Greetings vintage motocrossers,

With two successful rounds behind us, enthusiasm is high. Membership is around 75 and it’s not even April. President Mike Shelby has given you his optimistic visions of TVRC’s future and most members I talk to are happy with the clubs direction. Rightly so.

Well now it’s the grumpy V.P.’s turn to make a few observations. At this last weekends excellent Bike Week/ Jim Pomeroy Memorial event I saw a good many errors, miscues, and awkward moments in between all the fun, regarding sign-ups, scoring, and awards going (or not) to the proper recipients. It has taken several hours going over sign-ups, lap sheets, and incorrect result sheets to straighten it out. If we had all paid a little bit more attention at the sign-up shack, most problems could have been avoided. So let’s begin class right now:

Today’s lesson is “ How To Fill Out a Sign up Sheet”. Let’s start at the top, shall we? Make sure it’s a vintage sign-up and not the modern bike one. It has our logo at the top. Print your ‘real’ name LEGIBLY. Please don’t sign up as Harvey Mushman…it’s been done already! Next comes skill level; you circle ‘A’, or ‘B’. A good many of you missed this little item last Sunday and the trusty computer scored you wherever it felt like scoring you, possibly in the 65cc class. Next up; race number. Now this one is a biggee folks. The scoring ladies work hard writing down your number every time you go by. It’s a beautiful thing when that info makes it back to the scorers and you get the credit you deserve. You are no one without a number. Write your number clearly on the line next to your class. Speaking of classes, if you have a question about what class you need to be in, click on “classes” on the webpage. It’s in the left-hand column. On race morning, you can just ask someone. We’re all there to have fun and help each other so don’t be afraid to ask. Last item; sign the bottom line. Go ahead, we’re all over 16.

Now I’ve been to a sign-up or two and I know about the 8:00 am- race -morning-excitement when we’re seeing our comrades and greeting one another. It’s very easy to get distracted. I’m only suggesting here in a light-hearted way that we pay a little bit more attention when we give the officials our info. It’s also a real good idea to check your posted score after the first moto, then again after the second. If you spot what you think is an error, there is time to get it worked out before it’s too late. If you happen to miss the start of your moto, you may think that it is ok to line up at the next vintage gate. That is not the case. As in all the other scenarios I have described, this confuses the scorers.

I’ve heard people over the years say “I don’t care about my score”, and “I’ve got enough old trophies”, but please think about your fellow riders who DO care. The great thing about TVRC to me is that we have ex-pros, rank novices, and everyone in between, yet we are ALL racing enthusiasts. Not all of us have a garage full of trophies, therefore it stands to reason that a good result and an award is more important to some than others.

Now that I have called out 4 or 5 of my best friends for committing these small crimes, I’d just like to say that I enjoy working for you guys in this capacity. This is what you elected me for. I want scores posted correctly, whether any one individual thinks it’s relative or not. We will be giving away some very nice awards and sponsor prizes throughout the year and some of these will relate to series results.

A quick note on the scoring software/laptop computer expenditure that passed unanimously at the banquet. We have not done so(spent the $600), and the officers are all having second thoughts on its potential value to the club at this time. This is not a dig at the integrity of the program or it’s operators last weekend, just questioning whether it is right for us.

So, in closing, I’ll just say that this most excellent club is poised for good times and smooth sailing all year long, if we all communicate, ride safely, and look out for each other.

Thanks,