[Autox] Class Participation (Part 3)

[Rocky Entriken]

Re-sending (original too large)...


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rocky Entriken" <rocky at spitfire4.com>
To: <autox at autox.team.net>; "Clemens Burger" <burgerc at iquest.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 6:22 AM
Subject: Re: [Autox] Class Participation (Part 3)


> I'm planning a letter. I visited briefly with Tina Reeves a few weeks ago, 
> and she recommended I wait until around first of the year to send it, when 
> it would get into the next "rules season." Too late (even as of Nationals) 
> to do anything for 2010. We're looking at a 2011 change.
>
> Since then, some may have noticed, the BoD has passed rules in Club Racing 
> that almost exactly match what we want to do in Solo. Including:
> * All National classes (there are 29 now) will race in the Runoffs. Until 
> now only the top 24 or 25 got in.
> * The 2.5 rule which specifies Runoffs eligibility and whether a class 
> will even survive is eliminated -- this parallels Solo's Rule 4.9.
> * Instead of determining what constitutes a viable class, they will now 
> determine what constitutes a National Champion -- the class must have at 
> least 10 entries.
> * Classes that fall below 10 entries will be labeled "supplemental." They 
> still get to race, they still have a winner, but not a champion.
>
> My planned letter to the SEB -- and I had this plan before the BoD action 
> in Club Racing -- is that we quit trying to define what constitutes a 
> class and instead define what constitutes a champion. If a small class 
> shows up, so what? In Club Racing you can only do so many races in a day 
> (and now some of the small classes will be combined with others in a 
> single race). Solo's limiting factor is how many cars we can push through 
> a course in a day and we have yet to get within about 100 of that limit. 
> And now with the Lincoln site there is a new option -- a 3-course 
> Nationals (a given class runs two of the three), which raises the 
> potential entry limit from 1250 to something over 1800, and we may never 
> even get close to that one.
>
> My suggestion will be to eliminate Rule 4.9 and replace it with a 
> definition of a National Champion -- the winner of any class with at least 
> seven competitors. Seven, because that is the number at which we have a 
> full podium, three trophy winners.
>
> This puts it even within reach of Ladies classes, which should also go to 
> eliminating the perennial discussion of whether they should even exist 
> (let 'em run, but winners of 1-car classes are not champions). AND, any 
> class meeting that number, including "supplemental classes," would crown a 
> champion that year. It would also serve as incentive for competitors in 
> light classes to build their classes, without having to fear being 
> eliminated altogether.
>
> The change in Club Racing, and a similar change in Solo if enacted, 
> eliminates the "bubble" altogether. It eliminates the fear factor that 
> becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy and instead becomes a security blanket 
> that allows members to compete without paranoia and greater hope of 
> boosting their numbers -- to work toward positive goals rather than 
> working to ward off negative goals.
>
> The BoD's approval of the Club Racing change demonstrates they would 
> perhaps be of a mind to address the same issue in solo the same way. If 
> you write a letter to the SEB (seb at scca.com), copy it to bod at scca.com. 
> Don't expect the BoD to initiate action -- their action would be to refer 
> it to the SEB --  but you copy them to let them know there is an issue 
> pending and if at such time as the item is sent up to them the BoD would 
> already have some idea of member sentiment.
>
> --Rocky Entriken