Low Race Attendance

[DaddyFlea]

Can some of you explain why our Race Attendance is so low. Last Sunday was an excellent Race Day. Temperature was perfect, track was tacky, everything was almost perfect.

We used to get a full gate of 65s and last race we only had 4 in two classes. I know little Matt Gerik is dominating and the Flea, Kyle, and Garret are hard to beat but where are all the other racers?

Please go here and vote in the Poll for possible reasons you are not attending races or vote for changes that need to be made at the races if you do attend.


sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/WacoEaglesGroup/polls

If you can not get into this site please go to the Waco Eagles Web Site and join both forums.

[cdjktm]

The first thing that I would like to say is that I do not attend the meetings, I do not have the time. Alot of people will say that I have no business speaking up but , here it is:Two years ago the race attendance was awesome. I started in the 125 beginner class and it had to be split into 125/250. The 50's were full, and so were the other heats. However there are some differences from then until know:
1)Then:I was on my way home at 1 pm, with a full race
day.
Now: *with attendance low, we sometimes get home at 3-4 o'clock because of poor planning, races start late, people who are locals show up late and the track personnel allow them to enter late and the race order is late. A race that was suppose to start at 9 doesn't start until 10 or later.

2) Then: races were started succinctly, race #1 finished and off, race #2 down the start stretch
Now: Race # 1 finish, talking, tom-foolery, "local" person fouled plug, =late start=long day=race #2 started.

3) Then: You were a sandbagger=black flag
Now: You can sandbag as long as you: have a good excuse, know all the race personnel, have been off your bike for a month. =lack of enthusiasm for those belonging in that class= mistrust of the officials.

4) Then: "seemed fairer"
Now: Your kid is 10 but hasn't rode before? Slap him in with the 50's, what? a 100cc two stroke int he 85 class? It's okay, I know you.

***The rules are easily bent, the club has no consistencey or uniformity. A Waco Eagles rule book needs to be made . If everyone knows the rules before hand there will be no arguements. Now: rules depend on how good of a talker you are and how well you know the official of the day.

4) Then: track was groomed better
Now: Two tracks, maintained poorly, are better than one well maintained track.

***The track is the largest one line track that I have ever seen. I love this track! I really do but, The ditches in the middle of it are dangerous and reduce the raceabilitly of the track. ***Whatever happened to spraying the track with water before the race?

*****The biggest complaint, when I try to get people to come out, is that the races are poorly planned, they take all day to do what should be done by 12-1 pm.The track personnel, due to some bias, are unfair and the track is poorly maintained.


****ALSO: You cheat= okay, if you know the officials, you are a track regular, or if only 15 people, whom you don't know, saw it.

I also voulanteered to do some track maintenence with my own tractor, no go, I do not race. I am on a year long rest after surgery. I will put my home track maintenance and build technique up against whatever has been done out there. No, braggery, just I work very hard at it. I test and I rebuild.

************I love the people out there at the Eagles club. They do a whole lot for very little, if any, monetary reward. I sincerely appreciate everything that they do. The track is a gift to the community and even us that live a long drive away. A great place to race and start riding. You will never hear me say anything differently. There are , however, a great many problems that need to be addressed. They need to be addressed without bias or personal emotional reaction. All that I have said, I hope, will be taken as constructive critisism. I sincerely would like to see the Eagles Club back to its glory days.I will continue to renew my membership as long as They will have me. Thanks and I hope this helps.

Bob James 254-290-4830

[motomom4fun2004]

The word I got on the low attendance was:

1). The Belton arena race (two nights)
2). The big race at Whitney
3). The Monster Trucks at the HOT
(Some of our quad guys were there.)
4). The weather was unpredictable.

people only have so much energy and money.

Anyway, that's what I was told when I called a few riders checking up on them when they didn’t turn out Sunday.

We missed all of you that didn't make it and look forward to seeing you next month.
The weathers getting nicer and I'm sure we will have a big croud. Wooo Hooooo. Let's Ride and have FUN!

[bpoteet4]

I'd like to reply to part of what Bob James had to say. I saw the message back in January where he offered to bring his small tractor and do some dirt work on some of the track. He even offered to bring some pipe to lay in that trench in front of the whoops. I saw Danny's reply to him that he didn't think anyone would let him touch the track since he didn't "ride". We've ridden on Bob's track -- and it's great! I'm kind of at a loss -- it seems that we have members (triplecrown & Bob that I know of) that are offering equipment we don't have and their time to do MUCH NEEDED repair work to the track -- but no one seems to want to take them up on it? Part of it may be that the actual officers of the club (other than Jeff) don't really read this message board and we are expecting too much? Because really as Jeff and Danny have both said, although they moderate - they don't have the power to obligate the club. Is the only way to make any decisions is to have them discussed at the meetings? If so, it just seems that everyone has their own agenda and not all topics get covered or decided or finished or...... You get the idea. I guess I just don't leave the monthly meetings feeling that we've accomplished all that we need to in order to get the track in better shape and get race attendance up.

I agree with motomom (not sure if it was Paula or Mike ;D) that the Belton arena cross and the Whitney race surely had a lot to do with the low attendance. We just happened to pick to do Waco Eagles -- I don't think we could have done more than one -- I'm too old & tired!

It would be great if we COULD come up with ideas to increase attendance -- it's sad that Ryan from Triple Crown came and gave up his Saturday to groom the entire track(Billy said thanks -- the parts he smoothed were easier on his old bones!) but didn't get to race Sunday because no other 4-wheelers showed up until the race was over. Were they all up late Saturday at the coliseum?

Anyway, we'll be at the meeting at Pappa Rollo's tomorrow night - hope to see you there!

Brenda

[Blazing MX]

Bob, you bring up some very valid points, it’s obvious you put a lot of passion into what you wrote. As a member you have every right to speak your mind. As always there are two sides to the story, since I do attend the meetings so I’ll make your comments heard and fill you in on the rest of the story. Here are some of the things I am aware of.

True the races are taking longer and start way too late. This topic has been brought up several times over the past few months and is already being addressed. We have published on the Website the schedule and also noted that it will be strictly enforced. The bad weather and all the races in Whitney & Belton also hurt turnout. To top it off there were some problems with the signup program Sunday that it would not print some of the reports, Danny has already started working on that. The reason for using the software in the 1st place directly relates to another concern, the sandbagging. This software will track which class a rider races in and is set to flag irregularities. It also automatically assigns race order, prints the score sheets and tracks results. This is the answer for a lot of the concerns we have at Waco Eagles.

We do have a set of rules published and available on the Website. They were written and adopted by the club a long time ago. It’s listed in the club By-laws, item 11, and can be viewed at wacoeagles.freewebpage.org/membership.html and class information is at wacoeagles.freewebpage.org/mxclasses.html It may be time to amend the rules a bit.

The next is to only be started when the green flag is up. Due to riders racing in the wrong class, this spreads out the race too much causing a delay of the next race from waiting on the riders in the back to cross the finish line and get off the track safely. Granted someone needs to smack Billy to wake him up at the gate when that time comes, just be sure to wear something to protect your hand. ;D

I am not aware of anyone riding a 100 2-stroke in the 50cc class. If you have someone in mind I’ll bring it up at the meeting tomorrow. I have a lot of topics to discuss tomorrow night already and don’t mind voicing a few more if it benefits the club.

Not sure what you’re talking about when you say the track officials are biased and unfair. There is only one race official and that’s Mike Haynes. I’ve never met a more fair and honorable person than Mike.
Which rules are being bent and what exactly is “the club has no consistency or uniformity?” I’d be glad to bring that up too if you can be more specific.
If anyone cheats, the same procedures work for Waco as at any other track I’ve ever been to, you protest and the track official rules on it.

I don’t think it’s fair to say the club hasn’t made an effort to maintain the track, last years track maintenance cost the club almost 30k. We had a ton of rain and more than twice the traffic on the track than in previous years. Ryan brought his tractor out Saturday and worked for free on the track all day, but without the proper equipment it’s almost useless to move the rock hard dirt without destroying the track. I’m not sure if the water truck even runs but it’s going to take that and a tractor with more than a box on the back to do much good. If you have the equipment to get the job done and are willing to do so, then I don’t know of any reason why you shouldn’t be the man in charge of that. I do know that they are going to move some sandy dirt in from the flat track soon. If you were willing to help out I’d guess that would be a good time. I’ve heard about your track and I’d like to have help out the club. There is several area of the track that need some work especially some jump faces.

I agree with you 100 percent when you say there are problems and they need to be addressed without bias or personal emotional reaction. I take what you say as constructive criticism and will pass the information along tomorrow night. It is up to us, as WEMC members, to make our club a better place for all, we are the only ones that can make a difference.

Ps, sorry for dropping the gate early that day on you son’s race, I was only trying to teach them to focus on reaction time at the gate. It was an impulse that I should have let slide.

[cdjktm]

bLAZING, I NEVER REALIZED WHO YOU WERE UNTIL YOU MENTIONED THE GATE DEAL. i JUST WANT TO LET ANYONE KNOW THAT I LOVE THE WEMC. iT IS TRULY A GIFT. AS FOR SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF "FLEXIBLE" RULES. 3-4 MONTHS AGO, A GENTLEMAN RIDING AND OLDER RM 250 BLATANTLY CROSSED THE TRACK (NEW TRACK RIGHT BEFORE THE FINISH LINE AFTER THE SECTION THAT USED TO BE THE TRIPLE-DOUBLE-TRIPLE) AND PASSED TWO PEOPLE AND JUST KEPT ON GOING. I WAS 10 YARDS FROM IT AND SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES (NOT HERESAY). IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST "FRONT" TRACK RACES. I BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE LADIES AND GENTLEMAN ON THE FOUR WHEELER AND WAS MET WITH A LESS THAN POLITE REMARK ABOUT LETTING THEM RUN THE RACES. I WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN SAID ANYTHING IF MORE THAN A DOZEN OTHERS HADN'T COMPLAINED TO ME AND EACH OTHER. I HAVE SEEN SOME PEOPLE GET LEFT CHANGING A SPARK PLUG AT THE GATE WHILE FRIENDS OF THE TRACK PERSONNEL GET WAITED ON. I HAVE SEEN ADAM MENENGA (WHO IS A GREAT GUY) RIDE IN BEGINNER RACES JUST TO MESS WITH SOME OF THE BEGINNERS. HAPPENED TO ME A COUPLE YEARS AGO. JESSE BEATREL , WHOM I LIKE, JUMPS IN RACES FOR FUN. SMALL INSTANCES HAPPEN LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME. I USED TO COME WITH ABOUT 15 PEOPLE FROM THE KILLEEN AREA, I CANNOT GET THEM TO COME ANYMORE, THEY WOULD RATHER GO TO ANOTHER TRACK AND GET THERE DOORS BLOWN OFF THAN COME TO THE CONFUSION.
FROM THE INSIDE , THESE INSTANCES MAY NOT SEEM LIKE SUCH A BIG DEAL, BUT THEY ARE TO OTHERS.
**** I WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE THAT I LOVE WEMC, IT IS THE BEST FAMILY TRACK THAT I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. THE MEMBERS ,ESPECIALLY HERE LATELY, HAVE BECOME VERY GOOD FRIENDS. I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERY RACE AND KNOW THAT I WILL SEE FRIENDS EVERY TIME THAT WE GO. THANKS TO EVERYONE.

NOT COMPLAINING, JUST OFFERING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. THE SECOND THINGS CHANGE I WILL DRAG EVERYONE BACK THAT I CAN.

BOB

[worcs]

I would like to thank



I would like to thank Ryan for his work the back was gerat. fist time i have race it had lots of fun .
the club rules have been brought up .that was the last thing I did but they are some were ? will look for them.we sould print this from bob .maybe juff can bring it to the meeting.the club can allways use help.
P.S say what you think that is how we fix what is !!!!!

[Blazing MX]

That's who I am Bob ;D

There are a lot of good people at WEMC. I almost look forward to doing things for the club

My position is that of only an executive board committee member."Article 7" "The executive board is comprised of 5 members. The executive board is to act for the club when called upon, make final decisions upon expulsion of club members, and properly investigate and present all important business to the club. A committee must check all bills, approve them before being paid, and being countersigned by the president of the club"

The web stuff I do is to help the club members communicate ideas and comments so all members can become aware of their peers concerns, suggestions and so forth. That and shoot the BS about riding. ;D
I guess the main point is that I am in reality not a person of any authority nor do I pretend to be, I only try to help out where I can and don't mind doing so.

You are right, I have seen the things you mention. The gentleman cutting the track that day was Scott Bagby. He raced 2 classes that day and was DQ'd from both. He was clowning around and it probably wasn't the brightest idea he had all day. He rides in the Vet class normally and sometimes the guys in that class do that, okay mostly Scott, but we all know him. I've seen him during a race pul off the back section and take a break. I've also seen others pull off and join him back there. Not a big deal in the Vet class but don't do it in the other classes.

Jesse was "repremanded" for doing some of the things you mentioned, in fact he caught some flack this weekend for, lets just say not being honest.

Bob, if you want to volunteer to do some track work, I'll go to bat for ya and help all I can. I am in a working band so not every weekend works for me but I'm sure we can schedule something that works. I know we will need the water truck and perhaps I can work that thing. I love to ride and it's so much more fun to have a good gate of peers to line up with. The more people we can get to the track, the more fun it is for all of us.

Take care,
Jeff

[Blazing MX]

worcs said:

I would like to thank Ryan for his work the back was gerat. fist time i have race it had lots of fun .
the club rules have been brought up .that was the last thing I did but they are some were ? will look for them.we sould print this from bob .maybe juff can bring it to the meeting.the club can allways use help.
P.S say what you think that is how we fix what is !!!!!

For sure Gene, the back section wsa the best. I know you liked it because that's where you pushed me the most before blowing my doors off. ;D

I will print this and bring it to the meeting.

PS Bob, tell them people from Killeen to come up in March and lets make this happen. I'm pumped just thinking about it. I may have to start practicing ....GENE!

[worcs]

hey jeff i tryed to fix it ?? not so good. ha ha .

[cdjktm]

BLADING, I WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE TRACK. I AM IN GRADUATE SCHOOL AND HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING AWAY FROM MY CLASSES AND TEACHING OBLIGATIONS. I HAVE A SMALL TRACTOR, BUT IT GROOMS FACES AND LANDINGS WELL. HAS A SMALL BUCKET. I WILL TRY TO ORCHESTRATE GETTING UP THERE WITH IT. THANKS FOR THE POSITIVE RESPONSES. I WAS NOT BEING MALICIOUS BUT I COULD SEE HOW SOMEONE MIGHT THINK SO. AS TO THE RELAXED ATMOSPHERE DURING RACES. I JUST THINK THAT IT IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE COME TO THE RACES FOR. I ENJOY SEEING THE PEOPLE THAT I HAVE MEET MESSING AROUND ALSO. I REALLY DO. PEOPLE WANT TO COME, RACE AND GO HOME AND SALVAGE THERE WEEKEND. OTHERS THAT ARE NOT REGULARS JUST DON'T GET THE INSIDE JOKE. LIKE I SAID, I RESPECT ALL OF YOU WHO VOULENTEER YOUR TIME. I SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT. I HOPE THAT THIS THREAD DOES SOME POSITIVE THING AND WE CAN GET THE ATTENDANCE BACK UP. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE IN THE NEXT MONTH. THANKS AGAIN.

BOB ;D

[DaddyFlea]

I believe he was talking about a 100 in the 85cc class or maybe being nice about the little boy running the 70cc honda in the 50cc 4-6. Just me please don't bean me with big rocks but, if I were running the races they would start at 1:00 pm on Sunday or maybe even a Saturday or two. I really don't want to hear about how hot it is. If the heat was such a problem all those bikes would not be there on Sunday afternoon. Besides I would rather start hot and end cool, than start cool and end hot.

Bob James may not race anymore, but his track is nice. his son rides a 50 but he invited the whole 65 class and it took them quite a bit of practice before they started doubling the jumps. You can read this as, the track was fine for big bikes too. In fact several of his jumps were more than some of the older guys would like.

A bunch of us raced Belton and or Whitney as well as Waco Eagles.

I really have a bone to pick with the quads. They are always talking about how many racers they can have at an event but rarely do they actually show up at a real race. They will be there practicing though. We all know those Quads are too dangerous anyway (they scare me to death at least).

My opinion is this. We have no Officers that read the Internet that I know of. Ross used to, but I have not seen him on here in a long time. This translates in the Clubs voices are not being heard.

We need our own equipment. First and foremost a good tractor about a 60 hp Diesel with a bucket, boxblade, and a good shreader. I was told at the last meeting our present tractor was fine. Even if it was brand new it is too small for the job. any money put on repairing it is wasted.

Next a good Water Truck. The one we have runs but it is a wonder. Raise the hood and look under the air cleaner at the big holes letting all the dust directly in the carb. When we fix things they need to be fixed right not rigged.

We are letting the track go too long before repairs then the track is changed up and simple repairs are forgotten.

I know some of you like the way Darrel did tracks and I did as well to a point, but I still do not understand why the Camel's Back has to have a big flat spot in the landing. This is the first big jump in the series of three. I think this hole should be filled to make an extra long smooth landing. I have seen too many falls because of this flat spot. It is fine if you go extra long or if you barely make it over the crest, but if you hit midway you land flat.

I tried very hard to get Johnny to fix the jump where the 85cc rider got hurt last Sunday. That was the Track committee's priority some time ago but it never got done. It has a bad kicker then you have to jump off it. That whole jump is way off and actually turns the track too early.

Moving sand on the track in my opinion will only increase problems. It is bad enough to ride on the hard track but having the option to hit loose sand will make it worse. Not to mention the fact that sand needs constant attention and we have no equipment.

Also our dual berms are off. How many of you noticed that the Flea controled the Heat of the 65 class without jumping anything. He does it by hogging the inside line. Outside lines are too high. I really don't like those dual berms anyway. We need to put up a dirt barrier to keep everyone from cutting in too low and do away with those dual berms.

I was also told in a meeting we could cut the high weeds with a sickle. How many of you are willing to cut the weeds with a sickle on a 2 mile track?

In short we need to get a tractor and start by simply maintaining the track. Gradually work out the problem areas, and keep the weeds cut.

Honestly folks we surely lost money at the last race, we must do some things to increase races or we are going to have to very drastically increase our membership dues.

Another thing that is just killing us is that the racers we have can not run but one class. Make the races shorter and add more classes.

The Flea raced for 16 miles last Sunday. Do the math 4 laps with two Motos = 16 miles.

We could have run less laps with a 65 class open to any age. Same for 50s and 85s.

Of course last Sunday we did not have enough riders to do this but if it is always offered more people will run more than one class.

Just my opinions and I don't race anymore. A suggestion was made at the last meeting that non-racers or people that do not do dirt work could not be on a track committee. All you Mini Parents take note, this means you.

Track Meetings are held on my Masonic Lodge Meeting nights. I have not been able to make much difference in the last couple of years and I must start attending Lodge Meetings. Somebody must start attending meetings and get some things done.

Ever notice how the discussions at the meetings start to get involved and suddenly a Motion is made to close the meeting. I have.

I don't think anyone is trying to tear the Track down, everyone just has a different opinion and a lot of us are frustrated.

See you at the Track.

[TripleCrown]

I'm glad to see some concerns being expressed. I agree with Brenda on the meetings. I don't feel like much is accomplished and leave feeling like it was a waste of my time to go. I plan on attending the meeting tonight.

I do have an opinion on the way the races are run. I think Mike & Paula do a GREAT job with what they have to work with. Since I did not get to race on Sunday, I was the flagger in the back section. From what I observed, when each race was over the green flag went up and the next race started. With the exception of the accident and having to wait on another ambulance to come, I thought things went pretty smooth. We probably could have started a little earlier but with technical difficulties, what can you do?

My offer for tractor work stands any time it is needed (I think this is every month). I did what I could on Saturday to make things better with out making them worse. There are a lot more places that need work, but I didn't want to push it too far and make enemies for myself. I have teeth on the boxblade that will rip through anything out there, but that is not a good idea the day before the race.

As far as me not getting to race after working all day - I guess I just need to get a bike!

PS - After flagging on Sunday and observing the races, I did notice one thing - #36 in the Vet class should have been Black Flagged and moved up to the Supercross Circuit. Ha Ha!

[DaddyFlea]

As far as technical errors on the Computer, I am working as hard as I can. Mike is not a Computer person and did have some problems. I really do not think this held up the races though. One thing that held us up was trying to get all the combined classes sorted out. So far as I can determine the Computer problems were caused by entry errors. There is really nothing I can do about those but one major problem was a blank record that was causing the computer to get off the race date and screwed up the printing of the Scorekeepers sheets. I can have the program scan and delete these blank records and that problem will be fixed. I am having problems with the computer because the operating system is so old (Win95) that I can not load the latest version of my software. This causes major problems in that changes I make on my home computer may or may not work on the track computer. Also the Software has had two major updates from the version on the Track computer and the techniques I normally use to create programs are not supported by the Track version. Testing done at home is worthless on the Track Computer and when I am at the track the last thing I want to do is fool around with the computer. One thing you have not heard about is scoring errors. The computer does a wonderful job scoring.

[TripleCrown]

Danny,
What quad riders are you referring to? Which ones do you talk to and when? You have never spoken to me unless I spoke first. I certainly have not proclaimed to bring a lot of racers to the track. I was out there ready to race on Sunday. How do we all know how dangerous these quads are? Why are they any more dangerous than a motorcycle?