Pizza Night And Act "club" Discussions 4th August

[a20089]

Hi all,

The last pizza night organised by Veilside was great and I unfortunately missed it. However since you guys seem like such a great bunch of guys I'm addressing the situation but organising another one. The invite is open to anyone who wants to come. The location will be my heated entertaining room in Kambah and $5 each for those who want pizza should suffice, please bring drinks. If you want to bring your own food that's fine by me. Start time 6.30 for 7 pm. Feel free to bring DVD's to watch.

I would like to make a special request for those people who are interested in coming up with, and putting some ideas on paper, in relation to what an ACT Skyline club may look like and what we as owners want out of any club. I have spoken to many regulars and have received some very positive responses and ideas, I would love to hear from anyone who has an idea. I have spoken to Shell and am hoping she can attend.

Partners/GF's are highly encouraged to attend as my GF would love to have some conversations that don't necessarily relate to cars.

Please reply to this thread and I'll PM you exact location. If you can not attend please feel free to post constructive comments in the thread.

I hope to hear from everyone

Cheers,

Jon

Please note as a bit of house keeping I need to get up early to officiate in a martial arts tournament the next day so I expect to kick everyone out by midnight. Smoking outside (like every club) and there may also be an off duty police officer in attendance so keep it clean (Don't worry they will not be booking cars). I have room for about 10 cars in my driveway and I can use next door's off street parking for another 3 or so. The rest will be on street parking.

[datto260Z]

Damn it, im always working when good stuff is on.

By club, do you mean official club or simple enthusiasts meeting together sort of club? I ask because official clubs have a fair bit of upkeep and work involved.

[CeJay]

I'm in.

[Baconer]

Definitely in at the moment, wont know for sure until a few days before the date, good to see your going ahead with this.

[Frink]

Damn it, im always working when good stuff is on.

By club, do you mean official club or simple enthusiasts meeting together sort of club? I ask because official clubs have a fair bit of upkeep and work involved.

it wont be an individual club, but more of a branch of SAU NSW. this way, all the insurance and red tape is looked after by those who are currently doing it.... come along and we'll all discuss this in more detail....

im in...

[Darkon]

count me in

[R32_Matt]

i'll come along and meet some people.

ive only met a couple of folks off here so yeah....

[Glenieboy]

Howdy. count me in too. Should be a good night.

[Bluprint]

I'm in

[low200]

Pending work im there.

[Michele]

I'd like to come - I'll confirm a little closer to the date and will even bring hubby so long as he doesn't drive my car

[Terminal]

I'm in, I'll represent those of us without skylines, hehe.

[Guest]

I would be interested in coming along, but can't. I've got to do parental duties.

Here's some of my points about running a car club.

Things that people want out of a car club (reasons people join the club):

• Learn about their cars and other people's experiences, technical tips & hints.
  
• Vendor discounts. (Large number of members can become a market they worth giving discounts to)
  
• Gathering of likely minded enthusiasts. Networking, you meet useful people, some people end up working with/for you.
  
• Events (Cruises, track days, charity cruise, dyno days, technical nights, driver training, anything motoring & non-motoring)
  

Things people don't want from a car club (reasons people leave the club):

• Bad reputation (Too many members with serious traffic offences)
  
• Criticism or dispute within the club (Includes gossiping, disagreements between club members)
  
• Anti-social behaviour
  
• Egoism (Too much show-off that is offensive to other people)
  
• Dispute between car clubs (Car club is not a gang)
  

A car club is for the PEOPLE with similar interests, while the car is only the common interest that those PEOPLE have.

We have been running ACT MR2 club since 2003. The club was part of the NSW branch, until we further branched out back in 2004 as the ACT club. The main reason for branching out was that NSW club events were too far away for ACT members to attend. We still remain as a part of the Australian club.

We used to religiously meet once every month. We have members from 19 year old uni students to 60 year old grandmother. We have about 50 members, only about 15 are active members who turn up to events. Most people have other priorities and cannot attend the meets (eg, family, work, study, etc).

We have been looking into CAMS affiliation before the MR2 National event, in April 2007. The main benefit is to be able to hire a race track or other venues - eg, the Sutton Rd skidpan can be hired for a very cheap rate if you were a non-profit organisiation with CAMS affiiliation. CAMS is a personal injury insurance broker and really nothing else for a small car club. Annual fees would apply to be CAMS affiliated, prices vary depending on number of members. Hence we hesitated and dropped the idea, but is still on the agenda. We are registered as a non-profit organisation with an ABN, while pursuing the CAMS affiliation.

ACT members who require CAMS license for racing, they've joined the NSW or VIC club - but they still attend regular ACT events.

The top priority for a car club is - keeping up the number of members. People need to promote the club fairly actively. No members means No club. In order to keep up the number of members, you'll need to organise club events and other member benefits.

Edited July 20, 2007 by zenith13

[Michele]

Things that people want out of a car club (reasons people join the club):

[*]Learn about their cars and other people's experiences, technical tips & hints.

[*]Vendor discounts. (Large number of members can become a market they worth giving discounts to)

[*]Gathering of likely minded enthusiasts. Networking, you meet useful people, some people end up working with/for you.

[*]Events (Cruises, track days, charity cruise, dyno days, technical nights, driver training, anything motoring & non-motoring)

Well said... I second ALL of the above, that's exactly what I would wish for in a car club.

It's a lot of work to keep a club together and not everyone will be as committed to the cause. This is something that can be hard to accept for some of the more enthusiastic members who will be doing most of the hard yakka. The knock on effect of this is that some of those participants who have little time to allocate to the club because of other commitments can be made to feel guilty, then eventually drop out. If (some) clubs could get over this hurdle and welcome all members, regardless of their ability to contribute, then I believe they are the ones which succeed.

I will add that the people I have met from here have all been fabulous. The way you all engage and help out is a credit to you all.

Also - I really need a 'Technical Night' being the newbie I am! When's the next one? LOL

[a20089]

Yes any "club" needs to be fully inclusive.

Having some experiance organising formal clubs, I believe we can come up with a way to minimise the effort while enjoying the benefits.

Would love to have another female skyline driver in attendance, it tends to balance out the views. And I'm sure someone could assist with your technical question.

Cheers

Jon

[sigsputnik]

ah crap, i'd love to come to this but i'll be in japan. if a club is on the cards i'd love to help out. good on you, jon.

[NAman]

Could i get the details please.

[a20089]

Everyone posting in the thread has or will in the next 30 mins get the address.

Cheers

Jon

[S T A R 3 3]

I'm in.. I'll probably bring the mrs aswell

[Darkon]

pm received cheers will be there