"Why I don't go to comps".....not looking for comp guy replies....

[Blazer72]

Originally Posted by Meatwad

Wow, the last comp you attended had these things happen to you?

absolutely, there were a few 3 or so out of the 25+ that showed willing to actually talk to me. very few gave up any pointers on how to drive except Devlin, he builds great rigs and is willing to help an absolute newb. the rest were cliquey and wanted to talk about all the "cool scale parts" what about a guy who is just learning and doesnt know anything about picking lines to drive?

[Blazer72]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

What club comp did you attend that treated you in this way?

For the sake of this club I will not say who they are, though I know many of them frequent this site and hope only that they may take this to heart.

I still say a newb should have his own class for the first year he competes at a local club, after that he must abide by the 3 classes that are sanctioned. and come on guys you want more members to turn out give the newbs pointers on how to tackle the course, especially city and metro people! I think I'm just gonna drive my toys where and how I want til something is done, period end of story, my rant is over. F**K COMPETIONS! at least until they become much much more newb friendly.

[Tonysmini]

The guys that organise the Scale Nationals over here in the UK run it with a very relaxed and casual attitude, it's a great friendly, fun atmosphere, and you can run just about anything you want, stock, home built, all the toys added, even runs a Wraith class.

The classes are generally agreed upon during scrutineering, they don't worry so much about scale points (causes a few teddies to be brought out for battle), and you just enjoy yourselves.

There are very experienced guys, and complete newbies, everyone just gets on with it, gets to know each other and makes good friends along the way.

Mixing helps the new guys and girls pick up tips from the more experienced people, little things they may not have realised until someone shows them. It certainly helped me, and my 8 year old son, who almost beat me this year, hmmmmm.

Tony

[Heilo08]

I'm more into the GTG type events really laid back. Comps just haven't ever appealed to me, might be the cost of building a comp rig, or what seem to be the ever changing rules can't really put a finger on it. I do have a good friend that goes to them regularly and always trying to get me to go.

[Tgreer]

Originally Posted by Manning

It's happened. One of our local guys, TGreer on here, smoked us all at one of the first comps he attended. It was pretty cool.

You don't have to lie to make me feel good!

I'm probably no longer considered a rookie, I have officially done one full season of comping now and would say in regaurds to this thread is, a stock class sounds kinda kool, but agree with duuuuuuuude in that a stock rig just is not tough enough without a few minor upgrades. I don't think it's nessisary to have a stock class for new guys though, if you have a club as awsome as mine with experienced drivers to help and cheer on the new guys then there's no issue. The people that really want to comp will comp as long as other members are welcoming! For me, manning, Shane, and Rickey wiping the floor with me comp after comp made me more driven to become better! It just fueled the fire and made it more fun for me! I would really be bored if I won every comp, having the good drivers kick my tail end gives me reason to tinker and practice, believe it or not that does not always equal having to spend more money!

[Charlie-III]

Hi guys....yes, I've tried to stay out of this thread....I've also "requested" comp guys to not post here......why??, I (and hopefully others) are looking for WHY some peeps DON'T go to comps.

I will update post #1 with reasons/thoughts as I feel fit.

I want to use this for clubs/groups to use this to "search themselves" to see how we can keep current comp levels/expand current comp levels.

I am NOT looking for TV coverage, just trying to find a way to cover "usual losses" / slightly expand participation.

I appreciate some of the support I've been given thus far. I have "nominated" CHUD to do a "Why I go to comps" thread outside of the "newb forum" so everyone can comment/slam as they feel fit.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by Tgreer

You don't have to lie to make me feel good!

I'm probably no longer considered a rookie, I have officially done one full season of comping now and would say in regards to this thread is, a stock class sounds kinda kool, but agree with duuuuuuuude in that a stock rig just is not tough enough without a few minor upgrades. I don't think it's necessary to have a stock class for new guys though, if you have a club as awesome as mine with experienced drivers to help and cheer on the new guys then there's no issue. The people that really want to comp will comp as long as other members are welcoming! For me, manning, Shane, and Rickey wiping the floor with me comp after comp made me more driven to become better! It just fueled the fire and made it more fun for me! I would really be bored if I won every comp, having the good drivers kick my tail end gives me reason to tinker and practice, believe it or not that does not always equal having to spend more money!

I will admit that I asked for a copy of my 1st "Negative score" on a course as well as a ""completed 2 courses" score sheets. Our club scorer likely thought is was a PITA to provide those, but it was a big deal to me.

You have to start somewhere.

[dropstep]

Alot of the perviously mentioned ones but the biggest for me are money. i got into this hobby because it was cheaper then my 1:1. People, theres so many people out there loyal to one brand that everything else is junk, happens the same way in the drag racing world but most of the guys i raced with i grew up with. Maybe im just anti social but i would enjoy watching 1 or 2 if there was something near me!

[Olle P]

(Sorry for going a bit off topic, but I hope this post will help reaching our ultimate goal...)

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Olle, ... Maybe you need to be that person that starts to organize events and try to get others interested. I can tell you, it is not an easy task, but it can be rewarding.

BTW, I can tell you from personal experience, one of the best ways to get someone interested and involved in this hobby is to hand them the controller to your truck and tell them to have fun. I've done this plenty of times and it has worked almost every single time.

Let me assure you that I make myself very visible while running the crawler in public locations around town. Like at the most visited midsummer celebration:


And I do let anybody showing interest drive it for a while, regardless of age. (We all know that even three year old kids can handle this speed... ;))

I also pest my colleagues and just about anybody I aquaint, telling them how fun it is to run a crawler.
Once they learn that a cheap crawler RTR is ~$300 (2000 SEK) the gathered interest suddenly die...

I plan to see if there's some interest, if not for a comp so at least for a get-together, in the area next spring.

Although I live almost in the dead centre of Sweden...

... most of the expected visitors will have to travel a full day just to get here (and then the same time to get home again), so it will have to be a full weekend event. The good thing is that there's a hostel located right at one of the best local crawling spots.

[Ffnye79]

I have to say that in my area (South Eastern Pa) it has been great getting into crawling. I bought my first "crawler" (Wraith) in April of this year finally, after getting hooked on it after seeing it for the first time at Motorama last year. I found SVSC on the net that same month. I went to my first comp not long after that and have been hooked ever since. I have since got an SCX-10 and have started making my own scale accessories to make both trucks better. I ended my first season 2nd in overall points with SVSC and have met a lot of great people that have been great to learn from. I have not had to travel very far from home to make other clubs comps either. It has been a great year so far and I'm not even done with my first full year yet and have been asked to lead SVSC in 2013 as the President of the club. Which I consider a honor to do. I look forward the challange of moving the club forward in 2013. It has been a great 2012 with the help of SVSC and the great people of EPA as well.

[OTHGbronco82]

Originally Posted by Ffnye79

I have to say that in my area (South Eastern Pa) it has been great getting into crawling. I bought my first "crawler" (Wraith) in April of this year finally, after getting hooked on it after seeing it for the first time at Motorama last year. I found SVSC on the net that same month. I went to my first comp not long after that and have been hooked ever since. I have since got an SCX-10 and have started making my own scale accessories to make both trucks better. I ended my first season 2nd in overall points with SVSC and have met a lot of great people that have been great to learn from. I have not had to travel very far from home to make other clubs comps either. It has been a great year so far and I'm not even done with my first full year yet and have been asked to lead SVSC in 2013 as the President of the club. Which I consider a honor to do. I look forward the challange of moving the club forward in 2013. It has been a great 2012 with the help of SVSC and the great people of EPA as well.

So...why don't you go to comps. Nice job on having a good season so far.

[Dostradamas]

I have a new perspective on why I don't go to comps.......much.
I previously posted $$ being the reason.
I had a chance to go to a local comp for free (whoopeee!!!!)
Ride there, no entry fee, how could I pass it up?
The people were cool & informative. I had a good experiance meeting people & getting to see some bada$$ rigs.
In the end though I spent 3 1/2 hours waiting (travel time & class 1 & 2 getting done) to drive my truck for 12.8 minutes.
The belief that I cannot afford the $ or time was reinforced in my mind. My rig completed the first course & I cooked my motor comm a bit so no second run for me (luckily I cleaned my comm & got it running again.) My rig was very underqualified in its current state. The competative edge was there but in a friendly, welcoming sort of way.
It was a good thing to do but, in all I can drive 10 minutes from my house & crawl for hours & have more fun.
If I had more time & $ I could see myself trying to become a contender (driving skill needs lots of work but I can hold my own as a builder.)
My goal for the day was to get my truck to finish a "real" competition course, it did (well 1 of 2.)
I stand by my first post. I don't have the time or money to compete.
I am sure I will comp again sometime when the planets aline up but, a regular I wont be.
I am glad I went & very thankful to all the people there they were very cool.
This is my hobby & having the most fun for the least $ is what I am going for so park runs & home courses are my future.

[Super]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

I'm an ex-comp guy. I got tired of driving 2-3 hours one way and couldn't get enough local people together to do anything serious.

When I did comp, I was one of the few shafties left in an overwhelmingly moa field. Did I care? No. Did I expect them to dumb down their courses so I could do better? No. Never once since my very first comp.

As far as a shafty not being able to keep up with a tuned moa? Bull-hockey. Comp winners are good drivers, not good parts buyers. I may not have been the best driver, but me and my poor old shafty put many an expensive moa underneath us on the score sheet.

Get a rig, drive the ever-lovin' daylights out of it, pay attention to it, learn to tune, don't expect all of this to happen overnite, and you will do well, no matter what it is.

Comps are about having fun. If you're having fun, you're doing it right.

Bing Bing Bing!

We have a winner!

[pike2350]

I'm still new to the scaler scene (never been into comp crawlers) I have been to 2 comps...put on by 2 different groups.

The problems I've had is that being shy, the groups are VERY cliquey. The first comp the veterans of the group seemed to not care less...they sort of stuck to themselves....they weren't rude exactly, but not exactly welcoming. One of them did get assigned to me to score me...and he was nice, but once we were back in the group he was back with the veterans...who most didn't stick around long after it was over, so there was very little chance to get to talk to them.

I know going more may help...but it did sort of turn me off a little because I felt little to no comradery from them. Even on the forums, while they will answer questions, they aren't exactly friendly..they throw out their inside jokes and kind of alienate newbs to some degree.

The 2nd comp was a bit better....and it was a "fraction" club from the original in a way. They try to be more relaxed and fun with there style...and that's good...but they seem to want to run Class 2 mostly and I have a Class I.

The main problem I've had is the $$$. I can't figure out how to set up a good rig...I do a lot of what people suggest here and in my club, but it either doesn't work well or I need to constantly buy more/new parts. That gets VERY expensive and I just don't have the money. New tires that are better, better shocks, a good ESC, batteries, etc. It just seems like there is always more money to be spent.

I enjoy working on the bodies and have done that more then comping or even trail running....and would like to do more of the later, it's just tough when the truck doesn't perform great, yet I don't have the $$ to keep trying different parts to "find what works"

[Maxx_Savage]

I've yet to see another comp crawler here in Ireland, let alone comps. I've tried to spark some interest amongst lads I know, I've posted up threads on a few forums, I've contacted the Radio Controlled Car Assosiation of Ireland - nothing of significance.

[4x4Ric]

as a new guy, this doesnt make "comps" sound fun and welcoming:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/rules...-concerns.html

to many rules/being to picky about the rules.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by 4x4Ric

as a new guy, this doesn't make "comps" sound fun and welcoming:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/rules...-concerns.html

to many rules/being to picky about the rules.

Yes, it can make comping look daunting.

Some of it is also from some "simmering disagreements" that hit the boiling point for multiple reasons.

NOTE: Most of this (the rules discussions) is geared towards "National Level" comps, NOT local ones.

I have seen the "rule bending" in our club for a newb to help get him going. As they show up more, more things get pointed out to the rig driver eventually leading them to a "legal rig".

For what it's worth, a "still active/current" rules committee member is in our local club.

Please don't let these "rules discussions threads" turn you away from local comps.

[4x4Ric]

Originally Posted by Charlie-III

Yes, it can make comping look daunting.

Some of it is also from some "simmering disagreements" that hit the boiling point for multiple reasons.

NOTE: Most of this (the rules discussions) is geared towards "National Level" comps, NOT local ones.

I have seen the "rule bending" in our club for a newb to help get him going. As they show up more, more things get pointed out to the rig driver eventually leading them to a "legal rig".

For what it's worth, a "still active/current" rules committee member is in our local club.

Please don't let these "rules discussions threads" turn you away from local comps.

I hear ya, but it is a little overwelming for a new guy.
EDIT, and from what I can see so far, most people are pretty cool.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by 4x4Ric

I hear ya, but it is a little overwelming for a new guy.
EDIT, and from what I can see so far, most people are pretty cool.

Its nothing to be worried about. Arguments happen all the time, they just aren't usually as public.

Like Charlie said, USRCCA rules aren't strictly enforced until you reach the national level, and a bit lesser so for regional events. Local groups can do whatever they want, but it is suggested that they follow the official guidelines to make it easier for those that will be competeing regionally and nationally.

As a new guy, all you've got to worry about is showing up with a running truck.

[Mofoco]

Sorry this was so long tried to shorten it as much as possible.

I am new to r/c crawling, I started with some research, a lot of forum lurking, and went to watch my first comp in North Texas to see what it is all about with no vehicle, I got the crawling bug, learned what class I wanted to start in then purchased a used vehicle. I have done some tweaks to it trying to learn tuning and had some fun just driving in some rocks and situations as well as some trails.


So from what I have witnessed and hear from the forums is comp is great for those drivers who have a good understanding of the rules and judging, especially the drivers/members who are veterans and have been to several comps not just local but state or nationals. The goal is to get more people interested, become club members and have drivers for comps.


My thought on how to get there is to have more GTG play days, Pre Run a location before a comp/event. In my past club experiences we had Club Fun Races and the point of that was to help the new guys with whatever they needed to be competitive, no secrets, well maybe not every secret, you want them to compete and you want to win or loose fair and square. Now not everyone showed up on play days but who did helped each other out on setups and tips and we had fun. We also had scheduled events, went to some out of town events as well... BUT the close competition was much more fun than a complete blowout.


The new guys are not comfortable with that level of competition yet and need a little coaching on course set up, lines to take, maybe some vehicle set up tips for what they have and advice on what is most needed to improve the vehicle they have. (not telling them they have a POS they need this vehicle setup to compete.)


If on GTG days, veterans show the new guys how to set up a course, show driving lines ideas on approach etc. and maybe some tuning tips from the veterans as well as judging and penalties, how the scoring works.


If then they have fun and want to get a better vehicle to compete at a higher level then what they walked away with that day or any other day would be a success, Not just a personal achievement, but an achievement for the sport and clubs alike.


Anybody can be an asshat, try being a mentor.


Edit: The scale/trail guys need love too... no different than being in a flying club being divided between Helicopters and Planes, some crossover and fly both. Maybe they can have a separate Comp GTG's within the club that is geared towards them, night runs, trails, and rock, just have someone in charge of the events for that separate.