X CARS

[pecivil]

Joel,
so does this apply to X car drivers who are PCA members?

[ttweed]

Why are the CDI' S making set in stone decisions about the club, Without getting a vote from the board members and autocross chairs?
what happened to it being a team effort.

The way I read Joel's posting was that he was stating the recommendations of the 3 CDIs, not making policy (I hope). The Board has asked for input, and he gave theirs. It is up to the Board to set policy, or delegate the authority to do so. AFAIK, they have not delegated this particular responsibility and a decision has not been made yet--am I wrong about this?

The CDIs' opinions should be taken under consideration by the Board just as the input from others should be, and on this issue the opinions vary widely. There's no way to make everyone happy in this situation. Kinda reminds me of the debt-ceiling debate in Congress right now...

TT

[JERRY B]

We also feel we are spending way too much PCA SDR instructor resources on x car drivers when we actually owe the training to PCA SDR Porsche drivers. From this point on, the CDI’s will assign PCA SDR instructors to Porsche’s first and x cars second, and if there are not enough qualified PCA SDR instructors available to help the x cars that need to be instructed, tough luck for the newer x car driver who will not be allowed to run due to not being signed off for solo driving by the CDI’s or our designated Senior Instructors.We feel that allowing the x cars to run with PCASDR is a privilege, and we as members should not feel bad if we disallow any x car & driver from running. Now let’s address the subject of x car drivers becoming PCA SDR driving instructors. After careful consideration the CDI’s have made the decision that we are not going to allow any x car driver to become a PCA SDR instructor unless the x car driver goes out and buys a Porsche and joins PCA. This decision is set in stone and will not be reversed so for those who do not like our decision, don’t waste your time questioning or challenging it.

Opinions are great, THIS LOOKS A LOT LIKE POLICY

[Greg Phillips]

Why are the CDI' S making set in stone decisions about the club, Without getting a vote from the board members and autocross chairs?
what happened to it being a team effort.

Excellent question Jerry. Since when do CDI's on their own accord make set in stone policy for ax's? Is this something the ax chairs didnt know about?

Was that set in stone or stoned

Seriously, the board is looking at his matter and while we value the input of all members, especially the event chairs, the final decision and implementation rests with the board.

Greg

[Carl Scragg]

The current experiment with x-cars has been going for several months now and the Board felt that it was time for a review. As with any new program, the inclusions of x-cars in our ax events has not occurred without some issues.

We invited this discussion so that we could hear a wider range of opinions than those that might surface at a typical Board meeting. We are monitoring the forum and we are listening. We are also receiving direct email and phone input from some members. We have heard some good ideas and we hope to hear even more. At the July 6 Board meeting there will be several agenda items specifically aimed at the problems/issues/concerns surrounding the x-car program. As soon as possible, I will post those agenda items on the forum to inform our interested members. I invite all concerned members to come to the Board meeting and to state their opinions.

Meanwhile, I hope that we can all agree that we care deeply about our Club and want the SDR to be as good and as strong as possible. And of course, reasonable minds will disagree on how best to achieve these objectives. So let's please keep the ideas coming in a positive and cooperative exchange.

[gulf911]

Thanks Carl for the update.
This regarding x car instructors:

"This decision is set in stone and will not be reversed so for those who do not like our decision, don’t waste your time questioning or challenging it."

Isnt really an idea I dont think. Is this the case? Or is the board waiting to vote on this as well?

[Carl Scragg]

The San Diego Region's Standing Rules state quite clearly that autocross instructors must be "PCA members in good standing". The Standing Rules are created by the Board to provide guidance to the chairs and to ensure some consistency over time. However, the Standing Rules can be updated by a vote of the Board to reflect changing situations.

[mrondeau]

Just a point of clarification. The real issue is not x-cars, but non-members. Of the 23 x-cars registered for this event, 6 are current PCA members. They can instruct, if qualified, drive in our events and cast votes according to our current Zone 8 rules and in conjunction with our SDR standing rules

Now let’s address the subject of x car drivers becoming PCA SDR driving instructors. After careful consideration the CDI’s have made the decision that we are not going to allow any x car driver to become a PCA SDR instructor unless the x car driver goes out and buys a Porsche and joins PCA. This decision is set in stone and will not be reversed so for those who do not like our decision, don’t waste your time questioning or challenging it.

Every member is entitled to their opinion and the Forum is the place to air it out. Taking a hard line and implying that it is policy while airing that opinion may not be the best way to get that opinion across to the membership. Only the Board can implement policy within the parameters of our rules.

[ZombiePorsche44]

Members,
After reading your responses we realized there was an error in our earlier post so we have made the corrections in red and added a paragraph regarding PCA members in good standing who drive x cars and currently are or want to become PCA SDR instructors.

Joel Bowman, Larry Bevins & Sean Molloy
2011 PCA SDR CO-CDI’S


“We also feel we are spending way too much PCA SDR instructor resources on non PCA member x car drivers when we actually owe the training to PCA SDR Porsche drivers.
Therefore we have decided to make a new policy in how the CDI's use PCA SDR instructor resources in regards to non PCA member x car drivers.

Starting July 1st, the CDI’s will assign PCA SDR instructors to PCA members Porsche’s or x cars first and non PCA member x cars second, and if there are not enough qualified PCA SDR instructors available to help the non PCA member x car drivers that need to be instructed, tough luck for the newer non PCA member x car driver who will not be allowed to run due to not being signed off for solo driving by the CDI’s or our designated Senior Instructors.
We feel that allowing the non PCA member x cars to run with PCA SDR is a privilege, and we as members should not feel bad if we disallow any non PCA members x car & driver from running for this reason.

Now let’s address the subject of non PCA member x car drivers becoming PCA SDR driving instructors. After careful consideration the CDI’s have made the decision that we are not going to allow any non PCA member x car driver to become a PCA SDR instructor unless the non PCA member x car driver goes out and buys a Porsche and joins PCA. This decision is within the boundries of our Chair position and is not subject to board vote but can be changed by a vote to revise our SDR standing rules.

We also want to the membership to know that any PCA member in good standing, whether they are the primary or affiliate member and only drive an x car at our events, are more than welcome to test for becoming a PCA SDR instructor. Those who are current PCA members in good standing and are current SDR instructors, no matter what kind of car they drive, are fully qualified and the policy change does not affect them in any way.”

[gulf911]

Only the Board can implement policy within the parameters of our rules.

Therefore we have decided to make a new policy.....

This is certainly confusing. Anyone care to clarify just so we are clear?

[ZombiePorsche44]

Only the Board can implement policy within the parameters of our rules.

Therefore we have decided to make a new policy.....

This is certainly confusing. Anyone care to clarify just so we are clear?

Let's start to clarify by posting our actual comment not an edited version.
"Therefore we have decided to make a new policy in how the CDI's use PCA SDR instructor resources in regards to non member x car drivers."

This only involves the assignment of PCA SDR instructors at SDR events and is within the parameters of the CDI Chair position authority. CDI's do not need to ask the members for permission to use our SDR instructors in whatever way the CDI's determine is in the best interest of our Club and is within the scope of the PCA SDR Standing rules.

Joel, Larry & Sean

[Curt Yaws]

This whole issue arises because we do not have enough Porsche drivers to cover the high fixed costs of a Qualcomm AX event. (It's the economy!) Our treasurer, Cathy Young, estimates that it takes 85 drivers to break even, which translates to $4250. There are numerous goodies involved, like Instructor Days, awards, volunteer gifts, cold beverages, etc on top of hard costs like stadium rental. I'm sure everyone likes the goodies....I know I do.

In the past we also have depended on the driving program to support some non-profit events that enhance the club mission. Right or wrong, that is how the membership has done it. I'm personally not in favor of that idea, but it truly is a very small amount compared to the costs of the driving events.

So, we have a decision to make...X or no X.

If no X, then we would be faced with increasing the price of P-car driving fees to make the event break-even with P-car drivers only. Since we have not been able to attract enough P-cars at the current fee, increasing the price does not seem like a viable approach.

If X, as we have been experimenting with the past year, then we get to keep our highly successful driving program and keep it profitable, and the club does not have to subsidize it. We have subsidized many AX'es in the past year, and that is a reason for the reduced quantity of AX'es this year. Subsidizing driving events over the long-term is not likely to be approved by any board, as there are no other sources of income to carry it. The board works very hard to make ends meet.

In the beginning of this experiment, we had some X-drivers who did not really fit in with our program. I won't say their cars were louder than Jim and Jad's, but they were pretty loud. We have whittled the group to a very cohesive, considerate bunch of drivers who are appreciative and helpful. Could I accurately say many of them are more helpful than some of the P-car drivers? No blaming, but these are good people who are grateful to be with us.

If we accept X as the best approach, then we have other issues, which are pretty much the same issues we always face. Instructors....never enough. Did any of you notice some of the X-drivers are pretty fast? Is that what the whining was about recently? Why not enlist these quality drivers to instruct other X-car drivers at our events? I personally have learned much from a Corvette driver at OCR, and I don't feel bad about it at all. Charge the X-cars $15 extra, and have a separate top ten for them. They will be thrilled.....and continue to pay us to keep our program running.

How many to allow in? Why don't we address that problem when we have it? It might be in September, or it might be five years from now. It is certainly not a critical issue right now.

This is the Porsche Club, and it always will be. But there is no harm in being friends with people who like other cars. My first track day was with the BMW Club, and if not for that, I never would have set foot on Qualcomm pavement for a PCA AX. All of us put our foot on the slippery slope somewhere, some just slide in different directions.

Part of this is being friendly, and part of it is being practical. Which part would you like to throw out?

This is a great club, with great people. Let's rise to the occasion, make our events work successfully, and be good neighbors to the car community.

[JERRY B]

Correct Me if I'm wrong, But don't any policy changes have to be approved by the autocross chairs?
We need to wait until after the board meeting to make any changes

[Jackie C]

To muddy the waters, whatever you (CDIs and AX chairs) decide it would be nice if you told the pre reg folks who do the actual pairings. Or will the CDIs like to attend pre reg and do the pairings? Since we are doing them tonight?
Thanks,

[ZombiePorsche44]

Correct Me if I'm wrong, But don't any policy changes have to be approved by the autocross chairs?
We need to wait until after the board meeting to make any changes

Technically it is not a policy change in PCA SDR, it is a decision the CDI's have made regarding how we as CDI's use instructors and does not require any other PCA SDR Chair's involvment. It is the same as you making decisions regarding AX's without consulting the CDI's first.

Cheers,
Joel