Jay Mitchell writes:
>They tried that with Pro Solo at one time, for a season or two.
>I'm not sure if it worked out or not. I have no basic objection
>to this sort of deal, but it's entirely different from what
>Dennis was proposing. It's one thing to offer an entrant a
>discount for working, another entirely to try to hire folks off
>the street. It's still not a panacea. See below.
>
>So what happens if EVERYBODY at an event decides to pay extra not
>to work? Who shags cones, operates timers, does grid, etc., then?
I thinks that's exactly what happened with Pro Solo. Too many people paid the
higher entry which left the
worker base very slim. Those of us who elected to work instead of pay the much
higher entry fees were ask
to work an excessive amount of time. This was an even bigger problem when the
weather was too hot, too
cold or wet. The hosting region was also ask to provide as many nonparticipant
workers as possible
which was a problem for smaller regions.
Another potential problem to be considered before hiring a group of non-SCCA
'cone chasers' would be the
legal ramifications of having non-SCCA people working events. The signed
waiver is fine for those of us who
are honest, respectable people that love and enjoy participating in this sport.
For anyone else, it doesn't hold
water. Five years ago, there were 18 lawsuits pending against the SCCA. In
one particular case the
individual involved was watching the car that had just passed and did not see
that the car behind him was
spinning out of control. The individual was killed instantly. The individual
was not an SCCA member but had
signed the waiver. BIG DEAL! He was still dead and SCCA was still libel. This
accident occurred at a Solo
I event where all safety requirements were in place just as they are at most
regional Solo II events. While it
would be unusually, it is not impossible for a death to occurred at a Solo II
event. We have seen this happen
in years past. Accidents happen. The more likely scenario would be a small
mishap that turns into a big
lawsuit. Most people belive that Big organization= Deep pockets.
The point is an individual that is newly exposed to Solo II:
1. may not have a through knowledge of how the event is run(yes the cars keep
running when a cone goes
down)
2. will probably be fascinated by the cool cars up on two wheels running around
the course
3. will be trying to gain some enjoyment from an activity that is only paying
$5.00 an hour for their time.
Any one of the above could be an accident waiting to happen. Even in Solo II
with all safety considerations
in place, a momentary lapse in attention can be disastrous.
BTW in addition to SCCA, all 'officials' associated with the event mentioned
above, several regional
executives and a multitude of others were individually named in the lawsuit.
I'm not sure how it was settled,
but you may have noticed your national dues went up about three years ago.
Debbi ( Did I just agreed with Jay Mitchell?) Eley
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