"Those who save themselves for the big contests will soon find themselves without future travel plans" .....Dub 11-30-00
"Every contest is a local contest for somebody"....Dub 11-30-00
In a previous "Crap Trap" I mentioned a group I called "Zealots". I said they make a lot of noise, burn out in a hurry, and we should give them a call in the middle of the night after they quit and say, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"
When we were in Phoenix last winter everyone was passing around a petition to make sure we didn't change a thing in the rules. That is almost a moot point now, but I might still ask, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" We have had many races this year where we didn't even have enough to have a decent matrix-all over the country. Yet you say, don't change a thing. If you love it so much, then you better get your ass out to the local contests. Otherwise there will be no Phoenix for you to pass around your petitions.
This is not about the rules. That will shake out and those of us who love to race will. Those of us who are looking for an excuse to quit will. The Crap I am tired of is seeing clubs and districts working their butts off to put on a contest and half of the flyers are just too tired to make the trip. We had a JR race in Saguin TX. It was scheduled all year. We did not pick the date, nor did we change it at the last minute. You did not come. District VIII did not even support its own race. JR took the hit. YOU WILL FIND YOURSELVES WITHOUT TRAVEL PLANS.
If you take a look at the attendance, save Phoenix, you will find that most of the support comes from fairly close. So, in effect, every race is a local one. If you don't support the local races, then where will the races come from? Can you have a race anywhere without clubs and trained people to run it? Where do they come from? You will not be able to support JR type of racing without a grass roots racing schedule. It does not have to be QM, but it should offer AMA racing and equipment. Otherwise, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELVES WITHOUT TRAVEL PLANS.
One final thought. Your beginners' class will thrive 100-fold if you start flying it. You can have bigger races by including everyone, but you must recognize, help, and reward the beginner and standard flyer. If you do you will have a growing event. Otherwise, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELVES WITHOUT TRAVEL PLANS.
Dub
12/00
