[robm]

I picked a heck of a time to start thinking about joining Rally in the US. Had no idea things were so, er, "interesting" with events, the SCCA, and the people involved.

In my life experience, there are some things that I have learned.
1. Change can be difficult
2. Sometimes leading means making unpopular decisions
3. When people associate the blame with specific people, often
there is more going on behind the scenes than what is publicly
known.

I've seen some postings about how things could be better if they were done differently, how Rally in the US is suffering at the hands of only a few people, and many other things on this board that indicate a high level of frustration with the way things are.

Obviously, the SCCA ProRally issue is complex and involves multiple parties (Club, Pro, the SCCA, Manufacturers, event organisers) representing different interests.

My interest in all of this is that I want to understand the scenarios that could play out for the future of US Rally and how that impacts me (sorry, being selfish here) via the impact to the sport itself.

What do you see happening in the future? How would you solve this issue? Have there been any GOOD things the SCCA has done to promote rally lately (it can't all be bad, can it??)

Rob

 

[randyzimmer]

RE: input wanted

I was in your position in 1977 and decided rally wasn't going anywhere very soon and went racing instead. This is a great time for this sport and I'm proud to be involved.
The only thing I want to stress is that this is a super dangerous sport, there is no comparison to racing in that regard. Road racing circuits are ringed with workers who watch every inch of the course and any change of condition is met with a signal to the drivers. Response to an incident is immediate and the hazards to the drivers minimized to every degree possible. My wish for the sport is that there would be more background required before issuing a license, it is wayyyy too easy and experience is gained in a very dangerous way. I hope you enter every type of competition you can possibly get to, TSDs, Solos, Rallycross, circle track and even videogames. Learn everything you can in them all, they all matter in rally and get ready to have a great (but terrifying) experience.
rz

 

[Jerry Brownell]

Where is rally going in the U.S.? There are a lot of different scenarios that could play out. I don't see the stuation as being as bad as some think. We are a huge country and the fan base is growing exponentially. It would be growing (but not as fast) even if we weren't racing here at all. Video games and coverage of WRC has exposed the young masses to our sport more than we have done ourselves. I think about how many times I've told people what I do and they say, "yeah, I've seen it on T.V., but I didn't know there were rallies in the U.S.."

Because we are such a large country, I expect some people with more organizational skills than me will step forward and create some regional sanctioning bodies, rallying will grow, more fans will get hooked, and it will feed on itself. It's clear that sanctioning events that take a huge amount of coordination is not a strong suit of the SCCA.

Do I see this happening in the next couple of years? No. The next decade? Maybe so.

 

[jss]

Don't be discouraged and you will have fun. Most of us are out there
for the FUN and the competition. Some just ignore the rantings and
go back to working on their car. Others get right in there and "debate" the issues. Sometimes good things come out of the "debates"
and other times is actually hurts the sport. We all hope that events
continue to exist and hope for more in our area. Hoepfully, the rest
work out as well. Welcome aboard....

 

[Greg Donovan]

we are in a transitional stage and the next few years are going to be crucial to the future of rally in the US. right now there is a small group of people in each region that have been doing a hell of a job but doing all the work. they are getting close to being burnt out but love the sport and dont want to quit (and shouldnt). to help them we need to get more volunteers and more new organizers that care and want to work hard. sure there is no financial reward but there is pride in a job well done. really thats about the only reward in rallying righ now anyway except for maybe a trophy or a t-shirt. there should be way more than 6 topics on the organizer conference especially now. that is where this rim stuff should be. when was the last time any of you all ( i mean everyone that visits this site) looked at the organizer conference?
my advice is to join up it is not as bad as it sounds get some seat time learn how to codrive get involved at the organizational level and have some fun and not necessarily in that order. fun should be in there every other word. and in the immortal words of al kintigh get the rule book read the rule book read the rule book read the rule book read the rule book read the rule book and read the rule book. yes i meant to type that that many times. if you ask him he will say it more than that.
-greg