|
Post by scottle on Sept 7, 2011 14:39:38 GMT
Hi, I would like to organise a charity soapbox derby in the Sheffield area and would be interested to here what makes a good venue. Obviously you need a hill, not a problem in Sheffield but what else? How long, what type of surface, twisty or straight??
Thanks for your help.
|
|
|
Post by Organgrinder on Sept 7, 2011 15:09:36 GMT
Good luck with your venture. I am one of the organisers of Belchford Downhill Challenge, which we have been running for ten years to raise money - This year's event is going to take place this Sunday (11 September) and you would be very welcome to come along and watch what's going on. We are about two hours' drive from Sheffield - see www.belchford.org.ukTo raise money for charity you will probably want to attract a crowd of spectators and find ways of extracting money from them - this is far more lucrative than getting your revenue from the competitors. We sell catering rights, pitches at a craft fare, sell programmes with paid for adverts and have sub-contracted bouncy castles to bring in the money. Crowd control is vital for safety and this will influence your choice of venue. We erect a wall of big straw bales along one side of our 750 metre course to keep the crowd and carts separate. This is a major cost (approx £800 to set out and pick up borrowed bales), but worth it for peace of mind and simplicity. Our track uses a closed public road and finishes on the outskirts of the village. Most of the road is straight, but we put in artificial chicanes and bends using plastic barrels to make the course more challenging for the teams and better entertainment for the audience. Competitors vary in what they like - some really like the chicanes we use, others hate them, but put up with them because we are putting on a race for them. Most really enjoy the atmosphere generated by an excited crowd and I think that's the main reason why Belchford Downhill has more entries than (I think) all the other races in the UK. I hope this is helpful to you
|
|
|
Post by neils on Sept 7, 2011 22:43:25 GMT
I expect your post will attract a myriad of answers. Personally I prefer a mixture of corners both fast and hairpins. A track with some bumps to test the cart set-up and handling. A decent length of run to make it worthwhile travelling for, or a quick turnaround to get plenty runs in. A gravel free tarmac track is best. For a charity event it may be worthwhile having trophies/awards for fun carts and junior races, make this clear when publicising the event. Plenty space for "pit area" is always a good idea, though try to keep everyone within close proximity to help create a busy and active atmosphere. I have heard that a good compere can make or break a public event like this, so if you know someone that can give a comic commentary all the better. I also think a slowish "parade" run down the hill would be a good spectacle. Good luck and hope you manage to get something off the ground.
|
|
|
Post by andy on Sept 8, 2011 7:27:25 GMT
Agree with both Organgrinder and Neil.
Though if you want to get a real feel for it You must try and get to Belchford this weekend !
You will get all your questions answered.
I have also sent you a PM
|
|
|
Post by Scottish Cartie Association on Sept 8, 2011 9:05:55 GMT
What makes a good course depends largely on what you are trying to achieve. A good course for a serious race might not be suitable for a charity event, and vice versa. If your primary objective is a public event to raise money, then I'd suggest you go for a shorter course - say around 300m or so - to keep things manageable. Long courses give problems with marshaling, communication and timing and also make it harder to give the spectators a good view. If you keep things relatively small, you'll allow the specators to be able to see most if not all of the course, keep them relatively close to your vendors and stalls, etc. You'll also make controlling the race itself much easier if you can see the whole course at once. A mixture of bends and straights is best as it makes it more interesting for the competitors and the spectators. It's not much of a race if you can get from the start to the finish without using your brakes. Tarmac courses tend to be faster than grass, but that doesn't necessarily mean tarmac is best. You may prefer to keep the speeds relatively slow (20-30mph) in order to stop the safety requirements from being too burdensome and to keep your construction rules from being too restrictive, and in those circumstances a grass track set up in - say - a public park might be more appropriate. Ideally you want to have a way of getting the carties back to the top of the hill disrupting the racing. On tarmac courses, and especially those on public roads, it is common for the only way back to the top to be up the course itself, which clearly means you have to stop racing to recover the carties. If you have an alternative route back to the top you can recover them without interupting the race program. Other things to look for is space at the start and the finish for handling the carties and plenty of room after the finish for braking area. Good luck with your planning and I hope it goes well for you. Let us know when you have a date and seom details and we'll add it to our race calendar on ScottishCarties.org.uk to help publicise it. It'd be worth checking that whatever date you chose doesn't clash with any existing races too.
|
|