I.S.S. is a registered 501(c)3, which means donations are tax deductible.
In the meantime, it is good to have some of the big hurdles we’ve had to deal with over the winter behind us and we are looking forward to that first race of the spring season. A big thank you to a bunch of folks. Russ, Joshua, the rest of the I.S.S. GB, Lou at Broadway Hobbies for helping us keep a local TCS race, and Paul at Hobbytown for offering to help with this too to name a few. All the folks that just checked in from time to time and all the offers of help. All the people that share our posts so they get out there so we can keep growing and supporting this hobby. The folks with Seattle RC and NORA who not only run great programs but want to see our program succeed. Also thanks to TamiyaUSA for sticking with us as we ironed things out.
We have a couple more steps to take before everything is nailed down, but we’re close. Here are the currently scheduled race days:
April 19th (Assuming the weather cooperates this will be the first race and used to dust off the cobwebs… be prepared for some hiccups)
May 3rd, 17th, 31st
June 14th and 28th
July 12th and 26th
Aug & Sept: We have reservations in place but they are not confirmed at this time.