Chairman’s Message 22nd October 2018

SCOTTISH SPRINT AND HILCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP
CHAIRMANS MESSAGE 22ND OCTOBER 2018

The Committee held the AGM last weekend and I am pleased to confirm that the championship scores as published were approved, therefore congratulations to our champions and thanks to every competitor who took part in this years competitions.

We look forward to awarding the champions and other winners at our awards night next month at Murrayshall Hotel near Scone on the 24h November, I believe there are a few tickets left so please contact Vicky Park for more information.

If you are able to provide a raffle prize for the dinner please let us know as every little helps.

As long as I have known our entry fee has remained the same, the Committee elected to raise this to £25, the first rise I believe since the championship started so whilst it is a large percentage increase it’s more catch up for the last years.

A further discussion took place about the Ladies Awards and again it was felt these should remain as they carry so much historical value, we will also research further into the history of all our trophies with the aim of adding this information to the website.

It was agreed to amend the Sprint regulations with regard to the counting times being from all of the competition runs rather than from the first two, this may not change many venues running but it removes the temptation to just do two runs and go home when more competition runs are happening.

The regulations have been drafted for 2019 and await slight alterations following the meeting where it was agreed to add class A9 to the championship.

Keith Rose was elected Sprint co-ordinator for next year, my thanks to Tess Keenan for her custody of the sprint results this year, and also thanks to the Executive Committee for their support as ever.

Finally thanks to all those who competed, marshaled, officiated, organised or volunteered to help our sport we thank you and look forward to seeing you for 2019.

Tim Thomson

Chairman

 

Message from the committee September 2018

As a competitor in our Championship, I wanted to let you know that the Committee will be holding the Championship’s AGM on October 20. As is the custom, we welcome your suggestion of specific subjects you would like to see discussed by the Committee at its meeting, or questions you would like to pose?

To be able to have any item considered in this way, I have to ask that you reply to me (as Secretary) absolutely no later than October 12 – and rather earlier would be better! Of course, you are also welcome to contact your Club Representative to ask them to raise matters at any of our meetings.

At our AGM, three of the six executive posts must be re-elected by rotation each year. This time it is the roles of Chairperson, Treasurer and Hillclimb Coordinator. Unusually, two further positions will also subject to election: Vice Chairperson, which is open; and Sprint Coordinator, which has been filled by a co-opted member. There is a formal process for nomination and election, but please feel free to contact Tim, me or your Club Representative if you or someone you know would be interested in getting involvedto help manage the Championship.

Finally, we would appreciate hearing your views on an item raised at last year’s AGM, when we were asked to consider the future of ‘gender-specific awards’. These are The Engravia Trophy Centre Ladies Award in Sprint, The Ladies Award in Hillclimb, and The Agnes Mickel Trophy in Speed.

While there was wide discussion, there was a sense that views among competitors would be split. There was certainly wide agreement that these trophies were an important part of our heritage, and had significant memorial value – and that no change affecting them should be made without proper consideration of their future. But we did agree to ask for your views before this coming meeting, which will help to inform further discussion. Can you please let me have your thoughts on this question?

regards, Colin McLatchie

Scottish Sprint and Hillclimb Championship Awards 2018

Murrayshall House Hotel, Scone, PH2 7PH

On Saturday 24th November 2018, 6.30pm for 7pm.

Tickets £35 per person

We are at the time of the year where we look forward to joining together to celebrate another year of great motorsport. Join us for a 3 course dinner followed by the presentation of awards and then dancing the night away. There will also be the usual raffle to cover the cost of the band so all donations welcome. The band is the same as last year Whiteside.

To book your tickets please email vickypark2202@hotmail.co.uk and advise as to how many tickets you require. You will then receive an email with further details for making payment and menu selections.

We hope that as many of you as possible will join us for the whole weekend.

To book your accommodation please call the hotel directly on 01738 551171 and quote Scottish Sprint and the date (24th Nov) we have block booked the hotel so online it may look full so please call.

Rooms are £145 BB per room for 2 nights or £79 BB per room for one night. (Supplements apply for upgraded rooms)

We are still currently looking into options for some kind of activity for during the day on the Saturday.

Possible ideas so far are-

  •  Land Rover Experience at £130-145 per person for a half day including lunch. (need 30 people as minimum)
  • Blue Sky Experiences (team building challenges) at £60 per person. (need 30 people as minimum)
  • Gin Tasting in the hotel £25-50 per person (need 15 people as minimum)
  • Afternoon Tea £25-35 per person (need 15 people as minimum)
  • Silly Games and Pub Quiz £10 per person (need 15 people as minimum)

If you are interested in joining us during the day please email vickypark2202@hotmail.co.uk urgently and advise how many people and which activity you would prefer. We will then go with the majority and run that event. (This needs to be booked asap so please let Vicky know by 1st September)

Tickets must be booked by Monday 5th November 2018.

Goodbye Flatchat, Hello Uphillracers

We have agreed to create a new community forum that replaces Flatchat’s existing platform and will be hosted on Uphill Racers from June 1. The decade of contributions represented on Flatchat will be retained and still be accessible as an archive, but those postings will be closed.

http://www.uphillracers.com/forum.php

Flatchat has served as the forum for speedsport in Scotland from when it was first devised by David Baker. With the support of the Scottish Sprint and Hillclimb Championship and a great many independent volunteers, it has operated in something close to its current form for the benefit of everyone with an interest or involvement in our sport since 2007.

Since its inception, a lot has changed in social media and technology, and Flatchat has seen less usage in recent years with many preferring to rely on facebook or other media. Recently, Flatchat’s hosting service was changed, and we have been advised that it really needs some extensive updating ‘behind the scenes’. But, considering the necessary expense and continuing responsibility for its operation, we have looked for an alternative that would widen usage and improve support.

Uphill Racers is a similar bulletin board to Flatchat, but includes participation from across the UK. And the operators have agreed to provide two new sub-forums for us for each of ‘Scottish Hillclimb’ and ‘Scottish Sprint’, again for the use of the wider speedsport community in Scotland. Many of you may already be members, but if not you will have to register there before posting.

Of course, Flatchat has developed as a great archive of our sport, and we do not want to see that lost. So, when the new forums are working, and Flatchat is closed to new postings, it will continue to be available as a read-only service while interest continues. 

Chairman’s Message #26, March 2018

Guyson Scottish Sprint and Hillclimb Championship
Chairman’s Message #26, March 2018

Dear All
Welcome to another season of speed events in Scotland. On behalf of the committee we thank you for your entry or interest in our championshipand wish you every success this year.

The committee met on the 10th March to agree the entries and set out our aims for 2018 and beyond. I am pleased to say of the 102 entries we have 9 newcomers so a special welcome aboard to them.

The committee discussed communication, which included our website and social platforms. It was agreed that a new website be commissioned thatwould bring faster communication on all methods of viewing, especially mobile devices. More news on the new site will follow soon, but our thanks go to Peter Locke for safely hosting the current site over many
years and the fantastic job he has done.

During the transition of the website to a new host there will be certain times that information or the site will not be available. Please bear with us we will get it done as quickly as possible.

In accepting the entries the committee agreed the inclusion of the Cox GTM in class A8, this class is an eclectic mix and brings out some great competition we look forward to seeing it in action. And while referring to road classes, let me remind competitors of the importance of arriving at events with all of the documentation our scrutineers require – please
reread the entry form, if in doubt.

The Dinner Dance which has been hosted in Aviemore for a few years now is changing venue after a lot of feedback, this year it will be in Perth and more details will be posted as the plans are confirmed thanks to Vicky for her work on this.

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their support and patience while we make improvements to our processes and communications that will allow us to engage better and quicker with competitors, and everyone else who follows our sport, should you have any suggestions or comments for us to consider please let us know by dropping a line to secretary@sshc.org.uk .

All the best it’s time to go racing again.

Tim

Tim Thomson
Chairman

Chairman’s Message #25, November 2017

Thank you all for an excellent season of competition, since volunteering to take the Chair last year the committee have faced
some challenges most of all operating with a semi-absent Chair most of the year.

My thanks go to all the executive who have supported me during this time and the many competitors that have offered help.

The Committee would also like to thank our Championship Stewards, marshals and the rest of the volunteer element of our
sport, without whom nothing else happens even before we talk about another year’s sport.

The Committee met last month for the AGM and I am pleased to say the following are the executive members and club reps for the next twelve months, sadly David Loomes has resigned from his post as Sprint Co-ordinator and we must thank him for a superb job on a new scoring system and for giving up a year of competition in the Championship to carry out this task.

During the meeting it was resolved after much discussion over the year to continue with class A8 unchanged in 2018. But the technical restrictions on certain gearbox and suspension changes that apply to Series Production Cars in that class will also apply to Specialist Production Cars from 2019 (Blue Book S11.7.6 and S11.8.1). It was also determined in the meeting that we could not introduce A9 without more support from the Scottish MX5 Hillclimb and Sprint Register, and that proposal was dropped.

There will be one extra round in the Sprint Championship next year, this will be a one day event at Kames in October.

The special awards were agreed for the annual awards evening in Aviemore (25th November) and the event has been organized again by Vicky and Trevor Park our thanks to them and we hope to see as many of you as possible on the night.

Our next meeting will be on the 17th March 2018, should you have anything you wish to raise please bring this up with your club reps or drop a line to secretary@sshcc.org.uk

Finally I would like to wish you all a great off season, a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2018.

Tim Thomson
Chairman
SSHC

Club Representatives
Caithness CC Ltd
Roy Munro
East Ayrshire CC LtdRonnie MacGregor
Grampian ACLovat Fraser
Lothian CC LtdGeorge Emmerson
Monklands Sporting CC LtdSarah Shepherd
Scottish Sporting CC LtdAlistair Reid
Competitor Representatives
Scottish Sprint & Hillclimb Championship ClubGraeme Webster
COMPETITOR'S REPRESENTATIVES
HillclimbStuart Sugden
SprintDavid Wallace
SpeedGarry Dickson
Eligibility ScrutineerNeil Ritchie