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Wooders28

If you're not a member of an RC Club, why not?

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It would be nice to see clubs diversify a bit to include things like:

  • painting competitions (by age group), eg. Best paint scheme with a rattle can
  • modified vehicle awards including things like best home made parts etc
  • crawling competitions which can be done indoors in limited space
  • mud bogging
  • Best scale appearance

Even our local villages hold inter-village competitions during summer months that engage with and attract kids such as veg growing competitions and pottery making and painting competitions. They are all age group based too. Nothing worse for kids than to find they are competing with a guy who has 50 years experience of growing etc.

Now it could be these diverse activities are already taking place but if you look at most club websites, certainly the ones I've looked at, the focus is all about racing? So if those activities are held then maybe they need more prominence on the websites?

Edit: to give everybody a chance at winning and thereby keeping interest and engagement our local games workshop store holds a monthly Warhammer painting competition broken into a few classes. My kids won one back in 2019 and they had beaming smiles for weeks. They got little prizes too.

 

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There is the Clanfield off road track about 30 mins from where i live, but off road just doesn't do it for me. There used to be an onroad track about an hour from me where they used to hold the worlds, but that closed years ago, and there is nothing else close by.

I buddy of mine has an rc drag car, and he's always spoken of starting a club for those, but the lack of areas to run has made it impossible.

J

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Some nice ideas @mud4fun ,but unless I get my vac former finished (yeah yeah, it's on the list....🙄😳), I can't see anyone paying £30+ to enter a monthly painting competition (body, paint, masking etc), maybe yearly? 

Although ,a yearly team 'build off' has been thrown on the table. We buy a bulk , say 10 , DT03's/ Hornets whatever. Once the stopwatch starts, the 10 teams of 2 (Or whatever, depending on numbers) have to unbox and build the car, then hit the track,  and see how many laps they can get in, in the time allowed ,say 5 hours. So you can slap dash it together, and face reliability issues costing you repair time , or spend time to build it right, and run laps until the time runs out. 

The Scottish indoor track where building a crawling track (?), but it got pretty much zero interest (although @Supercoolnothing brought his crawler to a , Fun day, we orginised there, I don't think I've ever see another). They actually had a drift track that was fairly well attended for a while, but seemingly as soon as they needed BRCA membership  (£20 a year or £1.67 a month.....), they would rather drive an hour each way ,to a differnet place 🤷‍♂️

 

50 minutes ago, junkmunki said:

There used to be an onroad track about an hour from me where they used to hold the worlds, but that closed years ago, and there is nothing else close by.

A case of , use it or loose it? , or was it sold for housing etc? 

 

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3 minutes ago, Wooders28 said:

Some nice ideas @mud4fun ,but unless I get my vac former finished (yeah yeah, it's on the list....🙄😳), I can't see anyone paying £30+ to enter a monthly painting competition (body, paint, masking etc), maybe yearly? 

Thanks and yes true, bit easier to have a monthly competition when it is just individual warhammer figures of which we currently have about 300 still left to paint..... enough for a lifetime of monthly competition entries :lol:

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From around 16mins in, and for 4 mins, 

Does this sound about right?

 

Like I've said, it's rather short sighted to have new people feel they can't goto a club and be welcomed. If you guys feel that, then it's a big ask to expect people who aren't into RC to feel welcome, clubs need to change this!!! 

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@Wooders28 that guy is bang on, agree with everything he says.

Also I feel both the BRCA and the clubs need to offer some sort of family membership cost because for me with two daughters it can get a bit expensive when adding it all up. Fair enough, once my daughters progress to a certain level and start entering ALL the race events then they can pay the full price but for novices who may not even make it past the first heat and who have limited chance to attend every meeting then it would be good to see some sort of pricing structure more geared to kids? I think the York off road club allow kids to enter the first 3 races for free so that is a good start but overall I think a discounted family membership may help entice more kids into the club?

edit: I know that on the face of it, it looks like less money coming in but surely if the price is right then it may attract higher volumes and that gives you the same net result or better? My only concern is that some clubs only have limited time to run events and they aren't keen on lots of new members because they would not have time to fit in so many heats, races or competitions? I guess there must be a limit to how many can race at once on a given track design, maybe 8-10 at most?

Maybe the postal racing type track designs is key here, very small compact technical tracks that take up no space and you could fit multiple of them in one school hall so could run multiple races concurrently? OR with larger tracks, like my 1:1 Land Rover racing back in the 80's where we ran timed laps, each starting 30 seconds apart with fields of upto 80 4x4's all using the same track. A bit like 1:1 rallying? each competitor runs 3 timed laps and their fastest goes to the results table.

 

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PS. The postal racing tracks, being so small and technical make it a much more level playing field. Silver can powered Grasshoppers can do almost as well as high spec racing cars. They are ideal for kids on a 'run what ya brung;' arrangement. Much fairer system.  Driver skill is more important than outright vehicle performance. Often the winners of our postal racing (within our family) win by fractions of a second despite driving cars with 3x the top speeds or power or costs. I have even been beaten by my daughter with a silver can before!

PPS. The other advantage with running against the clock is that the kids, certainly mine, would not feel stressed worrying about crashing into another car that potentially cost alot of money. Doing timed laps with only one vehicle on the track at once (or at 15-30 second intervals depending on size of track) makes it alot less stressful for a novice/child?

Often the very first attempt at a new round in postal racing my youngest daughter gets the highest lap count over say 30-40 laps. She has a good natural skill. She will often only do one attempt per round. It then takes me a further 500 laps of practise, setup changes and tyre changes to actually beat her. So if we both turned up to an event and only had 3 attempts to get a best lap she would probably beat me every time.....

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I would join a club if there was a local one with a decent track but I have no interest in putting £1000's into racing round a makeshift track in a random town hall that I have to drive 2 hours to. If I was going to race I would prefer a stock class of some sort, maybe something like everyone uses the same tyres/motors/batteries but outside of that I have no interest. 

For me the ideal club would be a paid membership that gives you access to a private track at any time and on any day and you can run whatever you like. An old school off-road track would be my preference (dirt/gravel with berms and small jumps) but I would be fine with grass/astro or even a smooth on-road surface as well as long as I could run a buggy on it. Maybe have a couple of organised meets twice a month with fun competitions (like time attacks or light hearted races)

The real appeal of a club for me would just be somewhere to run my cars without the worry of annoying the public and somewhere to chat and meet other people and watch their cars run. I envy the local boating clubs that just meet up and sail their latest build and just enjoy the craft side of the hobby... no prejudice, no overly competitive attitudes or being looked down on for not having the 'right gear'.

Unfortunately I don't think there is enough demand these days for that sort of thing or I would have made an effort to set one up myself. The cost these days to build a track and maintain a club house for only a handful of people to use just wouldn't be worth it.

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12 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

I don't think there's that many tracks that run nitro! Noise being the main problem. 

The club is located off the A10 and tucked around the back of a Garden Centre I think, so well away from any houses. I spotted the signs a couple of years ago as its opposite side of the road to the tip.

Its got an imense looking tack layout but as said earlier im not too interested in starting 1/8 scale nitro racing for the sake of joining a club. Mainly because I cant ever see myself having anything like the reactions needed to drive as quickly as they look on video and would end up careering around destroying mine and everyone elses expensive buggies in the process.

 

Screenshot_20210124-123815_Chrome.jpg

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yeah, nemo racing also have a brand new 1/8th Nitro track built in 2020:

(1) NemoRaceway About Us - Nemo Racing

We have no interest in nitro, can't run it in our back garden or locally for practising so pointless really. We need equally good 1/10th electric tracks.

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Interesting topic. I have seen this from both ends fairly recently, given i only got back into rc about 4 years ago. I think the main issue with attracting people has been alighted on time and again above - most people don't want to race, don't want to buy a specific, potentially expensive car to race, but they do want to drive what they have on a cool track. For me the very essence of this was the Tamiya Junkies meets at robin hood raceway which used to happen about 6 weekly on average, pre-covid. It was £7 for the day, and you have to have BRCA for insurance, but you get full use of a national astro track and flat indoor track, and now international level carpet track. It's run what you brung, no racing, no timing, just have fun, drive, chat rubbish, eat biscuits. marvellous, and we have had a few kids along, and it's great. Because you have the whole day you can even clear the track for 10 mins to let them drive on their own, or for some of the guys to run their really fragile rare stuff without fear of getting nailed. Clubs with permanent tracks should be doing this way more IMO. 

I have tried onroad racing, and it was really hard. Now i have got to know a few of them, the guys at broxtowe are lovely, but it was a lonely, deeply frustrating experience to try and race as a total rookie. I am a pretty outgoing guy, so if i found it tough, it must be hard to break into. I basically had to throw my teddies out the pram on their fb group after a particularly disappointing night before they opened up. So whilst i am quite happy to go to a meet now, i think ultimately the whole race thing is very hard to make welcoming and clubs with tracks need to do lots more RWYB days. 

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20 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Mainly because I cant ever see myself having anything like the reactions needed to drive as quickly as they look on video

Seems to be a theme here, most of the vids on YouTube are of the pros!! Believe me, club events don't look like that 😂😂

 

18 minutes ago, mud4fun said:

yeah, nemo racing also have a brand new 1/8th Nitro track built in 2020:

Allan has just signed for Lee Martin's- Nemo Racing (1/8 IC Off road , still with Schumacher for electric), that's going to be some commute!?! 

https://m.facebook.com/nemoracingofficial/photos/a.1057320230985877/3822833154434557/?type=3&source=48

 

34 minutes ago, Rich_8717 said:

I would join a club if there was a local one with a decent track 

Is it worth seeing if theres anyone local in the same boat, and start your own? 

 

55 minutes ago, mud4fun said:

Also I feel both the BRCA and the clubs need to offer some sort of family membership cost

Clubs do normally offer a, family membership, but I think the BRCA's hands are tied a bit, as I believe the bulk of the cost is for the 3rd party insurance. The BRCA put alot of money back into the hobby/sport, helping clubs out financially, so yeah, it'll be nice if it's cheaper, but the money isn't wasted imo.

Less experienced (I don't like the term, kids, as it puts new adult drivers off ) drivers are a higher risk, insurance wise (same as learner 1:1 drivers) , so if the pricing was fairer, the less experienced drivers would pay more.

3 races is the norm without a BRCA licence, as it was a bit unfair to expect people to pay, when they'd not tried it and it's perceived that after 3 visits ,people will have an idea if they are interested or not.

Trouble with the ,slower car racing, is the club members with quicker cars where't interested in going slow, and there wasn't the influx of new members to make it viable. The best idea, was to have a few, club cars, which could be used anyone, and welcome anyone that turned up with anything, and give them track time.

It is looking like having a, beginner track, with smaller/less technical jumps and an easier layout, could be the answer, and would allow beginners to run at their own pace, regardless off what was happening on the big/experienced driver track? 

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My local club is fairly active and has a good setup with permanent 1:10 off road, 1:8 offroad and 1:10 on road tracks. Naturally it's built for modern buggies, which makes it seem slightly suicidal for my re-re's. Though there are some guys who are interested in vintage racing there, so I guess it's just as much up to me to become a member and suggest vintage racing as sitting on the fence waiting for something to happen. And since it's outdoors you can pop by and drive whenever as long as you're a member. 

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23 minutes ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

For me the very essence of this was the Tamiya Junkies meets at robin hood raceway

This is something I what to do at our club! I've been wanting to get down for a meet, but it's a 4hr drive each way, which turns it into a long day! 

Atmosphere and approachability sounds to be a massive influence,  something I believe we have in spades 😁

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1 minute ago, Robert5000 said:

My local club is fairly active and has a good setup with permanent 1:10 off road, 1:8 offroad and 1:10 on road tracks. Naturally it's built for modern buggies, which makes it seem slightly suicidal for my re-re's. Though there are some guys who are interested in vintage racing there, so I guess it's just as much up to me to become a member and suggest vintage racing as sitting on the fence waiting for something to happen. And since it's outdoors you can pop by and drive whenever as long as you're a member. 

Sounds like a plan!! 👍

Most people start with hornets etc, and if they're guys in ,Urm, midlife, then they probably started with the cars you're going to turn up with!! 

When doing exhibition events, it was cars like my Boomerang ,Ultima,  Optima Mid, lunchbox's and Bullhead etc that got the " I used to have one of those " and then go on to hang around for hours driving them 😂😂

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I used to be in an rc club ( 1/8th nitro) but I was just in for fun and i found that the rules a regulation just swallowed all the fun for me and it got far to serious? I know we need a certain amount of regulation to make it safe for everyone but some of the rules went to far and my passion for nitro diminished! The final nail in the coffin so to speak was the rule that you can't use the rc track for up to 2 weeks before a race event?? "Why" I asked after travelling to the track just to have a casual blast around "because it will give you a unfair advantage" but I'm not in the racing event? Well that's the rules i was sternly informed!!  And at a weekend 90% of the time the track was closed due to maintenance so because I could only use it at the weekend's and I couldn't attend every single race day I give it up!

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Really interesting thread this!

 

I am lucky enough to live near 3 indoor tracks (with access to a few more a short drive away), from small to national sized. I love racing at all of them, but miss the simplicity of mardave minis in a school hall. Cheap cars, motors and electrics, along with no additive and slippery school/church wood floors was immense fun and more relaxing/cheaper then the constant hunt for the best tyres/additive/lipos in order to win.

 

Once the latest lockdown is over, I'll be looking to find a local school or church to see if a cheapo club can be started for us on a budget :)

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12 minutes ago, moffman said:

 so because I could only use it at the weekend's and I couldn't attend every single race day I give it up!

Yeah, weekend meets and events are crucial to us, there is no way we can do mid week events or races due to work and school commitments.

We too would just love to pay a membership fee and have access to a track that we can use at weekends for practise or racing amongst ourselves using our own timing equipment. We'd love to take part in club races but only if they are at a time to suit us. Midweek (schoolnight) at 10pm is just a no go.

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1 hour ago, Wooders28 said:

When doing exhibition events, it was cars like my Boomerang ,Ultima,  Optima Mid, lunchbox's and Bullhead etc that got the " I used to have one of those " and then go on to hang around for hours driving them 😂😂

This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm after. I absolutely understand those who aren't nostalgic about buggies and such from the late eighties early nineties wanting to go as fast as they're able to, chasing every minimal gain to be the best they can in something brand spanking new, but I just want to be able to mediocre with my outdated, fragile things of beauty along with a bunch of other old sods. 

Well, if you build it they will come have been true in the past, maybe it can be true now as well. 

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2 hours ago, Robert5000 said:

This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm after

I love this kind of thing, showing the general public, and engaging. Doing a speech infront of people, I'm a nervous wreck, put me infront of a public crowd, to talk RC ,I'm there!! 😂😂

The ,have a go ,at Glasgows Ignition festival- 

https://m.facebook.com/pg/GlasgowRC/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1703204573321188

My and my Mid at Ayr racecourse ,family fun day- 

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1692610524380593&id=1415001915474790&set=a.1664860043822308&source=54

3 hours ago, Chaosfruitbat said:

Once the latest lockdown is over, I'll be looking to find a local school or church to see if a cheapo club can be started for us on a budget :)

Finding a venue is the hard part, we where looking at around £70 a week! Gets expensive if only you turn up...

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3 hours ago, Chaosfruitbat said:

Once the latest lockdown is over, I'll be looking to find a local school or church to see if a cheapo club can be started for us on a budget :)

That'll be the year 2525 according to youtube.....

hehe, for some reason lots of variations of the song year 2525 have started appearing in my youtube recommended list. I was wondering if it was suggesting the end date of UK lockdowns...... :D

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An on board vid of a lap around the track at the Ignition Festival. I must have done a couple of hundred laps around there! 🙄😂😂

 

 

 

 

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@Wooders28 great vids :wub:

BUT two things:

1) It looks a bit like a touring car track with fake jumps..... you need to throw some gravel down and  few bits of mud on the odd turn to add some 'proper' off road to it :D

2) Isn't that track too narrow for a BRCA track? I thought they had to be a minimum width (2.4m?)

 

edit: re width: it was actually a serious question, as I'm just starting to layout and design our new garden track. I'm trying to keep the track width as wide as possible so the kids will be used to that width when they start club racing. However I'm curious, is the width actually set in stone or more 'flexible' based on space available and what is minimum recommended width for running 3-4 cars? (48"?) I'm planning on 4 feet wide closest to rostrum and upto 8 feet wide on the back straight furthest from rostrum. Reckon that will be good enough?

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8 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

A case of , use it or loose it? , or was it sold for housing etc? 

As is always the way in this country, if something looks like a success and people are enjoying it, it will be torn up to be replaced by faceless flats.

J

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59 minutes ago, mud4fun said:

@Wooders28 great vids :wub:

BUT two things:

1) It looks a bit like a touring car track with fake jumps..... you need to throw some gravel down and  few bits of mud on the odd turn to add some 'proper' off road to it :D

It was made for us, so not going to complain!! It's was absolutely wreaked after 4 days of use, the jumps had been pretty much flattend out!,   but we got to keep the carpet (and a load more from around the exhibition centre......🙄😏

Nothing to do with the BRCA, just something to get the public involved, and promote RC in Scotland.

 

59 minutes ago, mud4fun said:

it was actually a serious question, as I'm just starting to layout and design our new garden track. I'm trying to keep the track width as wide as possible so the kids will be used to that width when they start club racing. However I'm curious, is the width actually set in stone or more 'flexible' based on space available and what is minimum recommended width for running 3-4 cars? (48"?) I'm planning on 4 feet wide closest to rostrum and upto 8 feet wide on the back straight furthest from rostrum. Reckon that will be good enough?

You are worrying way way way too much!! 

Running at our indoor venue, our track was maybe 2mtrs wide, Actually found, with the narrow the track, the better we where, when we hit the BRCA size track when racing SORC,  as we more accurate, like going for a game of pool after playing snooker!

Just try and make it as fun as possible.

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