Dear competitor.

It is with deep regret that we have to inform you that the upcoming SSHCC event at Boyndie (28/29 June)  has had to be cancelled. This was caused by an administrative error and the unavailability of senior officials, however we look forward to seeing you all at our next event on the 16/17 August We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this cancellation.

Dear competitor.
The racing season is once more upon us and I just thought I would take the opportunity to wish you all a safe and successful season. Apologies for the delay in getting final regs out, but this was outwith our control. We will be trialling a new points scoring system, alongside the existing system, for this year’s sprints, which we think will be fairer for all. It is just a trial this year but we hope to introduce it for the 2026 season. Boyndie sprint will now be on 16th and 17th August rather than at the end of the season. There is a new rule regarding fuel sampling which is outlined on the website. Finally, be kind to each other and have a great season.

John.

END OF SEASON
Well, that’s 2024 drawing to a close and I’d say it’s been a very successful season, lots of close battles, records set and most of all fun had by everyone. Thank you to all involved, competitors, officials, marshals & helpers allowing all our events to run smoothly.

AWARDS NIGHT
We still have the Awards evening to look forward to this is being held at the Invercarse Hotel, Dundee on Saturday 30th November, if you haven’t got your tickets yet then don’t delay get in contact with Ian Thompson.
You’ll be assured of an evening of GREAT FOOD, GREAT RAFFLE PRIZES, DANCING & GREAT COMPANY!

THIS SEASON
We’ve seen some great class records set across the board despite most of the weekends having seen their fair share of rain. The J1 Junior class and the Under 25s championship have been brilliant additions to our sport, with the U25s being very competitive and compelling viewing at all venues. Mostly all classes were well supported this season but there must be a few cars tucked away that need to come out racing again next year?
Next year looks just as exciting, with loads being discussed at the AGM with new proposals going forward but still in the early stages… watch this space! Look forward to an exciting 2025 SSHC CHAMPIONSHIP So Merry Christmas & Happy New year to one and all when it comes.

Regards
Jim King
Chairman SSHC

Chairman message

Well where did 2023 go to? Another successful season behind us
Events have had mixed entry levels, some being slow to fill while others were over subscribed!
We as a committee have looked at the reasons but there appears to be no definite answer. Whether events come thick & fast doesn’t seem to matter, but if we want a full season this cannot be avoided

SPRINTS
80 Entries, 34 class records were set with overall champion being David Wallace in his MX5

HILLS
83 entries, 21 class records were set with overall champion being Stuart Sugden in his GWR Raptor

A good turnout for the AGM & committee meeting allowed us to get most matters sorted. We welcomed our new eligibility Scrutineer  Neil Ritchie & Assistant coordinator  Gary Warren I’m sure both will be a great benefit to SSHC & competitors with their considerable knowledge & enthusiasm for the sport

September Boyndie saw the introduction  of our first Junior Sprint competitor Euan Bruce hopefully he will encourage many more to come along in the future.

October Kames also set a record by all accounts seeing the youngest & oldest sprint competitors in Scotland competing at the same event. Congratulations Euan Bruce & Mike Murchie

The cost of events is going to be challenging in 2024 with clubs struggling to break even with the increased costs involved, Doctors, Rescue, MSUK fees, etc, etc!!

Entry fees will need to increase moderately to cover these!

I’m sure you’ll agree Clubs are not looking to make profit but costs do need to be covered

Awards dinner dance is being held on Saturday 2^nd December at the Woodlands Hotel Dundee, a good night guaranteed so hope to see you all there

Thanks
Jim King
SSHC Chairman

Dear competitor,

As 2022 draws to a close, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on what the committee believe has been a largely successful season of motorsport in amongst an environment which continues to throw up challenges for both competitors and organisers. I have noted below a few key themes which I would like to highlight.

We welcomed 3 newcomers and a total of 81 entrants to this year’s championship across Sprints and Hills:

• Attracting newcomers is an important focus of the championship and organising clubs. It is therefore positive for us all to see new faces at events, particularly during a challenging economic climate when non-essential expenditure (!?) can be queried.
• We believe that the flexibility of our specific motorsport discipline is well-suited to these challenges and at our recent committee meeting it was encouraging to hear the passion of our clubs to maintaining a low barrier to entry to the sport in areas we can influence.
• The championship will also do what we can to encourage newcomers and for 2023 will implement a slight tweak to our newcomer award criteria; recognising those who are new to our sport, rather than new to the championship.

Each of our scheduled rounds went ahead as planned and were delivered safely and efficiently by the organising clubs:

• We enjoyed a full event calendar in 2022, with each event well run by the organising club.
• We were pleased to see the reduction in COVID19 related measures which impacted our calendar in 2021, but with the positive lessons learned which emerged during that period continuing to be adopted to aid the competitor experience and help to prepare for and run the events more efficiently.
• On a related note, the online entry systems being adopted by more clubs have been very much a ‘win win’ for competitors and clubs alike.
• Regrettably, a couple of events did suffer with low entries which we understand to be predominately as a consequence of the ‘cost of living’ challenges being experienced across the population and the often-great distances our competitors must travel.

Our championship awards and dinner dance evening was well-attended and enjoyed:

• We are receptive to feedback on how to improve this event going forward so please do not hesitate to contact the committee with any thoughts you may have on how to refine the event in the future. We recognise that to satisfy a broad range of preferences there is a balance to be found between an ‘awards night’ and a ‘dinner dance’, but we believe the change in location in recent years has been generally a positive move.

Changes in the championship committee:

• At our awards evening we recognised Mike Murchie’s long service to the championship as he steps down for 2023. We are exceptionally grateful for Mike’s personal contribution to the successful running of the championship, particularly through the last couple of years as we have managed a high level of change; from the disruption of COVID19 to managing the transition towards online banking to the additional challenges associated with SSHC running the Boyndie Sprint events.

Thank you to our championship supporters:

• Finally, I must highlight the crucial role our championship supporters play in the sustainability and development of our championship. Sincere thanks to the ongoing support of Guyson International, Tillicoultry Quarries, Rocatex, Dunnet Bay Distillery, Central Garage Glenkindie, Trimline Systems, Kintore Trophy Centre Central Cosmetic Repairs in Kilmarnock – a new supporter for 2022!

To close, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed your season and can now take some time to recharge, repair and refine before the 2023 season begins – it is never too long in coming back round again!

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Best regards,
Jim

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all championship competitors & members.

A face to face meeting was planned for 23^rd October but unsure if this would happen as previous meetings were conducted through Zoom. Good as it was you missed the personnel touch!

I can report this meeting went ahead with 11 people attending. Much was discussed and addressed.

AGM.

Entry fee for 2022 was agreed to remain at £25 but will probably need to increase for 2023 to allow for increased costs

2021 results & final positions were agreed

All current members happy to continue in present positions

Small changes & corrections to constitution were discussed & agreed

COMMITTEE MEETING

All clubs present gave us positive reports on how their season had gone. No major problems reported

Monklands reported that they were looking into the possibility of introducing penalties for hitting bollards; this has always been an issue at Forrestburn . Hopefully a workable solution can be found

Boyndie

Was reported that following the rescue of the June events a well supported successful September events were ran.

Planning is in the early stages for 2022 events

GAC confirmed that at moment they were unable to run Alford Sprint this was due to a number of factors outwith their control. Safety, change of transport museum staff and introduction of caravan site being some of the reasons

Championship numbering, this has been discussed many times before the outcome being that the complexity outweighs the benefits. Vote 10-1 in favour of continue as is

A big thank you to all entrants, marshals & officials who competed & organised events allowing us to have a great near full season of competition

Look forward to seeing everyone at the Awards presentation/dance at the Best Western Invercarse Hotel Dundee on the 27^th November (Still a small amount of tickets available)

2022 Full season ahead

Jim King
Chairman

Dear all,

I would like to extend a welcome to all hillclimbers, sprinters and motor enthusiasts; here we are in 2021 and still not clear of this Covid!

The committee met on the 20^th of March by Zoom which was well attended by 14 people. Much was discussed and ideas were shared as we prepare for the new season.

As near as possible a full season of events are planned for the Championship and all clubs were upbeat on the possibility of achieving this as the present Covid restrictions in Scotland are eased. Although, trying to fit in events may mean that they come thick and fast as we’re allowed to travel and socially meet.

The first meeting should be the May Kames event which has been moved to the 29^th and 30^th of May to give it every chance to run.

A revised start line procedure was discussed and it was noted that Motorsport UK are now allowing marshalls to touch the vehicle with sanitised hands and the wearing of gloves. This will allow the placing of vehicles on the start line as normal, if preferred to the ‘one metre box’ system adopted in Europe. New records will only be recorded if normal procedures are used, with the organising clubs making that decision on an event-by-event basis.

A digital sign-on process will be used this year which will require stricter enforcement of entry cut-off dates, therefore late entries cannot be accepted.

Ronnie Macgregor has suggested an improved system for scrutineering is being tested, which was well received by the committee (watch this space!).

It was agreed that the Championship should make more use of Facebook, in addition to email, to promote our championship and communicate with entrants. Martin Banks has kindly volunteered to look into this.

The Zoom format worked very well and it was suggested that this should continue for future meetings, however the committee will still target one in-person meeting each year.

The number of entrants for 2021 was artificially low as people seemed to be waiting to see how this season was panning out, many having purchased a MUK licence in 2020 and didn’t get the use out of it! It was agreed that the championship could do the necessary paperwork if the go-ahead was given by the entrants, therefore relieving them of this stress. The take-up of this approach has been very positive – thank you.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support and input in this difficult time as we finally get our racing season underway. If anyone has any comments or suggestions for us to consider please let us know by contacting us at secretary@sshc.org.uk

Jim