Misc. thoughts on no events in Canada anymore :(

[nhsilversti]

the only thing i found fun about pocono was just turn 1 (the bowl). the vast amount of pavement leading into turn 1 may be enough asphalt to repave ALL of NHMS. something about entering into turn 1 at speeds over 130mph and exiting over 135, was just crazy feeling. i have driven all courses except the east, im told it is more of a slow/medium speed autox.

ted

[chrizz28]

I feel it is a tremendous shame to lose the 2 Canadian events. Both events have certainly been underattended however as it has been brought up, part of this has to do with scheduling (scheduling an event on what is traditionally a family holiday weekend may be an invitation for disaster). Another part has to do with the distance to travel. The club should be looking to not only partner with New England Clubs but maybe NY/NJ/OH/PA clubs who normally would attend an event there OR who don't because they would normally schedule dates at WGI/ Pocono/ Limerock /Thunderbolt+Lightning. Some regions of the PCA for example don't run just Porsche vehicles because they cannot fill their events unless they mix (such as Hudson Champlain or Schattenbaum) Should we approach these clubs with this idea? Some of them have 2-3 WGI events a year... maybe partnering with them on 2 events will give COM members access to 2 WGI events and another Canadian event. (Contact me if we want to pursue this -> chrizz28@hotmail.com )
Not to mention that not schduling an event this year will give us less pull in the future to get a desired date at these tracks. I am sure that members would be willing to give up trophies across the board (Come on, who really needs a trophy?) if it meant keeping another event more viable. Spending over 9k on trophies for the year seems like a poorer decision than losing 7k to run a Mosport event. A raise of just $20 per member per event would also cover much of this loss but I dont think would impact the attendance. Considering that I put almost 450 miles on my car at Mosport this year It became the cheapest event per track mile I attended this year (in spite of attending other clubs where fees are less). Another possibility (I dont know the viability) is running an event without a student group. "Cup and Saucer" PCA events tend to be better attended than regular club events because they draw more "hardcore" guys often from further away. In addition there would be no controversey on instructors paying (or not).
As a member of PCA I know that they know they run events which make money and others which usually lose money. It is a trade off that they have been making since I joined years back. I can see how Calabogie, which lacks any possibility of viability (as much as I enjoyed it) probably makes no sense, but cutting Mosport too seems a bit radical, especially considering the possibility to cut costs in other areas, the possibility to partner with other clubs, and the other options above.

[chaos4NH]

Chris, trophies are a small cost factor, less than two entries worth.

[chrizz28]

Chris, trophies are a small cost factor, less than two entries worth.

Awards total $9,071 for the year... I meant eliminating them across the board for all events. Even if we did year end awards, we could still save a bit of $$...

PCA gives out 50 cent ribbons and noone has any less fun as far as I can tell...

HCP PCA lost $$ on their fall WGI event but made it on their Limerock Event and Cups and Saucers Event... came out ahead for the year...

[chaos4NH]

Lot's of good ideas, and we have been actively pursueing similar ideas for the past few months.
We actually trimmed our trophy budget by 50% from 2007, and I doubt we will replace them with 50 cent ribbons.
Actually, our bread and butter has come from the student days, with sellouts common at our home events.
In better times we even had COM paid social hours and meals, but the many losing events caused us to halt that practice.
For the past 2 or 3 years, we have also been supporting our "losing" tracks with our money makers. Where the rub comes in is having cash on hand to make deposits for reservation of tracks.
I am sure the BOD will consider your ideas, as well as the ideas of the many members who have contributed to our search for the perfect balance of home-away events.
I certainly hope to see you at WGI, Mont-Tremblant and some of our NHMS events in 2009.

[Mario Fallas]

speaking for myself, i would attend a late summer/fall 2 day event @ Mt. Tremblant, midweek or otherwise.

as far as the trophies goes, no point in competition without recognition & it better not be a ribbon
Just my opinion
M.