I dont understand it, how come nobody seems to be up for helping at club promotions?
Peter's APR barely had enough helpers.
Big Al's Drumlithie TT is teetering on the edge of being cancelled.
Every week Sandy has to apeal for helpers at the Eve League.

What's the problem? Why does it always seem to be take, take, take and only a handful of folks willing to put something back?

Why does the biggest club in Scotland have so much difficulty getting enuff helpers to run events that we are proud of.

Are we organising too many events, causing ourselves to be too thinly stretched?
- Should we slash the Eve League to say 8 events.
- Should we didtch some of the open events the Deeside hosts
- And what about our commitment to ADCA events? Are there too many of them?

Are we too soft on those who don't help? Should we be naming and shaming, or even telling them to find another club next year?

Are we rewarding those who do help? At £1.13 a litre is it fair to expect some one to give up their free time and drive as part of a RR convoy when that race could be 80 mile long and then not offer a few quid to cover expenses. Finance it by puting an extra £2 on to entries, cut prize money, etc.

I dont know if any of the above would help - but if we dont start talking about a solution we can be sure that events are going to be cancelled.

So, what do you think? What should we do?

I agree that with the cost of fuel, there should be some subsidy given to those who have to drive a distance to help at races.

I also think the the success of the evening league does not encourage folk to enter or help at open races. (Why pay £10 to race on a course that you can ride for a couple of quid on a Tuesday night several times a year '10 & 25'). Perhaps the evening league events should be reduced in number and only held over non-standard distances such as the circuit courses and the 12, 15 mile ones.

More spot prizes and prizes such as 'closest to 1:15 or 1:10 in a 25TT' for example, may help the slower riders to enter.

Maybe we need to think about using groups like the Air Cadets / Sea Cadets / TA etc to do the marshalling duties? This could be covered by an increase in the entry fee. (Not sure about insurance requirements)

Not sure about the way forward here but these are my views.

Our races are already the most expensive in Scotland and events are being cancelled due to lack of entries so upping the entry is maybe not a good idea. The evening league is £20 for 16 races and is thriving....

I do agree with giving the helpers some assistance with fuel costs, this can be taken from the entry fee's. The prizes will be lower but thats not why we race.

Our club is big enough that this should not be an issue if everyone helps at least once a year.

Another point is that Bob and Isobel are both from GS Corsa and are giving up 16 Tuesday nights for us, I'm not sure everyone appreciates this

I think Sandy's idea of getting everyone to commit to marshalling at EL events as a condition of entry is a good one. We've certainly had plenty of marshalls so far this season.

Bob & Isobel's commitment is incredible, and is also a sad indictment of the club. I guess for too long we've relied on Nobby, Sherri, etc. Hopefully some others can pick up the gauntlet.

With regards to open events, and without getting too political, I think the issue is partly driven by changes in society. We all work harder and longer. Demands on our time are increasing. This leads to us having to make decisions about what to do with our limited leisure time - family or racing / marshalling. For many, family wins out every time. I've seen this in other sports that I'm involved with, so it's not just a cycling problem.

Unfortunately I don't have any answers.......

Any more thoughts anyone?