New Starters Board

[Dr Goggles]

Hi Members
At this weekends meeting I'll be bringing along the prototype starters board that I've made , it has "slats" of masonite blackboard that slide down to the bottom where they can be pulled out the side.The idea is that the entry that is on the starting line is at the bottom, as it leaves the slat is pulled out the side and the rest drop down . The motivation for it is this .

1. We are short on volunteers and any change to the starting board procedure needs to "run itself", competitors write their name on the slat and then add it to the top of the board or ...the slats could be backed up in a tray if there is a backlog and added from there.

2.There is always the possibility that names can be left off( or added) when they have to be moved down a simple blackboard...people miss out and/or there are allegations of "foul play"...nobody wants or needs that agro.

3.Waiting in leathers or fire suit in the sun to write your name on the board is very trying..dehydrated , hot bothered heads don't make fast ,rational decisions.....that's dangerous .

4.A system that can't be effed with stops people trying( to mess with it) and at the same time stops people wondering if they've been "bumped" ...


If you can't be at the meeting this w/e now's your chance to make suggestions .Remember that anything we do has to work by itself .Short of that I'm not so precious as to think this is perfect .

Suggestions please!

[gennyshovel]

It sounds like a good idea Goggles.Obviously the heat hasn't affected your brain function !
Are the proposed changes to the timing marks on the meetings agenda(from 3 miles on) about to change by march 2006? . I seem to remember reading the timed section(s) may be moved closer to the start?
Cheers Tiny

[hawkwind racing]

Dr its worth a try ,main probs that I have seen to date with the start board are
1. over subscription ,especially mon thru wednesday and the confussion it causes , provided there is enough places and / or provision to store any overflow ,could work ok
2. not so easy to correct ,ppl driving down to start line and placing their name on the board , then returning to the pits preparing their vehicle and then returning ti the start line and expecting to que jump ,causes bad blood your idea will not stop this practice and some rules need to be made to stop it

I believe that all racers and crews should as a part of admittance to race be obliged to volunteer a certian amount of their time to assist with the running of speed week , no exceptions ,some ideas to expidite this could follow this format
1. an adition to the entry form ,listing all the tasks required to make speed week happen ,with each crew nominating a task or tasks they could assist with ,this would provide all the help needed to run the show,taking a load off the usuall suspects who seem to do it all each year , of course it would need to be managed so as all tasks had some volunteers , worth some thought , I think so
2. another possibility , increase the entry substantially for racers and crews not willing or wanting to assist with donating time for tasks to make speed week happen , say $750 per entry , though I do prefer the above option
Gary

[ben james]

i've seen the dr goggles new board it's absolutely perfect. for the last two years i've waited to put my name on that board for about an hour. IT IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. it saps your energy levels and i know if your on a bike you've got a millisecond to correct any bad situation ie rear wheel lockup or tankslapper if you hit a bit of soft salt. please dont' dick around with this this topic on sunday. make it happen. also hawkwind the volunteer idea is a great one. each team should donate someone for four hours work. i'm putting my hand up for it. and take it easy on dr goggles new board idea as he is a bit precious.
regards ben

[momec]

Agreed in total guys

As most of you will have seen me on the start line Cled, Matthew, Cleds other unnamed helpers we work our butts off and all try to be as fair and efficient as possible. Its a very tough job that I always enjoy and 95% of the racers are cool and understanding.
Anything we can do each year to improve the system will help and suggesttions these improvements are welcome. Cled is 101 this year so we can't expect him to keep doing this job forever.

If you or a crew member want to volanteer come and see any of us on the startline and we will spend a couple of hours and teach you the job.
The more trained people we can call on etc," many hands make light work"
The only real problem that sticks in my memory is some teams who send a crew member up to write down a name then sit in the pits till they think the line is short.
This will not be tolerated!
I got volanteered a few years back and found it was a most rewarding job and the best place to view the racing and meet all the racers.

Please volanteer for a job weather its 1 hour or the whole bloody week.
Thats how our club has to run.
Many helpers make it easy and fun for everyone.
Never judge others around you as lots of guys work unnoticed doing stuff that you will not even see on speedweek.
Otherwise user pays as Hawk says.
That would be a shame if it had to come to that.

Sorry can't make the meeting, got a minor back op this Friday which might slow me up for a bit.
Seeya Chris

[Dr Goggles]

I'm gonna kick your Cow-a-Sucky ridin' ass Ben.......

Good points Gary .Everybody knows how hard it is to get there and "bullshit behaviour " shouldn't be tolerated anywhere let alone in the line when you're finally ready to run ( for us that's going to be after an indescribable amount of hard work).....There should be a set of stocks set up in front of the canteen for anyone caught pulling a shifty .

I worked for a volunteer charity for three years running a soup van(yeah,yeah cue the violins) and there are two types , the mean well and the do well....it should be formalised like you said and there should be a premium for entries that don't provide bodies...The immediate criticism of this would be lone wolves who do everything themselves .....proportionately they'd cop it the worst whereas those entries with a heap of taggers would do it easy...But all of us under fifty types need to be aware that we need to pitch in because ...one day.....

Frank turned up today , Gott und Himmel !

[PJQ2]

The new Starters board will be well received and suggestions don't mean someone's having a go at you directly Doc.
I'm sure it's a lovely board.

I'm all for rostered jobs for teams as suggested by Hawk.

It will mean a list of task will need to be drawn up. This should include camp jobs as well as track and race work. Then there's the job of drawing up a roster, based on the entry forms, and probably chasing people up on the day (reminders in the morning for the days roster).

Hawk, I'll put me hand up to help document and organise all this background stuff over the next six weeks. Farrrk, only six weeks!

Chris, hope the op goes well.

[SPOOK]

Great idea Doc,it should work well so on Sunday have it voted in to make it official.Also, to stop the queue jumpers vote in a supplementary regulation that if they do not start after a certain time,lets say 5 minutes,their name goes back into the overflow pile. Any complaints are diected to the Race Director for clarification of the new ruling. End of story. Good luck Rusell.

[Dr Goggles]

...The board thingo got voted in as a goer at the meeting yesterday , now I have to work out how to handle the backlog. The current idea is to make a tray but it might amount to just making one or two more boards.The current one holds 16 places , 32 might do at this stage while I can't imagine there being more than 48 names in line until the meet gets a whole lot bigger....there will also be some "hooks" to hold the exempt cars ....ie: special consideration stuff... John Lynch etc... we'll see how it goes in March I guess.

[hawkwind racing]

...there will also be some "hooks" to hold the exempt cars ....ie: special consideration stuff... John Lynch etc... we'll see how it goes in March I guess.

special consideration stuff WTF pray tell ??
Gary

[Dr Goggles]

Cled , who at the meeting cut short too much speculation by saying " In the end what I say goes" has been mentioning some sort of booking system where cars (and possibly even all 200mphers) "book" a time and run then ...don't ask me ....the main reason appears to be cars that can't be started continually or left running for long.....I know what yr thinkin' punk...but , you know. Someone mentioned the "problem" of bikes riding past them while they are walking up to put their name on the board .I pointed out that that is fair enough because bikes clear the track so much quicker , and most turn off real soon...they should be allowed to "lane split" at the start....

....just the messenger.......

[ben james]

good on ya stew for all your work. as i ride my bike up to the start i'll pass anyone. results of riding a bike in melbourne city, it's a jungle out there. but if i pass any four wheeled competitor they can feel free to get in front of me on the board line.
ben

[Dr Goggles]

........just to clarify that...I'm on the bikes side here , other wise there'll be a line starting at the pits...make that a conga line!

At the meeting on Sunday there was a fair bit of emphasis on the "self enforcement" aspect when questions came up about spectator fees and the like .The issue of people returning to the pits while their name's on the board would come under this too....it's all one boat....if you ain't in the line , you ain't in the line...Chris Hanlon's mention of the amount of unseen work involved gets to the nut of it , anyone who" pushes in" has obviously misunderstood how it all works and needs it explained to them , by one method or another.

[momec]

G'Day guys I'm back.
My back operation went perfectly and I'm up and mobile with some major restritions on what I do over the next six weeks.
This means I will not be racing this year as effectively I have run out of preparation time.
Yes its a bastard but at least I can still walk and theres always next year to race.

This means I can be Cleds 2IC again.

Now lets get this queue thing clear.....
All bribes to be paid at Cleds Caravan at the end of each days racing.
Beers must be cold and Scotch does require ice.

Thanks Chris
btw we will need helpers.

[hawkwind racing]

Good news about the back Chris bad luck about the raceing the car blokes are droping like flies even before turning a wheel better switch to the "real thing" those 2 wheeled wonders cheaper to build , easier to cart to the lake , and mostly faster to boot
Gary