4 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

[vfr750]

A lot of good points! As we all know the demographic for slot racers is getting older and reducing as a result. I like their ideas about affordable entry level racing with a clear pathway to progress, something i think clubs and raceways need to consider!

 

Cheers,

 

John

[Bill Seitz]

The intro shows kids at the slot track. The issue with getting kids involved is that first adult members of their families willing and able to purchase the gear and take the time out of their schedules to transport to/from the venue and spend time with the kids there are needed. It seems like what we really need is to recruit more middle-aged adults with families, but I know how hard it was to find time for any of my hobbies when I was involved with a full-time, income-earning career - and that was without a family of kids! I still wound up juggling hobbies which meant that slot cars didn't get my full-time regular attention. I was in it for a while, then would lose interest and move on to something else. I never totally lost interest, so I'd eventually cycle back in again. As a retiree now, I've more time I can devote to hobbies, and slot cars have benefited because I've lost interest in the current state of some other hobbies.

 

I think a major reason for "too many classes" is that those individuals that are participating in the slot car hobby have such diverse interests in what they want to race or play with. Personally, I'm more interested in building, testing, and experimenting than racing, but for others, they want a basic RTR car that they can pick up off the shelf, go to the raceway for an hour or so to race, and then put the car back on the shelf until next time. A former raceway owner told be that over 70% of his racers had him build and prep their cars (for a fee) so that all they had to do was show and race on race day/night. We shouldn't lose sight of people that just want to plop that RTR on the track and go with no more commitment than that. Not everyone wants to spend hours building, prepping, and testing. And perhaps the answer to "too many classes" is simply to pick a couple that are most interesting and the time available can handle, and leave the others to someone else. Why be compelled to race in every class? True, that probably makes it difficult to race every week if that's what one wants, but raceways need to cater to all their limited clients which demands a diverse schedule, so one class isn't going to be able to dominate the schedule unless that's what everyone wants.

[Phil Hackett]

I believe the peak of USRA Nationals participation was right before they started the "trophy for everyone" approach were there was a "pro" and an "amateur" classes within each car class. This was supposed to "give the new racers a chance" as there were extremely talented and proficient racers in each class that would dominate the class at the Nats. I feel the Nationals, which are an "open" event and not an invitational,  are/were where the elite come together and race and this nonsense of making it fairer degraded the racing (note: the USRA Group 7/Open/Pro class didn't have this structure).
 
Just my opinion...

[Bill Seitz]

I remember USRA amateur, novice, and pro classifications, but they pertained to particular classes, not separate divisions of class. I remember guys that were quite content to race at the novice level indefinitely because this was a class and level of commitment they were comfortable with, but the USRA rule said once you won a Nats as a novice, you were forced to move up the ranks. When these guys did finally manage to win one, they'd quit slot racing for a few years until they could return in the lower classification again.

 

I'm sure today there are people that would be quite content to participate at a novice level with ready-prepared or RTR cars indefinitely because that's the level of time and commitment they're comfortable with, but I believe they're still expected to move up to a more complex class with cars that need to be built/prepped, so they drop out rather than become more committed.