IT National? Anyone else have this experience at a driver's meeting this year?

[lateapex911]

more importantly, it could reduce the number of events each region runs, making car counts at each weekend higher, and increasing financial viability.

Ahhh...of course, and that in and of itself becomes an important consideration, and yet another benefit, BUT...........

....., the original question asked straight up, about "national" status, and I take that to mean "As is" today. I was going to add a "Assuming current conditions, acccck, " to the end of my post, but it seemed redundant.

HOPEfully, those in the decision making position see the implications of such an progression...i for one think that in many ways regions are overtaxed trying to run Regional races, National races, schools, and PDXs while not burning out the staff, and making sure the events turn a profit. (To ensure future regional viability).

Bottom line as it stands now... (and yes, i know this isn't a purely "is it good for IT?" point of view, but IT is PART of the club...as goes the club, so too goes IT...) ...The Runoffs are not attracting enough participants. The Club racing national championship is a shadow of it's former self, and some will argue that it's a reflection on the state of Club racing in the SCCA. To combat this, (as well as because of) it has become easier and easier to qualify.

Now, many ask "Why is the Runoffs loosing subscribers?" and the answer is of course, varied. Many point to the venue, others point to the growing irrelevance of the categories. I'd suggest it's both, but the latter weighs heavily.

Yet, our structure, and our race scheduling, are largely driven by the mandates for National races to offer Runoffs qualifying opportunities. Regions must run events as prescribed by the national requirements, and do so in certain numbers and in certain locations. Yet, it could be argued that interest is waning in that method of doing business.

Regional events like doubles, and other creative weekends (Like the IT Fest) are very well attended. The IT Fest wouldn't exist if it weren't because of Todd's vision, and his estimation of popularity of the category. Smart regions cater to the needs of the constituents, and act to ensure their survival.

I'd suggest that as Travis points out, the club as a whole would be far better off if it dropped the National/Regional distinction, allowed all national rulesets the same privileges, took a look at how people qualify to run the Runoffs, and left it up to the Regions to devise schedules that met market realities, while pushing the least amount of structure possible.

[Knestis]

...and further, after a couple of REALLY good conversations this past weekend with some of our IT constituents who don't hang out here, I've really come to understand a couple of fundamental issues that align with what I hear Jake saying:

** Unless/until we eliminate the artificial National/Regional distinction and "make Club Racing just Club Racing," the issue of status is moot. In fact, "go National?" is the wrong question based on some bad assumptions.

** Unless/until we address compliance issues in IT, we are going to have issues. The issues are bigger if we get higher profile, but they already exist.

If these issues are addressed first, then the "logic paths" to the bad things people think will happen are disrupted, if/when IT finds itself on a par with the rest of the categories.

K