John Kelly wrote:
> As the rule book spells out a minimum size for numbers, it would be my
> suggestion we don't let anybody run whose numbers don't meet the spec. AND,
> there are also requirements for a class designation. This MUST apply to our
> go-kart drivers too.
I respectfully disagree. I checked every kart to see if that was the
problem. We all have _very_ clear numbering and very different numbers
on at least 3 sides. Some of us even have a 4th number plate on the rear.
Almost all of us have dark black numbers on a solid white background. This
is for kart sprint races too and they don't have problems there. Most of
the 2 driver juniors also have their numbers on their helmets. Even when
I went into the trailer to say the number and the drivers name, they still
ended up with the wrong card.
We were accused of having unreadable numbers on day 1 at Nationals this
year after we had all made a specific point to make them extra clear.
Pauly Whitney came over to ask us to make them clearer while we were in
impound and then when she looked over _all_ the karts she couldn't find
a single problem with any of them. And the problem didn't happen on day
two. Sometimes the trailer just gets out of sync and it's easy to blame
the karts.
What I think the problem was on Sunday, was the communication from the
starter to the card sorter. I was listening to the starter and he was
giving the correct numbers to the trailer. But somehow the cards never
flowed the right way. Then, when a couple of the juniors spun out and
didn't trip the finish lights, the timer operator never recovered and
the cards got even more confused. My personal pet peeve and the reason
I wrote the instructions that are pasted below the timer that would have
prevented me from getting 2 reruns!
Now, never let it be said that I complain without offering a solution:
What worked for group 1 was having the starter and card sorter on a
different channel than the course traffic. And having the card sorter
place the cards in front of the announcer in proper order. That
eliminates a lot of the passing back and forth. An experienced card
sorter will only give as much cards to the announcer and scorer that
they need and keep the rest to themselves. Our group went fine once
we adapted (I agree, Charlie) to the conditions and decided to implement
the starter/sorter radio... the first few cars before that were difficult
but as soon as we did this we had only 2 problems for the rest of the
large heat. With 281 drivers, we should be able to have a reasonably
experienced timing crew for every heat. If not, maybe we should adjust
the run groups a little so that the current experienced people aren't
grouped together (if that's possible)
> By doing this and not letting anybody run that can't be identified we
> should further reduce our administration problems.
I agree that numbering should be as clear as possible, and the karts do
everything they can.
Numbers should definitely be a tech item. But... that means tech needs
to have paper, pens, tape, or whatever available to get it fixed then
and there.
> Further, sometimes an event chair has to say "No" to the heart-wrenching
> stories. If you can't do your chores at the appointed hours, it's time to
> consider preparing for the next event or not coming at all. Because of our
> large crowd of members, income is not a problem. BUT, staging a well-run
> event is a problem and we need everybody's help.
Absolutely.
> White numbers on a yellow car door do not pass muster, especially when
> another number is an entirely different color and highly visible.
I agree.
Perhaps we could buy a few sets of magnetic numbers from Solotime in various
colors just for rookie use. Of course, the problem there is making sure
they get returned, but I'm sure we could write "Property of SFR SCCA" on
them in permanent pen or something.
White on silver is also not a good choice.
--D
|