Classic 2CV Racing Club

Classic 2CV Racing Club Ltd Forum => Announcements => Topic started by: Mervyn Rundle on March 23, 2014, 13:44:37

Title: Seasons start and some answers
Post by: Mervyn Rundle on March 23, 2014, 13:44:37
We are now approaching round one of the season in just over a weeks time and I am pleased to say that the entries are in and posted up.  Its a good grid and there will be some exciting racing 

In the meantime whilst you all devour the entry list to see who is driving with who I wanted to answer some rumblings of discontent from the east which I have noticed on the forum.  Questions have been asked about pricing and website in particular.

In terms of pricing the racing your board faces a dilemma each year.  On the one hand we have to agree a fixed price but without knowing how many competitors will enter.  We are playing with quite large sums of our money – in rough terms the sprints this year will be in the region of £29000.00 and the 24hr could be as much as £50000.00.  It doesn't take the brains of a rocking horse to work out that if the club gets its numbers wrong we could easily be in big financial trouble very quickly or we could price our entries out of the market.  In view of this your board's approach is rightly cautious -  each race should wash its face financially and that over a season the club should aim to make a small surplus.  It seems to us a dangerous strategy to automatically subsidise a season as some have suggested just because we have some reserves.  Our view is that the club's reserves, built up over a number of years, are there to advance the club and to protect it in times of unforeseen difficulty.  I myself have always been worried by the comments made at the AGM some years ago (before I became chairman) when it was acknowledged that the 24 hour race was subsidising the sprint season but that in order to make the 24 hour race viable we would need to invite another class to swell our numbers.  Just  think that through for a moment.  How long would the club last if that was our financial strategy year on year?
This year the board, under Aubrey's guidance as treasurer, looked at the figures and came up with the initial pricing, announced after Christmas.  In essence it was based on the known costs divided by the likely number of entrants.  The "all in" early bird discount was offered to get people to commit to the season and to assist with cashflow.  It was without doubt the board's hope to offer the Pembrey endurance for free and to be able to reduce the price of the 24 hour however detailed negotiations with BARC indicated that this would not be possible.  In response to a Gadget posting in February the board looked again at the costs of the Pembrey weekend for those not taking the early bird and the decision was taken to reduce it.  At the same time the prospect of an additional race at Oulton came along priced at £50.00.  It was decided that the early bird price would stay just same because it was for all the races but a note to illustrate this would be put on the form.  The effect though would be that the bonus extra race at Oulton for early birders would be free. Your board didn't think than anyone on the early bird would turn down an extra 20 min race and associated qualifying within the same price but perhaps free isn't cheap enough?
The issue of discounts and loyalty rewards is a difficult choice if we want to be fair to everyone.  We want to reward those who race regularly but on the other hand loyalty discounts often appear to penalise new drivers who are just getting started.   Double discounting in the past has also impacted on the seasons costs.  This year your board decided that the fairest way to deal with this was to offer the early bird incentive for those who do the whole season but not to weight the pricing in any other way. 

Let's move on to the website.  Yes, there will be some changes because for some time now it has been clear that a few people use the forums to make unfounded comments, some of which are defamatory.  Worse still such postings can be made anonymously so that even the moderators don't know who is posting.  There have been totally unfounded allegations against specific people of cheating, lying and theft.  I don't think that's fair to anyone whether on the board or an individual member and if the club were sued it wouldn't have much of a defence.  Indeed its quite possible that your club reserves would be squandered on either damages or legal costs.  Moreover its possible to have have multiple aliases so some people can just raise mischief when it suits.  In light of this your board has decided that if you wish to be a "keyboard warrior" then you will have to reveal who you are.  In other words, if you genuinely hold your opinions however controversial then be big enough to take responsibility and put your name to them.  .  Members will still be able to keep their "tag" but your real name and email address will be available in the underlying field information.  That seems fair to all of us and if we meet up at the track in person then at least we all know where we stand. 
There is also the issue of non-members and your boards decision regarding this is really a follow on from what I have said above.  We are sticking our neck out as a club if we permit anonymous non-members to make what could be defamatory postings on our website or to try to involve themselves in the decision making of the club.  I may be missing something here but would you let a total stranger knock on your door and tell you he didn't like what you were having for tea or worse still that he didn't like your choice of  wife or girlfriend?  I wouldn't and I doubt if Gadget would either!  So, whilst we all want to encourage new members the decision of your board is that in general terms only members (whether it be full, racing or social and perhaps former members) will be able to post on the forums.  Non-members will be able to view all forums (so they will not be closed out as suggested) and there will be a section where prospective members can raise sensible questions about the club, the racing and the cars. 

I'm going to close this off now but I hope I have explained to you the board's reasoning behind the pricing for 2014 and why we will be making changes to the website.  I realise our decisions won't please everyone but I can only say to you all as members that you elect your board to run the club and to make decisions on your behalf.  We do so in good faith and after carefully considering all the factors involved but if it's not satisfactory then it's your right to make changes at the AGM. 
I would also alert you to the fact that there are two vacancies on the board so please contact me if you would like to join.  In fact I would like to specifically to invite "Gadget" to join - if you feel strongly then help put your thoughts into action.


Finally I took it as a compliment that your club is run like the House of Commons.  British democracy isn't perfect but it's a lot better than many others.  If you prefer though we can always look east for an operating model or to the continent where there are plenty of regimes who talk about democracy but behave more like Stalin when it comes down to things!

Mervyn Rundle
Chairman