I agree with you on your opinion of why people won't frequent the event. I
myself felt the same
way before going to an all British Car show with the Healey Sprite with the
home done half-@$$ed
restoration that my friends and I did after the car was wrecked. I did not redo
the engine as
the car runs OK but I am afraid that I would not really wish to bring home the
coveted "Dirtiest
Engine Compartment" award either. The car show that we did compete in was my
first and I would
return to it again next year because of one reason only. NO COMPETITION!!!
that's right, no
trophies, no professional judging, just a bunch of folks who love British cars
and were there to
show off what they had. They had Aston Martins next to 'B's and some cars were
all the way done
and some were not but it didn't matter cuz you were just looking, I had someone
ask to see the
engine compartment, and after explaining the contents, they were shown so that
they would know
where such and such a part was supposed to go. There were no snide remarks that
I heard, no put
downs or criticisms. There was no need for that behavior because there was
nothing to be lost or
gained by it. I went merely to look at others cars and had a blast, about 60-70
cars in the
space of 1/2 a city block. So that is my suggestion to the list, use the money
to get food and
drinks to lure in the curious and have a good time talking about how you got
your car and why
you love it, not bitching and moaning about how you didn't win a scrap of metal
because you
didn't spend X amount of $$$ on the latest and greatest factory option repop.
From what I've
read on the list, we all tight, we all love and work on our own cars. Why try
to compete with a
person with unlimited finances (i.e. Checkbook Mechanic). Why compete at all?
Look at 'em and
Love 'em, that's what they are for. Brad (from the Spridgets List)
wizardz wrote:
> A major problem I've noticed at club events and showS in general is the
> 'cleque-iness' of the events, and the lack of catagories.
> What young kid with his 'coll to him and his friends' daily driver...
> wants to park next to a <1k miles a year $20K restored creamy puff.
>
> There are a lot of people out there (members and non) that don't bother going
> to events because the feel they are looked down on by the rest
> of the members.
>
> I know of quite a few Spits, Healeys B's, etc running around in my
> area (Annapolis/Baltimore/DC area) that won't go because they feel
> they haven't got a chance at any type of recognition at all or are made to
> feel embarrassed by letting others scrutenize the pride and joys.
> Just because some of us can spend $6K-$30K to 'play with a car,
> a lot of owners... I MEAN A LOT OF owners, can bearly maintain their
> $2K total investment car. These ar ethe people we need to give real credit to.
> They are the TRUE lovers these cars. Not the 'egos' represented at most shows.
> ...granted there are many exceptions on both sides of this fence.
>
> I can understand it. With trailer queens and 'less than1K miles a year' cars
> on the field, how could they compete and/or not feel like they are at the low
> end of the totum pole. These are their daily drivers and in most cases
> the only car they can even afford to drive.
>
> If we don't get the younger people involved in the sport/hobby, in 10-20 years
> who will there be to even want to buy YOUR gem when you're too old to
> even be able to get in or out of one anymore.
>
> Clubs need to make a serious effort to get 'the commoner' to bring their
> cars to the show.
> Create classes such as
> * dirtiest engine compartment
> * most rust
> * highest mileage
> * I can't beleive that even runs
> * Ugliest paint
> * Youngest owner/driver
> * Lowest cost$ (proveable)
> Or create events and/or subdivide classes for judging
> such as restored and unrestored.
> Within the unrestored or 'beatup' catagory
> ditribute awards for different reasons.
>
> I truely fear if we do not promote the 'average daily driver' at
> events. You'll slowly see most clubs fall apart as the years go by
> and is already evident by the participation at some events.
>
> Paul Tegler
> OBie - 1973 BGT - Daily Driver
>http://www.teglerizer.com/mgstuff/ob_description.htm
> Rat - 1980 Spitfire w/ O/D - in re-hab
>http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/spit80.htm
> Punkin' - 1978 Spitfire - in Superb Shape!
>http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/spit78.htm
> Greene - 1972 Round Wheel arch MG Midget in the works
> email: wizardz@toad.net http://www.teglerizer.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Curtis Carlson <carlson@navtech.com>
> To: spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
> Date: Tuesday, October 19, 1999 11:50 AM
> Subject: Club Apathy (relatively long)
>
> Friends:
> Lately, our local AH Club has been suffering from some apathy which is
> showing itself in diminishing participation in club activities. Our end of
> the year drive resulted in only 6 cars out of a possible 150 members. This
> last weekend, we held our last Gymkhana and only 4 cars showed up and two of
> them were over an hour late!
>
> Do any of you have any ideas about sparking new interest in club activities?
> Have any of you ever fought with this before? Either successfully or
> unsuccessfully? I'd be interested in ALL ideas, even the ones which didn't
> work. We've wrapped up the driving events for the year now and Gerty will
> go into storage soon, but we still have our annual business meeting coming
> up and planning for the next year is just around the corner. I'm worried
> that we won't get any volunteers to commit to hosting events for the
> upcoming year.
>
> Some ideas I'm considering include:
>
> Door prizes for club activities and give-aways
> Themed activities (4th of July, Boxing Day, Thanksgiving,)
>
> One event which I'd like to host myself for the coming year is a nice summer
> drive which would treat some kids in the local Shriners hospital to a ride
> in a convertible. I have to contact the hospital about that. But we'd need
> a minimum commitment of drivers for that one.
>
> What are some of the events in your clubs which result in the most
> participation and the best response?
>
> Thanks for listening!
> Curt ('n Gert) Soon to be president
>
> Curtis Carlson
> '66 Austin Healey Sprite MkIII ("Gerty") HAN8L-63423
> '72 MG Midget MkIII ("unnamed")
> ________________________
> Research Geographer 612.931.3936 (voice)
> Navigation Technologies 612.931.3937 (fax)
> 5780 Lincoln Dr Ste. 100 612.251.7492 (mobile)
> Edina, MN 55436 carlson@navtech.com
|