Having spent a fair about time in both clubs time trialing I have to say there are benefits in both clubs. The POC does allow for individual merit, at least in my case they allowed me a time trail license after having a check ride for one session. Otherwise I would have had to go through an entire season of short track series, yikes! I know that in POC club racing I could enter into it as I am qualified through time trailing but only after I do two racing schools. I think this is a good idea frankly.
As a comparison between the clubs in time trialing I believe that on average, again I said "on average" , the PCA time trailers are not as strong a set of drivers as are the POC time trialers. I consistently run with both groups and it is very obvious, though I would admit there are people in both clubs that do dumb things on the track.
Which leads to another topic which was also discussed in the POC article. That is, enforcement of the rules. From my experience in time trailing, POC is very strict with 13/13's while our PCA has not administered any sactions like 13/13, at least in time trailing. I think that 13/13 is a good idea, but I think we need to actually enforce it. BTW, I hate to provide examples here so I will not.
As far as allowing drivers on tracks without any experience, I think PCA SDR has done an excellent job in the past two years of changing the rules in order to participate in big track events. From having to compete in 4 auto-x's to having the proper safety equipement, I think we are moving in the correct direction. POC is still much more strict than PCA on safety though, which I think again, is a good idea. Things happen quickly in big track events and surviving an incident should be first and foremost.
Which club do I like? That is an interesting question. I like PCA and the friendships. I think PCA SDR (we) are building a great time trail program (thank you Jack!). I think we are still moving forward in the right direction and should continue on. I like POC rules, I like the way they run their events, most of the time
I do find POC to be a bit more serious and very competitive, which I like and do not like. I would like to see PCA SDR get a bit more strict about incidents and continue on the path of qualifying drivers to be on the big track. My main reason for this is I am taking my own life into jeopardy instructing with folks that may not have car control skills, may not have proper safety equipement, and may just simply not have enough experience driving. I think it is only fair to instructors to expect such a little bit of qualification as a driver.