SCCA introduces weekend membership for rallycross, Solo, and road rally events.

[edrach]

As of January 1, 2008 SCCA will require membership for entry into any SCCA sanctioned rallycross, Solo, or road rally event. If you are not a member of SCCA already, this could add up to $15 to your entry fee for a weekend membership needed to enter the event. Details can be found at http://www.sccabb.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5951&TPN=1.

 

Truth in advertising disclaimer: In all honesty, I think this is a bad idea since I think it will discourage new-comers as well as persuading others to find other uses for their automotive entertainment dollar.

 

I started the above-mentioned thread since I had not heard about it until recently and if I hadn't gone to a few SCCA local region meetings I would still be in the dark about it.

[pheonix165]

ed, in all honisty while i don't tend to agree with the extra fees i would like to point out that here in my region we've been paying the extra fees for a long time now.

 

yes it does suck but on the other hand it does create a recognizable standard for rules and operations.

 

on the other hand, its constantly the "extra" fees that people keep using as the excuse that prevents them from attending events in other regions (more specifically mine).

 

while i sympathize with your desire to avoid instituting these extra fees...i'm sorry but yours is pretty much the only group that i've participated with that doesn't have these fees.

[edrach]

The reality is that, there is nothing much in the membership fee that is not already included in the normal entry fee. PRG and ORG both have charged $30 per entry for non-members and $25 per entry for SCCA members and for those who purchase a "local" membership for the year (usually around $25 so if you run more than 5 events you save a little money).

 

Only reason I can see for the SCCA membership drive is that their membership dropped significantly when they abruptly scuttled the Performance Rally series at the end of 2006. I believe this is the only reason for promoting a mandatory "weekend membership."

 

I'm currently an SCCA member even though I didn't renew my annual membership after the SCCA stepped out of the Performance Rally business. Only reason I re-upped is to be eligible for contingency awards if I did well enough at the SCCA Divisional rallycross last May.

 

SCCA is primarily a racing/solo organization. As a rallycrosser, I personally don't feel I get much for my $75 annual dues.

 

Lastly (and this is definitely personal opinion and I have no indication or "gut" feeling about this) I feel that SCCA will drop the rallycross program in the next year or two unless the membership numbers increase dramatically. Rallycross is definitely a "step-child" in the organization.

 

I received the latest issue of Sportscar this past week (one of the benefits of my $75 annual dues). A nice magazine, well laid out and published. Of the 130 pages, 54 were ads, one was rallycross and 76 were devoted to racing and solo.

 

Granted, rallycrossers are a small proportion of the typical SCCA membership, but I'd rather spend my $75 for Subiesport magazine rather than be "hi-jacked" into buying a weekend membership everytime I run a rallycross.

[pheonix165]

don't get me wrong, i completely agree with your assessment that theres nothing really to be gained from this membership requirement. a prime example being my local events requiring a membership to CARS or other type of organization.

 

i believe that locally this is to help with getting cheaper insurance for the club, is this so for you?

[edrach]

My understanding is that the normal entry fee includes liability insurance for the owner of the field. The weekend membership includes some injury coverage for the "member." I'm still looking into what the actual coverage is.

[pheonix165]

please keep me updated on this

[Mike W]

So when this change happens, what would the total cost come to for some guy like me to try 'cross for one day? I was starting to think about it but I'm having second thoughts already.

[pheonix165]

not sure about his events but for my local events it jacked up the price to about 45-50 bucks, which is a big change from what used to be 30

[TeamCF]

Man....

I guess I'll have to wait till next season to see how this will effect my RallyCrossing.

Once upon a time I was gonna join SCCA anyway as well as my normal ORG membership. But decided it was just more money than I wanted to spend being that it wasn't needed.

Looks like I may have to next year in order to save myself from $$$ indivdual weekends.

[edrach]

So when this change happens, what would the total cost come to for some guy like me to try 'cross for one day? I was starting to think about it but I'm having second thoughts already.

Typical non-member price for ORG and PRG events was $30. "Local" membership dropped the entry to $25. No one has announced how they're going to handle the extra $15.

[edrach]

Man....

I guess I'll have to wait till next season to see how this will effect my RallyCrossing.

Once upon a time I was gonna join SCCA anyway as well as my normal ORG membership. But decided it was just more money than I wanted to spend being that it wasn't needed.

Looks like I may have to next year in order to save myself from $$$ indivdual weekends.

You're in luck since you run ORG most likely. ORG is already discussing how to minimize your entry costs (by absorbing some of the fee) and it's not likely that you'll be paying $45 for a day's worth of fun.

 

Just an aside; my comment is personal opinion, not fact. ORG hasn't announced how they will handle this as yet.