Here's my official position as SFR Solo 2 Region Chief. It may or may not
agree with the opinions or positions of other Steering Committee members, the
Steering Committee as a whole or the Region's Board of Directors.
Thank God for AAS, NASA, Sac and Fresno Chapters, Marque clubs and anyone
else who gives SFR Solo 2 competition and provides other places for
autocrossers to play!!! There is room for all of us (organizers) to have
successful events at various levels and serve the varying needs and
commitment levels of all the autocrossers in Northern California (who
probably number somewhere between 1000 and 2000.)
At this point in time, SFR has asphalt sites that are in the Bay Area proper
and Stockton, plus concrete at Marina. Some of us will choose to go where
it's hotter and distant for concrete practice, others will choose the NASA
series at Marina or the closeness of Golden Gate Fields, Oakland Coliseum, or
Candlestick Park. Life is full of choices.
Remember that no one is getting rich organizing an autocross series. We
volunteer our time because we love the sport and want to do our part to see
it continue. Most of you don't have the same commitment level as those of us
that make the (sometimes tough) decisions. We do what we consider to be in
the best interest of the sport as we see it. When I disagree with someone
over how things should be done, conflicts between different series, etc. I
try to remember that the person with whom I'm disagreeing is simply looking
at things from a different perspective, but is also trying to do what's best
for the sport as THEY see it.
You may think we "just decide to do things a certain way." While you're
debating it on ba-autox, we're listening, and discussing the same issues, and
then we discuss them in our meetings. We believe we give every issue its due
before making a decision.
The SFR Steering Committee members have seen autocrossing with too little
light and too few runs for later groups. We've seen an influx of casual
competitors who don't care about series competition, who do not give their
time, but only take from the sport, who do not care to take their work
assignments seriously, and some of whom do things that might even lose us our
Bay Area sites. So now we have a requirement for SCCA members only, and
we've now decided that you can't just decide to show up and run on the spur
of the moment, that you'll have to join SCCA and wait for the proof of that
membership to come out and run with us. Yes, it was friendlier before and
we'd love to have nice relaxed events with lots of runs, great weather,
concrete, etc. but we make do with what we have. Sometimes we have to make
decisions that don't sit well with a percentage of our audience. I think
this decision WILL please those who have supported the series because they
will probably get 3 runs for every Slush event and not have to run in
darkness. That's about the best we can do at this time.
If you think we're picking on you, or have decided to exclude you personally,
you are wrong. We welcome as many people as we can handle. If you think
there's a better way, come to a Steering Committee meeting and watch the
process. you might even decide to join and make your contribution.
Charlie Davis
SFR Solo 2 Chief
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