Summit RC Rock Crawlers fort wayne, IN

[jcboof]

Hey bud, Glad to see your all settle down now. Nothing much has been going on here at Summit. I think that crawling as we know it here is dying. Unless we can revive it SOON!!!

Anyways, Seth Brian and Myself were up in Michigan for the State Championships and it was a blast!!
I ended up winning the Michgan State Championships!! I never would have though that!

Heading to Indy this weekend for the Indiana state comp. That should be a blast as well, We will be crawling against the reigning World Champion, Austin Dunn!! Should be lots of fun!

Hope everything is going well for you down there!

[jcboof]

Anyways, What the heck is going on with crawling here in Ft Wayne???!!!! We really need to start crawling regularly again. I'm not sure if people were getting frustrated or pissed because of our courses we set up or what. maybe it was the amount of money we charged for the comps.

Earlier this year the first couple comps we had, there was a GREAT turnout. but that fizzled out really quick! Maybe we need to get back to SIMPLE crawling so that is FUN for everyone. yes, we are a VERY competitive group to crawl with but there is no reason that we could not make it enjoyable for everyone else but still challenging for us.

I mean, the majority of the new guys who showed up this year were running basically stock AX10's and they were getting blown away by our All Out berg comp rigs and axial comp rigs. One comp day this spring, we had a course that only 2 people were able to get past gate 2!! How frustrating is that!
We should set courses up that are completely doable with a STOCK AX-10 without DIG. DIG should be an "advantage" not a "necessity".
Maybe we should also talk to Dale about the course fees. I understand that the track needs money to operate, but the courses require NO maintenance. Most of the work that is done to the courses is Donated time anyways. I think that $5.00 is a very fair price to pay to crawl there. I know that he charges $7.00 to practice on the indoor course and the indoor Oval/road course track which is understandable. But Maybe in encourage more crawlers, We could charge a little less. There are NO prizes or giveaways that we have done this year yet. No drawings no food or t-shirts. The fact that he opens up his facility to allow us to use the pits is likely the reason for the fees, but I would gladly hook my battery charger up to my pickup battery and pit in the back of my truck to save a few bucks.

I really do enjoy the indoor course in the winter though. I really really hope that we can get together this winter for a points series or maybe even just a bunch of friendly GTG's. It definitely gives me something to look forward to in the winter.

Anyways, enough of my ideas, I was just throwing em out there.

We CANNOT let crawling die here in Ft. Wayne. I just wish we could get more people involved and then get someone to spearhead the movement to try to get a Club going.

[Handicrawler]

I'm with you Jesse. I come up for the events I can make, but my 2 strikes are always the same: money and date. I can't make comps on Sundays any earlier than 1-1:30. That is just my $.02 though.

[scootertrash]

Originally Posted by Listen to the calling of the GOOD LORD'S WORK's Brotha's,....Amen.jcboof

Anyways, What the heck is going on with crawling here in Ft Wayne???!!!! We really need to start crawling regularly again. I'm not sure if people were getting frustrated or pissed because of our courses we set up or what. maybe it was the amount of money we charged for the comps.

Earlier this year the first couple comps we had, there was a GREAT turnout. but that fizzled out really quick! Maybe we need to get back to SIMPLE crawling so that is FUN for everyone. yes, we are a VERY competitive group to crawl with but there is no reason that we could not make it enjoyable for everyone else but still challenging for us.

I mean, the majority of the new guys who showed up this year were running basically stock AX10's and they were getting blown away by our All Out berg comp rigs and axial comp rigs. One comp day this spring, we had a course that only 2 people were able to get past gate 2!! How frustrating is that!
We should set courses up that are completely doable with a STOCK AX-10 without DIG. DIG should be an "advantage" not a "necessity". mean, the majority of the new guys who showed up this year were running basically stock AX10's and they were getting blown away by our All Out berg comp rigs and axial comp rigs. One comp day this spring, we had a course that only 2 people were able to get past gate 2!! How frustrating is that!
We should set courses up that are completely doable with a STOCK AX-10 without DIG. DIG should be an "advantage" not a "necessity"
Maybe we should also talk to Dale about the course fees. I understand that the track needs money to operate, but the courses require NO maintenance. Most of the work that is done to the courses is Donated time anyways. I think that $5.00 is a very fair price to pay to crawl there. I know that he charges $7.00 to practice on the indoor course and the indoor Oval/road course track which is understandable. But Maybe in encourage more crawlers, We could charge a little less. There are NO prizes or giveaways that we have done this year yet. No drawings no food or t-shirts. The fact that he opens up his facility to allow us to use the pits is likely the reason for the fees, but I would gladly hook my battery charger up to my pickup battery and pit in the back of my truck to save a few bucks.

I really do enjoy the indoor course in the winter though. I really really hope that we can get together this winter for a points series or maybe even just a bunch of friendly GTG's. It definitely gives me something to look forward to in the winter.

Anyways, enough of my ideas, I was just throwing em out there.

We CANNOT let crawling die here in Ft. Wayne. I just wish we could get more people involved and then get someone to spearhead the movement to try to get a Club going.

mean, the majority of the new guys who showed up this year were running basically stock AX10's and they were getting blown away by our All Out berg comp rigs and axial comp rigs. One comp day this spring, we had a course that only 2 people were able to get past gate 2!! How frustrating is that!
We should set courses up that are completely doable with a STOCK AX-10 without DIG. DIG should be an "advantage" not a "necessity"

[sportpak]

You make good sense Jesse. All that stuff has been brought up before, but it always works out how it works out.

I fizzled at the end because Sundays are tough for me. Friday night would be the best for myself personally, but it had to be Sundays, so I made the ones I could. You can't plan the thing to best fit everyone.

Yes, stuff was a little too hard. First course of the day stuck at gate two sucks. That's not the way to attract new crawlers. I've been preaching that since day one last year. I understand that the elite level guys need to be challenged, but growing the sport has to start at the other end of the spectrum. Maintaining balance between the two is the age old dilema.

I hope to do some indoor stuff this winter. I hope to maybe do one outside before the weather turns too. I really miss going fast...

Ben

[jcboof]

Well, as far as crawl dates go, I've never preferred one day over the other, I'd personally prefer to crawl on Saturdays, Or we could do Friday Night comps too! I think there were a few people who could only do it on Sundays, Which unfortunately didn't work out for most of the other people.

God, I wish I had a big enough spot or enough rocks in my pile to host full on comps. Is there any other places in Ft. Wayne to go???????? I'm sure there is some other natural rock formations somewhere there.

I mean I don't want to take the business away from Summit but we may need to look for another place to comp too. Summit is great, Has lots of rocks and what not, But honestly, You can only move the rocks around so many times before every conceivable line has been done and you get bored with it. The hill climb is fun but is unfortunately not movable, So that never changes.

It would be nice to have a local "CLUB" whos home course it at Summit. BUT one that is not limited to run ONLY at summit. We could have a few other spots if someone knows of any to comp at. I really think it would be alot funner!

Ben, You know i've always been on your side about how the courses are set up. We've talked about it in the past. Its just no fun for a newbie to go out and not be able to finish a course. Why would they want to come back if they --1: cannot finish a single course --2: Have to pay a high entry fee to not finish a single course and --3: Not be rewarded with anything if they do well. We can still very very easily set up courses that are challenging but doable for everyone. If they have to take a gate or two out to make it then so be it. We could have several "alternate gates" on the course, maybe 2 or 3. The "Elite" (as you call it) should take the alternate gates which would be a tougher line. The newbs or rookies could take the normal lines but the alternates could be BONUS points for them! That way theoretically a NEWBIE could WIN the comp. The better drivers know who they are. And I for one would be glad to do something like this. I mean even on bad days, the better drivers still drive better than 50% of the people out there.
Brian didn't have a great day in Dearborn this past weekend but he still took 4th! Out of how many??? WOW. I've seen him drive ALOT better than he did, and he still came out way ahead of the others. So we could definitely make it challenging for the top drivers too.

I was actually rather surprised that we have not had any prizes or anything this year. I mean for the first couple comps we easily had 10-12 people paying 15 bucks a pop. Thats like $150-180 bucks ! We could have at least gave away a set of tires, I mean rovers are like what 30 bucks for a full set??

We should be trying to DRAW people in. Gotta at least make it enjoyable for everyone.

I don't want to step on anyones toes here but I honestly think that things need to change!

[mhann]

Guy's you need to make the newb's feel welcome.........

try starting a sportsman class : shaft driven,1 motor only use 2 channels, NO DIG, NO DIG, NO DIG .

score them seprately, have there own course's [less difficult]

starting this weekend at the state comp there will be a sportsman class
for all comps at the ROX BOX. I think we have 13 or 14 for sat.
tri-state is doing the same thing for 09

give it a try it cant hurt.

[jcboof]

I agree with you totally. We really need to focus on that.

As far as the sportsman class. We have never really had that many guys show up to our comps, Maybe 15 at the most. I really dont think that we need to run a separate class, Its not a bad idea but I just dont think that it is necessary. We just need to work on making things enjoyable for everyone.

Maybe if we can jump start our attendance and start seeing 15-20 people show up every comp, then maybe we could offer the Sportsman class, Couldn't hurt i guess.

[Ghostkid]

I really like the Sportsman Class running with the Pro Class. At the ISC at the Rox Box, the sports guys got very close to finishing the final course. Better than then they did all day for the other four courses.

If you have around 15 people, find out how many are shaft only and design the courses accordingly. You might even give them a break, 5 extra reverses, or a handi cap score of 50 points to point out. Make it so they can in 5 minutes get through 4 to 5 gates. The scores will be close, and if some one starts to do really good, well it's time to show him some new parts and show him how to move up a class.

Sunday's is a hard day for most people.

[M_ENERGY]

Originally Posted by jcboof

Hey bud, Glad to see your all settle down now. Nothing much has been going on here at Summit. I think that crawling as we know it here is dying. Unless we can revive it SOON!!!

Anyways, Seth Brian and Myself were up in Michigan for the State Championships and it was a blast!!
I ended up winning the Michgan State Championships!! I never would have though that!

Heading to Indy this weekend for the Indiana state comp. That should be a blast as well, We will be crawling against the reigning World Champion, Austin Dunn!! Should be lots of fun!

Hope everything is going well for you down there!

Congrats on the win!! your new rig is very capable for sure. Mines still in the box :-( but not for long. ttyl

[jcboof]

Seth, Is there going to be an indoor comp series this winter??? Please post up some dates and times if there is. Or if you don't have the time, I'll see if I can talk to Dale and get something going. Brian, Ben, and Ken all sold their crawlers, Looks like they are not going to be joining us this winter anymore, So we need to start recruiting more people to crawl with.

I really hope we can still get something going, It will be boring around there this winter without something to do.

[twistedone]

come on up we are crawling till xmas and beyond
dont forget about Battle front Gaming in Grand rapids they just put a couple ton of rocks in

[Handicrawler]

Grand Rapids is gonna be a long haul for me (1 hour south of the Fort). Count me in for some Summit crawls if you get them going Jesse. Or if I can help, let me know.

[jcboof]

I'll likely make it up for some of your comps Bob. And I'll likely hit up the Grand Rapids spot too! But I'd just like to see if something is happening here locally for the guys.

Mark, I'll definitely keep ya posted if anything develops around here.

[airborn]

Originally Posted by jcboof

Or if you don't have the time, I'll see if I can talk to Dale and get something going. Brian, Ben, and Ken all sold their crawlers, Looks like they are not going to be joining us this winter anymore, So we need to start recruiting more people to crawl with.

I really hope we can still get something going, It will be boring around there this winter without something to do.

Jesse,

Time is the issue for me, since I started school I have been swamped. Yes if you would like to put together a winter series by all means go for it! I encourage it, Just talk to Dale about the time and day you want, I am guessing Saturday around the same time as last year since it seemed like that worked for most. Any way I will also say some thing to Dale and dont for get I have all the score sheets Ken made and the stop watches. Let me know what your thinking?

I did not know that those guys sold their stuff? I am sure its to focus on the carpet and in the spring they will build a new rig.

seth

[jcboof]

Sounds good Seth, I think I still have Dales number around somewhere, if not I'll PM ya for it.

I'd have no problem at all arranging something for this winter, Maybe we can start crawling outside then when weather allows, start running inside. The biggest issue I can see for everyone is the $$$ right now. I'll talk to Dale and see what we can work out.

I think what I'd like to do is work on a Alternate Route Course. Call it Summit ARC Indoor series.

Instead of doing a Sportsman class, We can have a system developed where alternate gates are placed on the course for COMP Crawlers. The alternate gate would be a harder gate that would likely require the use of dig so most of the Bergs and serious comp rigs with dig would take the alternate gate. There would be no bonus for the alternate gate when taken by a COMP class crawler, but the easier gate would be available for the Non-Dig (Sportsman Class) crawlers to use, There would be no point penalty for taking their normal (EASIER) gate but if they decided to take the harder Alternate gate, They could have a 2-4 point bonus for successfully clearing the gate depending on difficulty.
This might make things a little interesting!
That way a newbie crawler or someone with-out dig could compete with the COMP rigs! There would likely be 2-3 Alternate gates per course which would give 4-12 bonus points to the person who sucessfuly navigates them.

Only reason I'm thinking this idea would work well is so we don't have to have a Separate Sportsman Class. Nothing at all against the sportsman class, Its just the idea of having 2 separate classes which we may not have an adequate turnout to sucessfully fill.

If enough people are interested, I'd definitely encourage a Sportsman class! Heck, I'd even build a sportsman rig for the class!

I'm not sure what people would think of this but I'm open to any ideas!

Its just the idea of making it fun for everyone, So we don't have to have separate courses for the COMP and Sportsman classes, We can all run on the same courses and give eachother a run for their money!!

I'd love to see a person with a stock Axial beat a $1000+ comp rig on the course!! It would be fun!!!

Thats what we need to bring back to Summit is FUN!!

[jcboof]

any input guys?? I've still got to talk to Dale at Summit about it, If I dont get any interest in this, I'll likely let it go and there will be no winter comps or GTG's.


Please post up if you're interested in crawling this winter!

[Handicrawler]

I'm in!

[Nitro_mudder]

So is anyone still doing this? Just getting into it with my son. We have 5 acres of woods to play in as well.