Post by jamesfeinberg on Jul 26, 2006 22:37:48 GMT -5
I’ve posted this on the forums of all the clubs involved in this year’s NCAC. My intent is to define what the true intent and spirit of the club cup as I see it. Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I’ve had the privilege of running with all 5 clubs in the state and I’ve been a member of at least 3 for several years running. I’ve probably bumped into 75% of the active auto-x’ers in the state at one time or another. While I don’t pretend to have all the answers, I do feel like I have a unique perspective on the situation.
I was involved in the creation of the club cup concept at the beginning of the year and wound up being responsible for the current points system we will be using. For various reasons unrelated to auto-x’ing, I backed off my involvement in the process and I believe that led to some of the misunderstandings we experienced between clubs. In fact, I feel comfortable shouldering *all* of the blame in what transpired and if anybody ever wants to chat about it, please feel free to talk to me at an event. I’m sure I’ll be bumping into nearly all of you at sometime in the future.
With that said, let me commend the current officers of the various clubs for reaching a mutual understanding and participating in what I think will be an awesome event. I stayed clear of the controversy the past few months and I’m grateful to see it get cleared up. Unfortunately, I see a similar controversy brewing over the club cup and I’d like to nip that in the bud as soon as possible. I think it is imperative that the club officers get together and decide on what the “rules” of the cup will be. I’m sure we will not agree on everything but I’m confident we can all act like adults and reach a compromise if need be.
So what do I think the club cup should represent? Well, I’m glad you asked.
1. Have fun!!! Let’s face it, none of us are getting paid to do this.
2. It should provide an incentive for everybody to come out and represent their club in the biggest event of the year in NC. Everybody should show some pride in their club and want to play whether or not they think they have a chance to take home a trophy.
3. It should allow everybody in the various clubs to get out of their own sandbox and experience something different. Who knows, it may motivate people to travel to other clubs on a regular basis and show that we are all the same even if we do things a little differently.
4. It should raise the “game” of everybody in the state fostering better competition across the board. Let’s show some pride in our state and quit all this club to club bickering. We have some awesome drivers in this state so let’s work towards making *all* of us better. Is there anybody out there who doesn’t want to become a better driver? I didn’t think so…
5. It should reward individual members of the clubs with a greater sense of accomplishment than competing for their local trophies. While local trophies are great and all and I’m in no way trying to diminish their value, let’s try to focus on a bigger picture for a change.
Given that, how can we best structure the club cup such that it serves the *members* of the individual clubs and the state as a whole? I’ve been through all the scenarios in my head and this is what I think would be most fair. Feel free to pick it apart or add suggestions as you see fit. I probably won’t participate in any forum discussions mainly because I feel it is ultimately up to the officers to decide (that’s why they were elected in the first place, no?) and I have a distaste in general for web forums. While I think they are great for general banter and a terrific source for troubleshooting information or advice, I don’t think anything important can be decided through the noise.
I’m not going to repeat the points structure as they have already been proposed and seemingly accepted. My main purpose is to decide eligibility requirements so that it is fair to everybody in the state. OK, so who is eligible in my mind?
1. Any current dues-paying member of any NC club.
2. Members must run at least 2 local events of any club they wish to represent within the calendar year. This need not be prior to the NCAC and considering this sport is mostly self-policing, I would expect people to honor that if they haven’t yet competed in 2.
3. No “honorary” memberships should be given out in an attempt to recruit ringers. See #1.
4. Any out of state individual can participate as long as they are truly a member of the club they are representing. See #1 again. Now this gets a little sticky with the SCCA affiliated clubs such as CCR and NCR. If you are an SCCA member but live in another state, can you represent one of those 2? I am inclined to say yes as long as you have paid some dues to that club and have run with them. See #1 and #2.
Is this fair? I think so. I feel like I’m missing something from when I was thinking about it earlier in the year so I may come back and add it if it pops to mind.
A few people have brought to my attention several attempts to recruit people to make the event and help bring home the cup to their club. In general, I have no problem with that as long as they meet the criteria laid out above. I think it is brilliant that CCR is offering a “bounty” to any members that bring home a first or second place finish in the event. Good for them!
What I don’t want to see is people brought in specifically to take points away from other clubs that have no real affiliation with any club in the state. This is supposed to be a state-centric event after all. And let’s face it, every club in the state has ties to “outsiders” that could easily be brought in to stack the deck. If it comes down to that, I predict the entire thing falling apart and the cross-club bickering to rise to a new level. Anybody think I’m wrong on that point?
So come out and support your club!!! Let’s make this the best event we possibly can and build on the great job CCR and Triad did the past 2 years. At the end of the year, I really hope the club officers can get together and make this next year’s event one that is truly independent of any club but yet designed to bring us all together. I’d love to see next year’s event one in which every club contributes financially along with being a “local” points event for everybody. Imagine the participation!
Sorry about the length of the post and I hope you made it this far.
Thanks for listening,
Jim Feinberg
- world’s worst auto-x VP
I was involved in the creation of the club cup concept at the beginning of the year and wound up being responsible for the current points system we will be using. For various reasons unrelated to auto-x’ing, I backed off my involvement in the process and I believe that led to some of the misunderstandings we experienced between clubs. In fact, I feel comfortable shouldering *all* of the blame in what transpired and if anybody ever wants to chat about it, please feel free to talk to me at an event. I’m sure I’ll be bumping into nearly all of you at sometime in the future.
With that said, let me commend the current officers of the various clubs for reaching a mutual understanding and participating in what I think will be an awesome event. I stayed clear of the controversy the past few months and I’m grateful to see it get cleared up. Unfortunately, I see a similar controversy brewing over the club cup and I’d like to nip that in the bud as soon as possible. I think it is imperative that the club officers get together and decide on what the “rules” of the cup will be. I’m sure we will not agree on everything but I’m confident we can all act like adults and reach a compromise if need be.
So what do I think the club cup should represent? Well, I’m glad you asked.
1. Have fun!!! Let’s face it, none of us are getting paid to do this.
2. It should provide an incentive for everybody to come out and represent their club in the biggest event of the year in NC. Everybody should show some pride in their club and want to play whether or not they think they have a chance to take home a trophy.
3. It should allow everybody in the various clubs to get out of their own sandbox and experience something different. Who knows, it may motivate people to travel to other clubs on a regular basis and show that we are all the same even if we do things a little differently.
4. It should raise the “game” of everybody in the state fostering better competition across the board. Let’s show some pride in our state and quit all this club to club bickering. We have some awesome drivers in this state so let’s work towards making *all* of us better. Is there anybody out there who doesn’t want to become a better driver? I didn’t think so…
5. It should reward individual members of the clubs with a greater sense of accomplishment than competing for their local trophies. While local trophies are great and all and I’m in no way trying to diminish their value, let’s try to focus on a bigger picture for a change.
Given that, how can we best structure the club cup such that it serves the *members* of the individual clubs and the state as a whole? I’ve been through all the scenarios in my head and this is what I think would be most fair. Feel free to pick it apart or add suggestions as you see fit. I probably won’t participate in any forum discussions mainly because I feel it is ultimately up to the officers to decide (that’s why they were elected in the first place, no?) and I have a distaste in general for web forums. While I think they are great for general banter and a terrific source for troubleshooting information or advice, I don’t think anything important can be decided through the noise.
I’m not going to repeat the points structure as they have already been proposed and seemingly accepted. My main purpose is to decide eligibility requirements so that it is fair to everybody in the state. OK, so who is eligible in my mind?
1. Any current dues-paying member of any NC club.
2. Members must run at least 2 local events of any club they wish to represent within the calendar year. This need not be prior to the NCAC and considering this sport is mostly self-policing, I would expect people to honor that if they haven’t yet competed in 2.
3. No “honorary” memberships should be given out in an attempt to recruit ringers. See #1.
4. Any out of state individual can participate as long as they are truly a member of the club they are representing. See #1 again. Now this gets a little sticky with the SCCA affiliated clubs such as CCR and NCR. If you are an SCCA member but live in another state, can you represent one of those 2? I am inclined to say yes as long as you have paid some dues to that club and have run with them. See #1 and #2.
Is this fair? I think so. I feel like I’m missing something from when I was thinking about it earlier in the year so I may come back and add it if it pops to mind.
A few people have brought to my attention several attempts to recruit people to make the event and help bring home the cup to their club. In general, I have no problem with that as long as they meet the criteria laid out above. I think it is brilliant that CCR is offering a “bounty” to any members that bring home a first or second place finish in the event. Good for them!
What I don’t want to see is people brought in specifically to take points away from other clubs that have no real affiliation with any club in the state. This is supposed to be a state-centric event after all. And let’s face it, every club in the state has ties to “outsiders” that could easily be brought in to stack the deck. If it comes down to that, I predict the entire thing falling apart and the cross-club bickering to rise to a new level. Anybody think I’m wrong on that point?
So come out and support your club!!! Let’s make this the best event we possibly can and build on the great job CCR and Triad did the past 2 years. At the end of the year, I really hope the club officers can get together and make this next year’s event one that is truly independent of any club but yet designed to bring us all together. I’d love to see next year’s event one in which every club contributes financially along with being a “local” points event for everybody. Imagine the participation!
Sorry about the length of the post and I hope you made it this far.
Thanks for listening,
Jim Feinberg
- world’s worst auto-x VP
