"Loren Williams" <Loren@kscable.com> wrote:
>
>What are other regions/clubs doing? Is there any good
>philosophy behind why you're doing it?
Our local club is $15 for members, $20 for SCCA
members, and $25 for everybody else. We need about
52 drivers to break even, and sadly have only been
drawing 45-60 competitors to each event. Our site
can only paddock about 80 cars, so this might not
be a bad thing.
In the 5 years that I've been a member, we've
taken several cost-cutting measures. Genuine
trophies ($3.00+) were replaced with silk-screened
glassware ( < $1.00). This year, we sent out
only a few event flyers listing several upcoming
events, instead of sending one flyer for each event.
(Each flyer mailing is $132!) Some would argue that
not sending out flyers has resulted in losing 10 cars
at each event, but the crappy weather this season
probably had more to do with it. We're considering
postcards for next year, trimming even more off of
the postage.
There has been a debate to change our registration
paperwork for next year, adding a checkbox for
entrants to request mailed results. Currently,
everyone gets them, adding $30 to the cost of running
an event. Asking those who want results to provide
an SASE is also under consideration. The results
are on the web site, and it seems that mailed results
(and flyers for that matter) are only for those without
net access recently.
One big sticking point is dash plaques. The club's
"old-timers" are not willing to part with that $85
expense at every event. In my travels over the past
few years, I know of only two other clubs still giving
out dash plaques. I'm torn on this issue, but the
possibility of never seeing another "The Big Johnson
Event" dash plaque is sad. There are a lot of
regulars that come to every event without the hope
of ever winning a trophy, and they consider the
dash plaques to be their trophy.
Just pointing out the options to cut costs instead of
raising the entry fees, in case you overlooked them.....
-Arthur ("Next thing to go will be the topless dancers
at the course worker stations" edition.)
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