I hadn't actually gotten around to reading Steve Johnson's infamous memo
until today, but after reading it, I don't find it threatening at all. I
don't have a pipeline into Steve Johnson's head, but after a few years in
the world of corporate consulting, the intent is pretty clear.
Association of the SCCA with any event has a significant meaning, both in
terms of the club's reputation and legal responsibility. Section 1.1 of the
SIIR says that certain portions of the rulebook -- in particular, those
related to safety -- "are mandatory in all Solo II events that a Region
solely or jointly organizes, conducts, sanctions, or otherwise cooperates as
a Region in organizing." That's got some teeth in it from a risk management
point of view, because the insurance rates (or maintenance of an insurance
policy at all) are in part predicated on following those standards. Other
organizations can, and do have different standards -- for instance, most of
the events in the multi-club series in my area don't have a dedicated safety
steward position, because none of the other clubs sponsoring events require
such as measure. That doesn't prevent SCCA members from participating as
individuals, but events in the same series that are sponsored or assisted by
the local SCCA region *do* have a safety steward, because one of the
mandatory sections of the SIIR says they must.
Likewise, the SCCA attempts to maintain a certain image in motorsports. The
memo's message was: protect it, even when partnering with or lending a hand
to other sanctioning bodies. It certainly *doesn't* mean don't play with
other organizations -- the road-racing side of the club has been partnering
with other sanctioning bodies for decades, and for a long time, the SCCA
profited from the association. But if, for instance, an SCCA region
partnered up for an event with the newly-formed Billy-Bob's Autocross
Series, and things didn't go well, whose image would suffer more? In
autocross, the Solo II rules are also part of the club's reputation -- they
are the current de facto standard for the sport. That's a rather
substantial piece of intellectual property, and should be protected as such.
Again, that doesn't mean other organizations shouldn't, can't, or don't use
them, but with full recognition (and credit) to the SCCA.
Autocross is a fairly laid-back sport -- we tend to identify with our fellow
drivers more than with the organizations we all belong to. I think
Johnson's aware of the casual alliances regional Solo programs tend to form
with those in other clubs -- which shows he's paying attention to the sport
and the way it works, something I find very encouraging! With a serious
national-level sanctioning body standing up, he's trying to anticipate
cooperation and maintain the SCCA's strengths, which is, after all, what
members are paying him to do.
Jamie
'92 Prelude Si
Speed Demon Racing
http://www.mindspring.com/~jsculerati/sdr
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