John Kelly wrote:
> I think courses with "unclear areas" do a disservice to our
> members, especialy new people who have been known to DNF all
> three runs and go home disheartened. This is NOT the way to
> continue building a program, especially a financially
> successful one. Only the tobacco industry can get away with
> killing its customers.
>
> And, unclear areas are dangerous because it leaves
> the potential for a driver with foot on the floor to travel
> into another vehicle on course.
I think it's important to separate safety from making beginners feel
good. They can be realted, but they are not inseperable. I don't think
anyone wants a course that lends itself to people getting killed. It
also doesn't seem like we've got a problem with too few participants.
I think it is just as much a disservice to our members to design every
single course to be beginner-friendly. It's only by challenging
ourselves that we improve. "Unclear" is in the eye of the beholder, but
I don't think that making the course "clear" should be our highest
priority (safety issues notwithstanding, of course).
I had a blast at my first nationals this year, but man do I wish that
more SFR courses were nationals-style as far as layout, composition, and
speed. I was simply unprepared for the speed of some of the corners, as
well as unused to reading more challenging courses. I fisished #32 out
of 44 in my class, and was lucky to do that well!
Then this weekend I had a great day at GGF. I felt very comfortable with
the course. Sure, partly because I drove the south course at nats, but
also because that experience taught me to look farther ahead, to be
comfortable with tossing the car around at higher speeds, and (most
importantly) to be patient sometimes and go a bit slower in one part to
set up a faster part better.
To me, it seems that our local events should prepare people for
nationals, not the other way around. Surprise and challenge me here so
I stand a chance against real competition, please!
Cheers
-b
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