2005 Venue Part II, shit! Options

[Howard]

Ron, love you, and think your poll on the tech forum sucks. Asking "How far would you drive to have exclusive 914 club track use for one day?" would probably get a far different response. I know you and toast want to do an AX and and have it closer to your homes, so find it and we will come.

But it does show where the power comes from in the club. The bay area guys ARE the club, and will dictate what we can or can't do anyway; venue, sponsors, even using the 914world.com name. I was going to post this as a response on the main forum, but will keep it here. None of the Bay area 'leaders' have contributed to the planning, or even visited the forum as far as I know.

I will not use my credit card for deposits to secure the track or accomodations and will not proceed until we all agree AND get admin's approval on how, when, and where to hold this event.

Even if all this happens, I will not sign the application for track or AX rental. The unlimited liability exposure is too scary. And personally, I would rather not have track or AX at all, just a fun few days. I get in plenty of track time, and after running on the track AX is a lot less satisfying.

Here's the unposted post:

Where are we going here? Brad and Dave, please visit the 2005 planning forum.

1] I can't easily put on an AX because of insurance issues
2] Track vs AX. I don't remember anyone breaking their car at Laguna Seca, a much faster track than Streets of Willow.
3] Willow would not be a timed event, just a bit of sporty driving without CHP or oncoming (hopefully) cars.
4] As Slits says, 3 groups of novice/touring, amateur, and racer boys have the track to themselves.
5] Delete word 'Compete'. This is for fun.
6] IMHO you can do far more damage to your car in timed AX than untimed open track driving.
7] In my not so humble opinion, AX is like throwing a temper tantrum in a closet. Open track is like dancing in the moonlight.

[Jeroen]

Whooaaaa Batman... I just read this thread
Chill out guys/gals.

There are no absolute powers within 914world.com
That's what makes it good. We're not a real club, so, no boss and no politics

I'll just shoot off some pointers here about what happened last year

Venue / location
The 2004 event was planned around the AX. Because that was the hardest thing to get done.
So what ever the "big" event of the 2005 WCC is gonna be, plan the rest around that
I can't comment much on any location anywhere, because I'm far from local (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) but remember that in 2004, the AX was quite a bit away from the Pruneyard Inn, and I didn't hear anybody complain about it...
Actually, none of the events were really close to the Pruneyard Inn.

Track or AX?
Well, basically, it's your party so you decide (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
For those sceptical, just remember that a trackday is NOT racing. It's driving fast under controled conditions.
Since it is OUR track day, we can decide how "wild" it's gonna be, by setting rules for overtaking, setting up classes based upon experience, etc. etc.
I can't comment on liability issues, but since Howard is in the insurance business, I think he can judge that best anyway.
Please do remember that who ever books the track (or what ever) will be financially responsible, so if 5 people show up when you thought there'd be at least 50, you are fucked. That's one of the drawbacks of not being a real club

Finances
Have a chat with Jeff Bowlsby. He took care of them in 2004.
He can give you a good idea about what to expect (specially on those expenses that you don't think of)

Sponsorship
I lured in most of the sponsors last year.
I started with the 3 positions on the rallye shield. Those were gone within 15 mins after sending out some e-mails
That tells me I offered them too cheap (they went for $100 a piece).
After that, we decided to do an other "run" and got more (we put those on the back of the shirt - again, for $100 each)
Some paid cash, some paid in parts that were raffled (and quite a few of the donated parts valued more that $100)
Remember. These sponsors were found in about 2 weeks all together, very shortly before the event.
Why should you hold back on sponsors for now? Have a good plan for the event first, so you can actually offer your sponsors something substantial. That way you can lure in more money.
Whether you want big bucks sponsors or go for more smaller ones like we did in 2004 is up to you.
I'm sure most of 2004's sponsors will contribute again and new ones will be easy since we've got some leverage with the 2004 event (wait till the next issue of Excellence)

Lodging / Social stuff
One of the only things lacking in 2004 (IMO) was the posibility to hang out together AFTER the days events (I guess we just didn't think of that).
See if there is some way to arrange dinners and make sure the hotel has a decent lobby/bar.
The fact that I didn't get drunk with my 914 buddies at the WCC was the only disapointment (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
We should fix that for 2005

Events / Activities
Some said that as long there are cars and people, it'll be ok. I think I have to disagree on that.
Yes, the social aspect is the most important, but if you only get to stand next to the cars, people will be bored out of their sculls at the end of day 1 and will prolly leave half way day 2
It doesn't have to be much, but there has to be something to DO. Try make the program as diverse as possible. If you have too much of the same type of activities, you will only draw a certain crowd. I think that was one of the best things about 2004. There was something to do for EVERYBODY.

That's all I have to say for now...

Oh, and most important. Organizing this thing should be at least as much fun as participating, so relax a little (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool_shades.gif)

cheers,

Jeroen