David
To an extent you misrepresent me.
I do not disagree in principle with the VSCC organising "festival" type events. What I question is the following:
- whether VSCC volunteer labour (such as Marshals) should be taken advantage of to subsidise races for non-members in non-VSCC type cars, particularly where these are semi-professional concerns, eg SHFMC.
- whether the costs of organising these meetings is correctly accounted for within the VSCC organisation, particularly with regard to the use of VSCC competition department time.
As I have lost the first argument (don't volunteer if you don't want to
), and the second question is resolutely ignored by the Club Office and Committee, I am left isolated.
If I adopted a suggested approach, I could cease putting back into the club whilst continuing to attend those events I chose to meet up with friends. I still wish to input into the club, hence I will participate in most events this year (either as a competitor or a Marshal). However, as a critical friend, I'll continue to seek answers about the accounting for certain events.
Some events are not public due to concerns over insurance and lack of facilities. I find Trials superb - but they are so good despite the lack of spectator facilities, which if they exist are very limited. Often the land owners would not be able/willing to accept spectators due to concerns over access and liability. At present the Club finds it difficult to find suitable venues, let alone the latest concerns, without the worry of public access. Let's hope that they continue.
When it comes to Rallies, we can't even find half of the time controls - and I don't just mean when we are competing but when we are organising. The difficulty of finding suitable locations for TC's despite objectors should not be underestimated.
See you all at the weekend.
Duncan