Hi Lorenzo, long time no talk <grin>.
Here in Atlanta we were averaging 75-80 drivers per event 4 years ago. We
had 2 run groups and everyone was running or working all day long.
When I came aboard as co-chair we started to change some things. The
first thing we did was to go to 4 run groups and ran 2 in the morning and
2 in the afternoon. Our "Team Solo" committee were wringing their hands
for fear we wouldn't have enough workers from each heat. However, our
driver count jumped up to an average of 110 that year. Why? Lots of
people don't like to take all day to run an event.
Last year we moved to downtown Atlanta to run at Turner Field where the
Atlanta Braves play baseball. The central location brought drivers out of
the woodwork and we were swamped with 220 drivers our first event. We
expanded to 6 run groups and tried desperately to cope with the huge
turnout. We learned that 6 run groups are too many and cut back to 5 this
year. We run 2 groups in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. The smaller
number of registering drivers in the morning helps us get started earlier
(I remember one event last year when we registered 130 drivers for the
morning session!!). We also bumped the entry fee from $20 to $25 for
members and from $25 to $30 for non-members. However, we are giving
everyone 33% more runs (from 3 to 4) but gave everyone the opportunity to
run this year for last year's rate by purchasing a season pass. We had 25
drivers pay $200 for a season ticket for the 10 points events.
This seems to be working. We've had 2 points and 1 fun event this year.
Both points events had about 175 drivers. Sunday we started cars at 9:40
AM and everyone got 4 runs and we finished before 5 PM. The morning
session registers between 7:30 and 8:30, first car out at 9:30 (our goal)
and they were finished by 12:20 PM. The afternoon session registers
between 11 AM and 12 Noon. First car was on course by 1 PM.
BTW, we make everyone run with their class if they want to get points.
Last year we were more lenient and ended up with some really lopsided
group sizes. However, we do have morning and afternoon Novice classes, so
Novices may choose which session to run (we distribute the novices evenly
between the groups). We also allow competitors to run for Time Only
either morning or afternoon and we allow competitors to purchase a second
set of runs AFTER they have made their points runs.
Bear in mind that the Atlanta area has 4 million people so when the word
gets out about our fine sport we have a crush of people.
Here is a sample of our run/work order from last Sunday (you will notice
that we try to group like vehicles together as much as possible):
2001 Atlanta SCCA Solo II Series- Points #2
April 8, 2001
Today's Run/Work Order
Morning Session - Registration & Tech at 7:30 a.m. First car out at 9:30
a.m.
Work order: 1. Orange, 2. Green
Green Group: CS, DS, ES, HS, AP, DP, EP, FP, KMjr
Orange Group: STS, STR, SM
Afternoon Session - Registration & Tech at 11:00 a.m. First car out at
about 12:30 p.m.
Work order: 1. Blue, 2. Red, 3. Yellow
Red Group: BS, ASP, CSP, DSP, FSP
Yellow Group: GS, OSP, AM, BM, CM, DM, EM, FM, KM
Blue Group: SS, AS, FS, BSP, ESP, BP, CP
From: Larry Steckel <lorenzoscribe@hotmail.com>
To: autox@autox.team.net <autox@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2001 10:02 AM
Subject: Event organization question.
>My local club, North Hills Sports Car Club, has always ran events in
>numerical order. Car #1 thru #100 and then start over for the second
run.
>Steel Cities uses a heat system where you work a heat, sit out a heat
and
>run a heat. The net result is you are at the event all day, and can
have
>time to socialize and watch the other competitors. And I see that as a
>positive side of autocross.
>
>However, I know from the discussion here at Team.Net and from chatting
with
>fellow cone crunchers I have met along the way that some clubs use a
system
>where you come in, register, do your three or four runs and can then
leave.
>So, in effect, the club is running two or three small events within the
>framework of a one day event at their lot. The competitor has some
choice I
>assume as to when they come out and run.
>
>My multiple part question to y'all is; if your club runs in this
fashion,
>how do you organize this type of autocross? By that I mean, do you put
stock
>cars in the morning and mods etc. in the afternoon session? Or is it a
>certain number of cars per session on a first come first served basis?
Is
>Registration and Tech open all day? How do you get enough workers to
>adequately cover the stations all day? I am interested in learning the
>techniques you have found to make this type of multiple session
autocross
>format work.
>
>As usual, thanks in advance for the collective wisdom of all you
>Team.Netters.
>
Ben Thatcher
Apex Benefit Services & Motorsports
Stockbridge, GA
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