53 replies to this topic

[Craig McCallum]

The biggest thing I think we need to do is keep the crowd and the competitors informed and involved in the event and dont let the events drag on.
Most of the comments that have been made on here I have already included in the event we are hosting on the 26th of Feb (no strippers though, maybe models).
We will be having show bags to give away to the crowd and competitors which we could include information about these types of events and even put an event calendar in there if there is one available.
We will be having prizes for things like, encourgement awards or most improved and best install etc.

We will be happy to listen to any other ideas people have.

If any one feels they want to ring me to have a chat about any of our plans you are most welcome to.
I would like to think we could use this event to set the standard for vic in 2011.

Craig
autObarn Narre Warren
03 9705 8800

[Sigmeister]

For the few I have been to, it seems people are super keen at the start then interest fades as the day goes on or it turns into a bit of a rabble. I think a good MC is a must someone to announce the scores, runs and try get the crowd into it. If it's going to be an extended event, I think food and drinks (Sausage sizzle, etc.) is a good idea as well, save people leaving and coming back.

Also more of a question than a suggestion, would it be worth having say like an X-BOX, arcade machine, pinball or something for people to play whilst they are not being metered? I know its tough as not everyone likes the same stuff, but just thought something fun to do while you are waiting...?

[Chris.]

A view from a different view again, I have seen quite a few SPL events as a non-competitor,ranging from some of the Bigger World Record making events to some smaller events, for me the best SPL event was at Ang's last year with the Vic road trip, Sorin was quite good as the MC made it quite interesting from start to finish.

Especially the stacks on the Lunchbox at the end and the light-hearted how low can you go with lunch and bobo I think it was.

[RAD]

The best SPL events are the least serious ones; the unsanctioned comps at the large retailers. A good reason for this is they bring out all kinds of competitors, the average cruising muzza with an alpine package deal, to the odd nutters with too much time on their hands stuffing half a dozen subs in their ride.

Ample carpark helps, autobarn cranbourne is a good area to have an unsanctioned comp in, but the carpark next to hungry jacks is too small, narre warren's is good for big events.

Start it on time, not Kon time (2 hours late). Expect it to run for 4-5 hours if need be, give people a chance to have a couple of runs, fidget with their cars, walk around and get demo's and a feed before finals.

having a screen is great, but it needs to be visible to everyone! Those LED towers were a good idea.

Make the rules available, but keep them simple. I know it's fudging the rules, but don't throw a guy into pro classes because his prefab box sits a centimeter above the front window line. If it's blatantly above like a drop in wall or something huge like Lunchbox's box, sure.

Preferrably have a location that's not too close to houses, not always possible, but Lunchbox has a good point, get the crowd involved with demo's. Back in the days of my excel i always tried to demo and get people to sit inside and listen, get them interested and show them you can do crazy things with car audio without spending $50k. A few of those people actually became regular competitors.
Encourage people to demo their systems, big or small, always adds to the interaction element that's needed more often than not.


Perhaps assign a few experienced competitors to be advertised as "go to" guys at events if newcomers need advice or help with their setups. That is, as long as the newbies don't have "my mate said..." syndrome.

Drive through lanes, so people can be in and out in a couple of minutes.

MC's to announce whats going on, scores, systems, qualifying, breaks and finals.

Everyone walks away with a certificate with scores, bragging rights.

[Marc ♫]

Listen to the excitement in Ange's voice. This always got us all going!
It was fun back in those days, which is the sole reason we spent two years building a car as an MEA member project.

[Hardcore_Attitude]

Lack of promoting the events has been the biggest let down (at least in Vic) This really needs to change if we are going to encourage new competitors to come and have a go. I cruise with a few different car clubs that have people that have good enough systems to compete with but have never come to an event because they don't know where and when they are on.

[Tiger]

I remember that, Marc


Hardcore.... that is something that we'd like to work towards ironing out. ANYONE with an audio interest (or audio knowledge)... we want THEIR attention!

[D34M0N.inc]

A decent priced entry fee for one and second would be a meter setup outside of the lanes say for 5 or so min per person to test out there cars. I know this would help with people like me who has no way to test things for the lanes and get some advice while metering it sort of thing.

[Gobbledok]

I think lunchpack will agree with me.

We need more empty fridge cartons.

Probably the best entertainment at a Vic comp all year (however i didn't make it to the finals dinner)...

But as suggested;

Promo girls/products etc
Barbecue/Refreshments etc
Certificate for ALL competitors in addition to the placing scores. - Do a run and get a score card - something for the newbs to work with.
Giveaways from promoters. I know distributors have bucket loads of lanyards stickers shirts etc...
Even if the price isn't low enough, offer something to offset it. Include a $10 store voucher upon first run or a hat or a discount off your next entry fee.
Give more encouragement awards, give joke awards etc. - i know the 'most sock-shorts coordinated' segment is growing in competitors lol...

I think the main aim is to encourage the new comers to stick around. I know a guy who pulled high 130's and said, well that was ok i guess. And showed no interest after that.
Offer prizes for mini comps. ie beat your previous score by 2db and get a shirt or hat or something.

[bigwillystyle]

There are quite a few good ideas there guys...
Lunchbox... No Matter how hard you try to set up a novice class somebody has to be louder than everybody else...

What steve and arron have acheived is not thru anything else but hard work from george and their respective teams.. Each one of these guys have started a group of freinds who love the sport and compete regularly... all these guys use "entry" (not comp grade equipment) and are all doing really good numbers...


Not trying to start an argument but we have been working hard up here to get the scene going and have worked hard on the st stock classes and it shows with ~10 regular competitors in just those 2 classes...

We then use Monster and freestyle classes as a true run what u brung class for the newbies... By using these 2 classes you give the newbies a chance at a trophy without getting spanked but also gets them a look as to how things can be done with not alot more money but by playing with some box design and tuning you too can get into the 140+...

[Big_Valven]

In reply to VXberlina;

Do this Already in Vic Kon's Wife runs the Term lab while Kon MC's

Have two lane in Vic Also

Have this already in Vic

I've seen one of Kon's events, I would not call him an MC. Most of the competitors didn't even know who was competing. The event also ran several hours overtime.

Re the other suggestions, I have seen comps without big screens and I have seen one lane comps. Good on you for having them in Victoria, they are still valid suggestions as I think Marc is doing his homework as many people are looking at moving away from the stale, poorly run DBdrags format.

I would also go further to say that yes the DBDrag rules are on their website, they are pretty clear. But they are stale rules which promote the same old crap in SPL competition and don't promote new technology, novice competition, and new ideas. I know a handful of people are still interested in them but they're the one thing keeping me and others away from a serious competition build.

[VXBerlina]

In reply to VXberlina;



I've seen one of Kon's events, I would not call him an MC. Most of the competitors didn't even know who was competing. The event also ran several hours overtime.

Re the other suggestions, I have seen comps without big screens and I have seen one lane comps. Good on you for having them in Victoria, they are still valid suggestions as I think Marc is doing his homework as many people are looking at moving away from the stale, poorly run DBdrags format.

I would also go further to say that yes the DBDrag rules are on their website, they are pretty clear. But they are stale rules which promote the same old crap in SPL competition and don't promote new technology, novice competition, and new ideas. I know a handful of people are still interested in them but they're the one thing keeping me and others away from a serious competition build.

I agree with you on Kons MC'ing and the comps going overtime, big pain in the butt. The problem trying to get away from DB Drags format is that it is a world wide ran franchise and has global rules and would be nearly imposible to change unless it was world wide. The only other way to get around this is to start a whole new series. so cant see much changing soon in the way things are run Competition wise.

[mellor72]

Kon is doing the best he can, and he can continue the Db rules, but why not just save himself some money and not have quite as many trophies for the encouragement/best build/etc, and hand out more certificates.....

This means more people would take something home (especially novices....even if it IS just a Db reading....its bragging rights for a young guy new in the sport and it would entice them to come back!)

I think if we just had one extra person per state helping Kon (or whoever is running an event) it would make all the difference. MC'ing an event would help things run quicker and smoother as Kon can only do so much on his own....

The reason I am so passionate about this is:
I have got my 16yo son into this sport to give him something to "brag" about. He is a rev-head, but obviously these days we want to protect our kids....It scares me if he chooses the performance route
This way, he can have a car that he can be proud of, have a social event that involves his car, as well as making sure he drives to the rules of the road and most importanty - stay safe
Insurance is also a benefit because he can actaully insure a standard car with a sound system(as opposed to a car which is heavily modified with performance mods making it illegal and dangerous)

Every young kid can just throw in a subwoofer and have some fun, get a certificate, think they are "awesome", and come back for more.....when they are older and wiser then they can also get a job and support the car sound industry even more!...... much better than kids wrapping themselves around a telegraph pole to prove a point

So I say, give the young ones certificates, encourage them, make it easy, while also maintaining the worldwide rules, get an MC, make it fun, and all move forward to a better future!

[Sorin-Andrei]

Hey guys,

I've spent some time reading this thread and have found alot of interesting feedback and suggestions on here, much props to people who have taken the time to write everything they could think of.
Personally there are afew things that we're trying to do in SA to make the competition scene interesting, many of these have already been mentioned, but i believe the number one improvement to be made at competitions is this:

An easy-going format that focusses on rewarding the music-based systems and novice systems separate from pro/enthusiast entrants.

The reason above is why we have moved away from DbDrag format at Local competitions. I personally view DbDragracing format as a format designed for Enthusiasts and Pro's to compete at the highest level. We want to explore the idea of running DbDrags as an "optional" format for Pro's to get a sanctioned score at local comps and run it in parallel with the local format - for me this is where it belongs. Let the Pro's and Enthusiasts play under their rules and the Novices go under the local rules. That's where my view is regarding DbDrags at present - i am happy to compete in SSNW because i believe DbDrags is a great format for enthusiasts like myself to compete against similar builds under the same rules - fact is that when it comes to musical systems and daily driven cars, those same rules just don't work.

That's the only thing i can add beyond what's already been mentioned. I have nothing but respect for DbDrags format and love competing under this format with our SSNW car, but i don't believe it's an appropriate format for new entrants and musical systems to compete under at local shop-run events.

[hsvmonarogen3]

competition. plain and simple. you rock up to an event with only 1 other person in your class doesnt make it enjoyable.
my 2c.

competition. plain and simple. you rock up to an event with only 1 other person in your class doesnt make it enjoyable.
my 2c.

[broadz]

+1 which is why I stopped competing. I couldn't justify the 1.5-2 hr drive to be the only person in Street A (or up against the same one competitor). As a result there is/was no incentive for me to go louder as I was already the most competitive in my class in Vic.

As a Country Vic competitor... after the 1.5-2hr trip, I don't want to be waiting around for another hour or two while Kon sets up (after the proposed start time) before scruiteneering then finally the start of the rounds. This delay usually means a late finish time and for a twilight events, means a VERY late night by the time I get home.

Honestly, the best comps I have been to are the large chain unsanctioned events that Ross mentioned earlier. They are one big street/carpark party and limits on numbers of competitors are set because they become too big and it takes too long to go through everyone. Thats a solid 3-4 hours non stop competition, with a good MC and background music at a reasonable level.

Next MEASQ/SPL VIC meet at NarreWarren should be a good example for DB Drag to have a look at, Craig is a terrific organiser and knows what people want. Also, being a twilight event means a lot less cars in the carpark meaning more room for the show/comp.

[BlackIce]

When everyone doesnt cry about rules this and rules that and just get on with playing SPL.

[bassbro]

i have to say, if an event i was planning on going to was only going to last 2.5hours i wouldn't bother going, for me, it takes me around an hour to get to most events


if the event only goes for roughly the same amount of time as i'll be driving to and from the event, then it makes no sense, don't get me wrong, a super stretched out day of boring nothingness is FAR worse, but i want a bare minimum of a 3hour event, if not 4hours.... a show that goes from say 6pm till 10pm would be GREAT!!

and irrelevent of the actual time it takes for the show to run, we need it to be exciting!! this will make any event seem like it didn't go for long enough, it leave patrons wanting more...!

on the other points i couldn't agree more, reasonable costs! ($20-$25) and entertainment is a MUST!!

strippers... now THATS a good idea!! i like it!!

yup i agree......3 MAYBE 4 hours tops!!!!

competition. plain and simple. you rock up to an event with only 1 other person in your class doesnt make it enjoyable.
my 2c.

competition. plain and simple. you rock up to an event with only 1 other person in your class doesnt make it enjoyable.
my 2c.

i understand that for sure but the upside is u have a 1 in 2 chance of rolling home with 1st place woohoo lol

[Daz]

from my experiences in attending every spl event in victoria for the last 2 years (not all that long) i'd have to say my key points for a successful event are


- resonable entry fees
- advertising
- having a fast flowing event (cars go in one side of the "tent" and exit the other side, allowing a nice que to line up, without a need to reverse out of the lanes
- having some form of MC, announcing whats going on in real time etc
- night time events
- having a "show and shine" attatched to the event, eg: not just for loud cars
- being held in a central location, near by shops/take away/bottle shops/amusements
- plenty of extra attractions, monster/redbull girls, plenty of demo cars, commercial music over the P.A at a "decent volume", ice cream vans
- rewards, whether it be trophies or a certificate specifically stating that you won, but i believe there HAS to be some kind of reward for the winners, personally the best events i've been to gave away instore vouchers, speakers/headunit, and even springnats tickets...

- the promoters/people in charge having a "not so serious" attitude, we're all there to have fun, and those in charge should reflect this
- not holding the events at the same place everytime
- CROWD PARTICIPATION! this includes things such as people crowding around the lanes and monitors to see what scores people are putting up, competitors demo-ing their cars to the public, seasoned competitors helping newbs, this sort of things...


all in all i don't think a specific format is necessary, whether it's DBdrags, MEASPL, or your local autobarns made up classes, but i DO think that the format, what ever it may be, has to be well set out, simple and easy to understand for all, just about once a day i get asked by someone what DBdrags class they would be in and who they'd be up against... 14x classes as per DBdrags is just too many for the general public to understand... plus a simple mistake can end up putting you in a class you have NO hope in, i've seen guys who in all honesty should have been in streetC, but due the the box being below the rear windowline, but above the front windowline, he was bumped up to SS1-2, a class with Mark Croxford doing 156's, he had no chance against mark, and after that i never saw him at another event... for serious competitors it's great having that many classes as everything is fair, you build for your class etc, but with events that are actually fun and enjoyable, you get attendees that don't build for a specific class, they build cars they enjoy, mostly 2x 12"s style setups... cars with 2x 12"s in the boot go up against competitors like Nuygen, runing 151db in StreetB in a CRX... in no way is that fair, i give all my credit to Nuygen and Mark, but it doesn't make for an enjoyable event when you end up competing against these great competitors...!

these lower spec guys are who we need to cater for to make for a well populated, enjoyable event! and i think that brings me to THE most important part, the more people at the event, the more fun everyone has!this goes for us competitors, and the people attending without cars etc, personally, the more people that are at events, the more i will be demoing my car(s) the more interest we get for our sport...


i think a VERY important fact, if you read thru the "who inspires you" thread i started, the one thing you'll notice in common with pretty much everyones posts, was that the people that inspire them, are the ones that got them into the sport, the ones who let them listen to their cars when we didn't have our own, i remember going to events purely to hear Ross'(RAD) and Jamies(RYDFMX) cars... these things were LOUD 150+ cars and at every events they'd have their doors open demoing to the crowds all day/night, unfortunate that just hasn't been the case for quite some time now, RAD doesn't have a car running atm, and RYDFMX hasn't had any real reason to, the events have gotten that "serious" that it doesn't make sense to waste you batteries on demo-ing, especially when there isn't a crowd to make it all worth while! and this is probably the saddest part of more recent events...

i think there also needs to be alot more effort put in by the promoters of whoever puts on the events, facebook is only the beginning of the promotion that should be done, instore promotions are sorely lacking, there's generally next to no warning of the events, we get perhaps 2weeks notice before the event, and thats it, i believe it needs to be 2wice that, with somewhat continual advertising on facebook/instore/MEA/all relevent stores...



i could honestly go on for DAYS about improvements we can make, format changes etc... but i'll leave it there...



Marc, if you want any help or advice with anything, you have my facebook, just drop us a msg and i'll do ANYTHING i can to help improve the way things are...

ok Steve so you want to rule me out hey lololol just kidding seeing i cant drive in one end of the tent & out the other end hahaha

[Lunchbox.inc]

ok Steve so you want to rule me out hey lololol just kidding seeing i cant drive in one end of the tent & out the other end hahaha

hahahaha you know what i mean! hell i wouldn't mind building an SPL firetruck... don't see that driving thru the lanes... lol

[Gobbledok]

hahahaha you know what i mean! hell i wouldn't mind building an SPL firetruck... don't see that driving thru the lanes... lol

at least you can put out the spl flame burning inside of everybody...


wait...


that's not a good thing.

[marsh]

also a good commentator makes a huge diffrence, and promotions and things to do other than wait to be judged for both competitors and spectators, get the crowd involved

[Carr]

Hi All,

Sorry to bring up an older thread, but I haven't been on the site for a while. Not much of a scene here in Hervey Bay.

I agree with 98% of what is in this thread, many good suggestions.

There is really only one thing that bugs me with different organisers using different formats. This is the difference in the rules, or the lack of having rules available before an event and staff at the shop knowing what they are. I have been told I couldn't enter with 2 separate set-ups (1 x 12 and 1 x 15) in the same comp because they were in the same class (0 to 20 inch), yet the entry forms had them separate in DB drags style street classes. This was then allowed after checking with someone else. I have also almost been put into a higher class by scrutineers just because I have my battery in my boot (only because it doesn't fit in the engine bay). I have also been told I may not be able to compete in a comp because I don't have a fuse close enough to my alternator, which they are calling my power source when the battery is in the boot, not boxed and there is no fuse installed on that end, I was also allowed to completely remove the rear seats from my sedan??? In all cases there were no rules published and were pretty much being made up on the spot.

I admit that I am not a typical competitor for these events, bit of a ground pounder wannabe with no money and the wrong car, Saying that, I don't believe that is any excuse for not having pre-set rules, what if 3 different people came in and asked about them individually?. How else can all competitors be told the same information. I do not think the rules would need to be as detailed as DB drags, but at least a basic set of rules that make sense and have them available before the comp date so cars who attend different events or even their first event, can prepare.

[Tobyrose12345.inc]

They need lounges, free food and drink! Plus a nice demo car cranking the latest tunes throughout the day