2012 Sunshine Series Official Discussion

[Registered Nutcase]

Good point, and I think this could still be done through Rotorburn in the "Clubs" section of the forum, when I first moved up here I looked there for info but there seems to be an absence of QLD clubs represented there? Could be the easiest option...

It really needs to be a seperate/standalone website where we can all get our information from. Rotorburn is an incredible website however its not very professional or easy if we are looking on here, mtba, FB and KWT.

What we need as a starting point is a website we can go to who is the source of information that FB, Rotorburn etc can feed off. That would stop the rumors and annoying mis information.

 

[Steve-0]

It really needs to be a seperate/standalone website where we can all get our information from. Rotorburn is an incredible website however its not very professional or easy if we are looking on here, mtba, FB and KWT.

What we need as a starting point is a website we can go to who is the source of information that FB, Rotorburn etc can feed off. That would stop the rumors and annoying mis information.

KWT should be were the info is. The problem is, When a change happens it takes to long for it to appear on the website. All the organizers probably have to go through some IT dude to get information put up. Also there's no discussion there..

Some information is not 100% confirmed and so it can't be published on an official website either.

It's a great idea but the "Sunshine Series" thread is already helpful enough. Right now it says the only other race is Beerburrum on the 5th and that's the only other race confirmed so I would say that's pretty accurate.

I know were your coming from though, We shouldn't need to come here at all for race info. The Sunshine Series should have it's own website or a page on MTBA or something.

 

[Registered Nutcase]

KWT should be were the info is. The problem is, When a change happens it takes to long for it to appear on the website. All the organizers probably have to go through some IT dude to get information put up. Also there's no discussion there..KWT I agree, however from what ive seen this year and last its been at best woful. If you pay an IT to host a website you should be able to update it yourself or get someone to do it as soon as news comes up. It dose not take alot to say DH round 3 is cancelled due to rain etc.

Some information is not 100% confirmed and so it can't be published on an official website either. Info should not be published untill its offical. espically on the website, Farkin is where we can spread the rumours and discuss

It's a great idea but the "Sunshine Series" thread is already helpful enough. Right now it says the only other race is Beerburrum on the 5th and that's the only other race confirmed so I would say that's pretty accurate. I tend to disagree there is alot of mis information that tends to populate on this website. While its great for a debate however when you need Iron facts it should be coming from the people who are running the series on their own website. In this open forum its hard to work out who are the organizers of the events and who are posting shit.

I know were your coming from though, We shouldn't need to come here at all for race info. The Sunshine Series should have it's own website or a page on MTBA or something.

I hope they have their own website for 2012.

 

[Steve-0]

It's a great idea but the "Sunshine Series" thread is already helpful enough. Right now it says the only other race is Beerburrum on the 5th and that's the only other race confirmed so I would say that's pretty accurate. I tend to disagree there is alot of mis information that tends to populate on this website. While its great for a debate however when you need Iron facts it should be coming from the people who are running the series on their own website. In this open forum its hard to work out who are the organizers of the events and who are posting shit.

I was referring to the first post in that thread, Shoulda said so. Yeh the rest of the thread is useless but the first page is up to date but in saying that, it's not updated straight away. We need somewhere to look at when it starts to rain the morning of the race.

 

[DOWNHILLPHILL]

Toowoomba!!!

We need a round in Toowoomba since thier wasn't one this year, it would be my first race day I can just imagine it now...

 

[Kamikazee ideki]

Definitely think that the sunshine series should have their own website. Companies like Webs allow for free/cheap website hosting and the interface is super easy to use. Hell, if Haydo or whoever wanted to keep me up to date with info, Id happily maintain a website on Webs for the series... I see that the domain www.sunshineseries.com is available right now is well

 

[dirt lover]

We need a round in Toowoomba since thier wasn't one this year, it would be my first race day I can just imagine it now...

I think the plan is to still have the last round of the series there depending on how they go with repairing the track. Things might have changed though so would need someone else to confirm this.

 

[sherman]

I think the plan is to still have the last round of the series there depending on how they go with repairing the track. Things might have changed though so would need someone else to confirm this.

There will a race at Toowoomba on the 21st of August as the last round of the series, but this thread is here to talk about next year so I'll leave it at that.

Cheers
Jiel

 

[jon55sey]

So obviously the series needs a website.

That KWT website is horrible. They've been supporting the series for the last couple years and I still don't know who they are. I just assume they sell tires?

Venues:
Kenilworth
Illinbah
Joyce
Toowoomba


I think 4 rounds is sufficient for the series itself. Use other smaller venues like Blackstone/Beerburrum for club racing. By only having 4 rounds, this will allow clubs more time to hold clubbies and will keep the racing going so people won't feel like nothing is going on.

Champs should be a stand alone event. And the venue for the following years States Champs should be announced at the current years State Champs. The champs should be most prestigious event on the state calendar, just like National Champs and World Champs. Jared Graves said last year he would easily give up his World Cup overall to be World Champ again.

Series may need to be pushed back a bit, but this year has been ridiculous with the weather, no one to blame except mother nature. I'm sure if the weather wasn't so bad we would have had 2 excellent races by now. It is a pain in the ass that tiny amounts of rain can cause an event to be canned but, so maybe we need to look at spending some money to help prevent it.

Other than that I can't think off too much else.

 

[Reece.]

Twp.........

Bring back Bill!

The clubs have lots of races making it Viable to go to the full membership

Because I felt that I was being shafted as did a lot of riders.

Not viable for a state that has maybe 5 events per year!
I dont want your insurance money MTBA, if I hurt myself, my problem, bring back the day license!


I don't think that the price of racing can really be reduced (although it makes me wonder how other states are so much cheaper than QLD).

I have recently sold my downhill bike, I would love to race, but they are starting to make it really hard to people to race. Price, MTBA license, online rego etc. I even had a chat at work to a highly respected person in mountain biking just last night... He even said that he won't be racing in the current state of the series. He said he will be putting his money towards other MTB ventures. What will it take for me to race again??
More races... Simple, if I HAVE to buy a MTBA license I want to be getting my moneys worth, and at $120 for 1 year, or $15 per day license, I want more than 8 races...

On the other side of the coin, feedback is good and all; but to really get things done, roll your sleeves up and help with the organization of races.

 

[harveyp]

Just to clarify some comments & suggestions on this subject, I spoke with Libby (TWP) yesterday regarding their future involvement with DH events & her response was 'it's highly unlikely that TWP will again be involved in the conduct of DH events due to a number of issues including the financial viability & effort required to conduct such events'. TWP has given an undertaking to help with timing etc of events conducted by GC MTB club in the future!

Reece, the event entry costs in Qld for DH are not excessive! Ben is competing in the NSW/ACT State Series as lead up competition for the National Jnr DH Team & entry is between $110 - $150 plus travel getting there & then accommodation, meals etc, depending on where the event is being held. Unfortunately, some event areas cost more to run than other e.g. Illinbah where transport & first aid are more expensive than Beerburrum.

If there is a cheaper way to conduct events & still comply with MTBA requirements & provide Duty of Care to participants then please let us know! I agree with Reece that the time has now come for all interested parties in our sport to get actively involved to ensure the sports continuation - you simply cannot expect non-riders to continually plan, promote & conduct events on your behalf! The best way to do this is to become active within your Club & have a voice in how your sport is shaped for the future!

 

[flamshmizer]

Just to clarify some comments & suggestions on this subject, I spoke with Libby (TWP) yesterday regarding their future involvement with DH events & her response was 'it's highly unlikely that TWP will again be involved in the conduct of DH events due to a number of issues including the financial viability & effort required to conduct such events'. TWP has given an undertaking to help with timing etc of events conducted by GC MTB club in the future!

Reece, the event entry costs in Qld for DH are not excessive! Ben is competing in the NSW/ACT State Series as lead up competition for the National Jnr DH Team & entry is between $110 - $150 plus travel getting there & then accommodation, meals etc, depending on where the event is being held. Unfortunately, some event areas cost more to run than other e.g. Illinbah where transport & first aid are more expensive than Beerburrum.

If there is a cheaper way to conduct events & still comply with MTBA requirements & provide Duty of Care to participants then please let us know! I agree with Reece that the time has now come for all interested parties in our sport to get actively involved to ensure the sports continuation - you simply cannot expect non-riders to continually plan, promote & conduct events on your behalf! The best way to do this is to become active within your Club & have a voice in how your sport is shaped for the future!

Hmm... bit of a catch 22. No one wants to join clubs because there aren't enough races, and there aren't enough club members to organise more races. Just a thought.

 

[harveyp]

Hmm... bit of a catch 22. No one wants to join clubs because there aren't enough races, and there aren't enough club members to organise more races. Just a thought.

Not at all, if you the riders want more races then Clubs are going to need members to organise the events and those members have got to come from the rider base - after all, it's all about the riders!! This was exemplified last weekend when at a moments notice, riders with the assistance of club committee members got together and had Blackstone up and running in 24 hours for a race event the next day - well done!

Conversely, if Clubs don't have active members including riders who are willing to assist in organising events (both competition and social) then the rate of participation will dwindle to almost NIL. As far as MTBA full membership 'value for money' goes again this will be governed by the strength of Clubs and their rider membership base. Unfortunately, no-one can control the weather and us Queenslanders have been belted excessively over the past 12 months or so but sooner or later it will return to normal and their will be frequent events.

 

[flamshmizer]

Not at all, if you the riders want more races then Clubs are going to need members to organise the events and those members have got to come from the rider base - after all, it's all about the riders!! This was exemplified last weekend when at a moments notice, riders with the assistance of club committee members got together and had Blackstone up and running in 24 hours for a race event the next day - well done!

Conversely, if Clubs don't have active members including riders who are willing to assist in organising events (both competition and social) then the rate of participation will dwindle to almost NIL. As far as MTBA full membership 'value for money' goes again this will be governed by the strength of Clubs and their rider membership base. Unfortunately, no-one can control the weather and us Queenslanders have been belted excessively over the past 12 months or so but sooner or later it will return to normal and their will be frequent events.

I agree, I was merely repeating a sentiment brought up by someone else, saying they don't want to pay for a yearly liscence to ride 4 races. Similarly, without the support clubs can't hold races. One of the two parties is going to have to risk it first, and as you said I think it should be on the riders to put it on the line.

I hope thats not to off topic, I think it's relevant.

 

[harveyp]

I agree, I was merely repeating a sentiment brought up by someone else, saying they don't want to pay for a yearly liscence to ride 4 races. Similarly, without the support clubs can't hold races. One of the two parties is going to have to risk it first, and as you said I think it should be on the riders to put it on the line.

I hope thats not to off topic, I think it's relevant.

Absolutely relevant & I only wish more 'riders' would adopt the same approach! As for 'risk taking' with event scheduling I think I would be correct in saying that Clubs in Qld not just SE Qld have been taking risks with event conduct for many years. So much so that until last weekend, I cannot recall a Club which has cancelled, postponed an event or moved location has NOT refunded full entry fee's? Obviously this has been at the financial burden of the club and with the spate of event cancellations in the past 12 months or so, they simply cannot afford to take the financial hits.

Good comments!

 

[Registered Nutcase]

How about we start with something simple like a dedicated website.

Harvey what is the point of paying out for a full membership when you don't get your moneys worth? at best we can race 4 rounds this year. that does not cover the cost of this Mandatory membership. How can you or the organizers justify this?

 

[SCHOEY]

How about we start with something simple like a dedicated website.

Harvey what is the point of paying out for a full membership when you don't get your moneys worth? at best we can race 4 rounds this year. that does not cover the cost of this Mandatory membership. How can you or the organizers justify this?

I know that this was directed at Harvey but i thought that i'd stick my 2c in here.

Before the recent weather issues organisers, clubs & riders have had to deal with, i can recall numbers up around the 300 rider mark at one of our Toowomba rounds. Without exaggerating i think probably 40%-50% of the guys there showed up and had to get a day licence & back then 90% of the riders registered on the day. For any event back a few years ago it was an absolute nightmare for the host club on the morning of the event & in the lead up, as no-one knew exactly what sort of numbers to expect. This led to on occasion organisers being short of transport, catering etc & riders whinging about there bang for buck as they only got "x" amount of runs in becasue they were either A: waiting on transport to get to the top, or B: had to wait what was beyond there expectations to be fed by the caterers, or a combination of both.

Changes have been made to streamline things in order to make the events better for the riders, the weather is the one thing none of us have control over & has stuffed this series around more than anything.

I can see why some riders think its unfair that day licensing & registering on the day have been canned. I have seen so many guys/girls that were definately regulars show up at events & have to get a day licence, basically beacause it was the easy way to not be accountable to a club. Registering on the day was an easy out or escape clause if the weather was bad, leaving someone else out of beside themself.

To me the full membership is more of commitment thing to clubs, if you have a licence and an event is on then there is a good chance that you will participate. If you are a member of a club, then you as an idividual are somewhat accountable to the club, and may be required to attend maintenance days, marshall at at an event that is not the discipline you normally compete in etc, making it easier for clubs to host regular club racing, open days & the like. Too many people want events to be put on, but do not give anything back to the sport, leaving all but few literally slaving for no personal gain.

 

[Registered Nutcase]

I know that this was directed at Harvey but i thought that i'd stick my 2c in here.

Before the recent weather issues organisers, clubs & riders have had to deal with, i can recall numbers up around the 300 rider mark at one of our Toowomba rounds. Without exaggerating i think probably 40%-50% of the guys there showed up and had to get a day licence & back then 90% of the riders registered on the day. For any event back a few years ago it was an absolute nightmare for the host club on the morning of the event & in the lead up, as no-one knew exactly what sort of numbers to expect. This led to on occasion organisers being short of transport, catering etc & riders whinging about there bang for buck as they only got "x" amount of runs in becasue they were either A: waiting on transport to get to the top, or B: had to wait what was beyond there expectations to be fed by the caterers, or a combination of both. I understand that effect that huge numbers would have. It would be just as bad to have 50% of people not turn up. But i guess if you got them to pre registered you already have their money. Has Toowomba ever had a round as big as that or is that a regular occurrence? If its the latter well they should of been prepared for it.

I may be mistaken but I remember that NSW allowed pre registration with a discount. or you could rock up on the day. I THINK they were both day licenses. Would this not work in QLD?

Changes have been made to streamline things in order to make the events better for the riders, the weather is the one thing none of us have control over & has stuffed this series around more than anything. I agree completely, I feel very sorry for the clubs here in QLD, I think we should of changed to boating clubs....

I can see why some riders think its unfair that day licensing & registering on the day have been canned. I have seen so many guys/girls that were definately regulars show up at events & have to get a day licence, basically beacause it was the easy way to not be accountable to a club. Registering on the day was an easy out or escape clause if the weather was bad, leaving someone else out of beside themself. Can you supply proof that it was their escape clause? Further to that dont you get penalized for having a day license. IE paying a premium for the service.

To me the full membership is more of commitment thing to clubs, if you have a licence and an event is on then there is a good chance that you will participate. If you are a member of a club, then you as an idividual are somewhat accountable to the club, and may be required to attend maintenance days, marshall at at an event that is not the discipline you normally compete in etc, making it easier for clubs to host regular club racing, open days & the like. Too many people want events to be put on, but do not give anything back to the sport, leaving all but few literally slaving for no personal gain.
Are you seriously saying that members should be accountable to the club, that is like saying a customer is accountable to the business he is buying a good/service?

I'm not going to go bashing clubs or anything, but as a club you have to make people want and reward them for helping. People have an amazing ablility to help when there is something in for themselves. Its a simple principle, for example supply some food and drink, let them ride the track, perhaps some extra points towards a club series, If anyone is intrestered I have a list as long as my arm. Clubs have many, many different ways to intice people into helping out but you can not expect anyone to help out regually if there is nothing in them. Same goes for the organizers and the committe members.

1234567890

 

[harveyp]

How about we start with something simple like a dedicated website.

Harvey what is the point of paying out for a full membership when you don't get your moneys worth? at best we can race 4 rounds this year. that does not cover the cost of this Mandatory membership. How can you or the organizers justify this?

Mandatory membership of MTBA was taken from a consensus of the Clubs who form the Sunshine Series and these Clubs represent the best interests of their members. It is your decision if you do or do not want to be a full MTBA member with the result being you either do or don't participate in the Sunshine Series and State Champs.

The response given by Shoey was a valid and true representation of how things have happened in Qld for Downhill over the past 4-6 years. You seem to be on a mission to lay blame at someone's feet because of the lack of events this year - Why? It pisses us off to work our guts out to prepare for an event only to cancel because of inclement weather! Understand that the majority of Club Committee members are people that don't compete (me, almost 62 years old - full MTBA member for past 4 -5 years, never raced in my life and not likely too except maybe Enduro, do ride XC and DH for fun & love it!) but are willing to run Clubs, organise and conduct events so that people like yourself can pursue your racing and social riding!

 

[binner]

and the winner is................

geebus, and we haven't even touched on "Prizes" yet.