Comp Crawling Qualifier Attendance by Year (2012-2014)

[wrcfan29]

I think all of the comments are spot on and it’s great to talk about it. I’m not going to add my experiences to the mix because they are similar to everybody’s, good and bad. What I do suggest is a complete overhaul of the organization to guarantee a lasting future. We should look at the auto racing organizations of the world and how the governing bodies regulate in order to maintain interest over the years. Let’s face it, what makes competitions appealing is the legitimacy of the organization.

Marketing – Marketing needs to be the main priority of the organization. Event coverage is paramount. All outlets of the media need to report coverage to the general public, the magazines, and web outlets. All major racing groups push advertising to maintain and attract audience members.

Competition – In the last 20 years, all major racing organizations have added more “spec” requirements to keep racing close and cost down. A phrase that goes around is “this is a driver’s sport”, meaning the machines are closer to equal therefore only the best drivers will win not the best machine. This is a highly debatably topic but you cannot simply ignore the results that racing has improved and attendance is still up. (I know NASCAR attendance has decreased over the last few years but it is still very high and profitable) With that being said the following class suggests are being made to increase competition and fan base.

1.9 Class – Either keep it or lose it. Nobody seems to care about the class. I think the cars are too small for people to enjoy them anyway.

Super Class – Either keep it or lose it. Courses are almost impossible to find consistently across the country. This would be more of a novelty class.

2.2 Pro – Rename it 2.2 Unlimited. Keep all the same rules. Market this as the premier class for RC Rock Crawling.

2.2 Shaft – Rename it 2.2 Spec. Rules: Straight lower links (Maybe metal only or no delrin), no torsion chassis, battery limit of either nimh only or 7.4 volt limit, bodiless is acceptable but with slightly bigger minimal dimensions (Gmade R1 has to be legal too), two-channel max, and no BTA steering (old school with the tie rod in the front). Now, I didn’t say anything about a motor limit because I have no idea how a MOA would perform under this conditions. They could perform too well and then we should limit the motor count then. The goal is to reduce cost, limited performance, and market it as a feeder series for 2.2 Unlimited.

Trail Class – This is a good idea for welcoming new people to the group. I think careful evaluation of this class over time would be beneficial to the sport.

G6 & Ultra 4 Racing – I think it is important to try to make concessions to regulate them under one body and bring them over since there vehicles are still based on the same parts.

Course design – When I first started going to comps the guy putting the show together always design the course so that 80-90% should be able to finish. Everybody had “Seat Time” and the difference between winning and losing was always two or three decisions to be made. If you disagree then, you should still make a doable course but have a couple of bonus lines if you feel the need. Course completion is paramount to the experience of competing. The racing side allows almost 100% to complete the course, why can’t we get closer. Plus the thrill of somebody choosing a bonus line draws the interest up.

Judges – This is the hardest part about a comp. When I did Solo2 (SCCA Autocross) every competitor had to work. It is important to make the competitors work the comp. I think the test is the best thing ever and a great logical next step would be certification.

Hopefully you value my input considering how little I post on here. I don’t care if you have positive or negative comments. Comments and actions will help the sport.

Thank you for reading.

Billy

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by wrcfan29

Marketing – Marketing needs to be the main priority of the organization. Event coverage is paramount. All outlets of the media need to report coverage to the general public, the magazines, and web outlets. All major racing groups push advertising to maintain and attract audience members.

I've written and spoken of this to the powers that be about this point directly and how the organization should be actively helping clubs and qualifier organizers achieve this.

Awaiting action.

J

[wrcfan29]

Forgot this

Course Design - Courses for 2.2 Spec should maintain a completion rate of 80%. If 80% of the drivers don't complete the course then a new course is to be created. Mechanical and DNS would be taken out of the calculation. The old scores will be kept as tie breakers. This is a little extreme but course completion needs to be made a priority because we are not professionals, we are hobbyists. We only have fun when were driving and if we have fun then were coming back.

Billy

[Curcal]

You can find super lines any where you can find good 2.2 lines. I have a feeling super will make a resurgence. If im wrong me and the drivers who do drive this class will continue to smile and grin knowing what youve all been missing.

I know because ive have experienced both sides now. Dont tell my 2.2 berg, but my n.early 10 lb super is my favorite car in the pack

[SkaldidDog]

Updated with actual numbers from 2014 events. Will update Nats driver count post event.

J

[stubs179]

Come on Mr. PhD, where's the PowerPoint? Slackin'!

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by stubs179

Come on Mr. PhD, where's the PowerPoint? Slackin'!

PowerPoint...sounds phallic.

J

[stubs179]

Originally Posted by SkaldidDog

PowerPoint...sounds phallic.

J

So.......your saying your up for a burger and a PowerPoint?



In all honesty, it is nice to see the information put into a graph. It really puts the hearsay in perspective. There is no arguing facts.

If its not to much to ask, it would be interesting to see the graphs against the dates the MRC, LCC, and XR10 were discontinued. I don't know the dates? I know the MRC brought a lot of people into the sport (like me). I just happened to be in a hobby shop, it looked cool, was relatively cheap and was RTR. It had RCC stickers inside and thats how i heard about this site. I never had much interest in it once i got my first 2.2p but it was my gateway drug!

[JohnRobHolmes]

Originally Posted by wrcfan29

Forgot this

Course Design - Courses for 2.2 Spec should maintain a completion rate of 80%. If 80% of the drivers don't complete the course then a new course is to be created. Mechanical and DNS would be taken out of the calculation. The old scores will be kept as tie breakers. This is a little extreme but course completion needs to be made a priority because we are not professionals, we are hobbyists. We only have fun when were driving and if we have fun then were coming back.

Billy

I think this is an excellent point to consider. Since courses are all timed, it should boil down to time more than points. Back when I was in the swing of competing I would routinely only finish 30% of the gates yet still be placing above half pack. So I spent all my time thrashing around on just a few gates and still was doing better than most.

[EeePee]

I'd like to see the numbers from a little earlier on.

I'd also like to see the large spike (I assume) when the AX-10 hit the market. That was a big happening in our world. Brought a ton of people around and really gave the hobby a much needed kick because now these things were instantly accessible. Cause before that, having to explain how many different pieces are needed to build a crawler and how to get or make them was like, well you'd see their eyes just wander off as their interest veered over to the Traxxas stuff. The Losis helped also, but I don't think on the same level. So there was a kick for a few years, as can be seen. Then the downward decline. I hate to say it, but I bet next year's numbers will be lower.

Battlegrounds had some bigger numbers, especially when it was free and there was a raffle. Last year's numbers were sad comparatively, and I can't believe an entry fee had much to do with it...

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by JohnRobHolmes

I think this is an excellent point to consider. Since courses are all timed, it should boil down to time more than points. Back when I was in the swing of competing I would routinely only finish 30% of the gates yet still be placing above half pack. So I spent all my time thrashing around on just a few gates and still was doing better than most.

I totally agree.

Originally Posted by EeePee

I'd like to see the numbers from a little earlier on.

I'd also like to see the large spike (I assume) when the AX-10 hit the market. That was a big happening in our world. Brought a ton of people around and really gave the hobby a much needed kick because now these things were instantly accessible. Cause before that, having to explain how many different pieces are needed to build a crawler and how to get or make them was like, well you'd see their eyes just wander off as their interest veered over to the Traxxas stuff. The Losis helped also, but I don't think on the same level. So there was a kick for a few years, as can be seen. Then the downward decline. I hate to say it, but I bet next year's numbers will be lower.

Battlegrounds had some bigger numbers, especially when it was free and there was a raffle. Last year's numbers were sad comparatively, and I can't believe an entry fee had much to do with it...

Feel free to post up key dates of products coming and going and I'll incorporate them into the post 2014 revision.

Rebuilding fun local scenes is the key to rebirth.

J

PS

The beauty of RCORVA is that all of this type of attendance data will be collected (and hopefully displayed) in real time with far greater granularity (broken down by region/state/rig class etc).

But the best way to track crawling is with the metrics collected by this website and the activity by region/state/rig class and when products are released. I'd have a field day with the RCC stats. Jason/Badger have at their disposal the living pulse of crawling. Advertisers would love to see it too. Real time activity feeds dumping to historic graphing would rock.

[Highlucks]

Before I post this I am going to say that I have had a blast at all of the nationals I have attended. Other major US events I can not comment on.

2011, Awesome event, well organised down to the minute, good coverage, good vendor support, great attendance.
2012, Awesome event, not so well organised, very little coverage, good vendor support, Attendance was down a little.
2013, Awesome event, least organised of the three, almost no coverage, deminshed vendor support, attendance seemed up from 2012. Lets not get into the Nationals trophies.

[SkaldidDog]

Updated with complete 2014 data.

J

[SkaldidDog]

First post updated with 2015 data. Data is below as well. JSlick's NENQ has the most stable attendance record of the lot. Way to go man! 2015 qualifier attendance dropped 41.4% vs 2014. That's an improvement over the 2013 to 2014 drop rate of 49.2%. Contraction is still under way but may be slowing.

[JohnRobHolmes]

We also had 12 people run the g6 Trail portion of the event, and unofficially there were another 15 or 20 people that drove rigs around and hung out. More spectators this year than I've ever seen as well.

edit: I see you are just looking at 2.2P, I think.

[SkaldidDog]

Originally Posted by JohnRobHolmes

We also had 12 people run the g6 Trail portion of the event, and unofficially there were another 15 or 20 people that drove rigs around and hung out. More spectators this year than I've ever seen as well.

edit: I see you are just looking at 2.2P, I think.

Yep man, just looking at 2.2P attendance. I figure this class is a fairly representative barometer of comp crawling interest. I hope that the scale scene spins off some comp nuts as a subset of scale drivers seek out a more technical challenge on and off course.

[Highlucks]

Bump

[Jslick]

I would like to see all the updated info.

Driver info for 2016 NENC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6S...w?pref=2&pli=1