The Perthshire, 2011

We had our meeting (well - five of us had a meeting & two emailed comments.... and perhaps that is partially indicitive of the problem) to discuss the where-we've-been and what-to-do of a Cross Country event in July.

We know that there are major issues with competitor numbers over the years. Just looking at the raw numbers we can see that: 42 in '07; 36 in '08; 24 in '09; and just 10 entries in 2010!

There are two (maybe three) reasons for this: road legality, VOSA & cars have moved on; its the same old stuff every year & boring now; and maybe one could lay some blame at other events crowding out the space.

1. Road Legality is a big issue: it takes time, effort & money to get a car sorted for an MOT/SVI (the Borders wins from this to a certain extent, in that cars can bypass all that expense and still have some of that "Hill Rally" experience). A lot of the current crop of "Road Legal" cars would get pulled over (it claims its a white 1972 range rover, but it looks nothing like a range rover, and is definitely not white), with the fear of being impounded/crushed by an overly zealous beaurocracy.
   There are road-legal cars, but are they as tough as the old-school vehicles? (and an extra £20K is a lot to spend on a toy!) - not with just one event in the year requiring the toy to be road-legal, there will not be many people who are prepared to go that route.
   
2. The Perthshire hasn't changed in 15 years. Well, yes & no.... and re-read that sentance again: "15 years." That's a long time for an event to run! Yes, one could say that the event hasn't changed, in that we are still using the same core sites that we used five years ago, however one could say the similar things about the Scottish Comps, NORC, AWDC, & even the BCCC (there's very little new ground out there to be had, and unless you have an "in" with the land-owner, most are not interested in a bunch of hooligans ripping their ground to shreds).
   Like any events, the "Perthshire" has been loosing ground: as farms are split-up & sold off; as Land Owners grow weary of the small return for the amount of hassle it puts them through; as farming practices change; etc.
   I have a 2006 Hill Rally mug in front of me - here are the sites that have gone in the last five years: Athron Hall, Candy, Clow, Dollar, Law Hill, Glen Tarkie, Heatheryleys, Knockhill, Lochelbank, Montalt, Rossie Ochil, Struie, Tillyrie. We have been getting new ground - not enough open hill-side for my preference (the clue is in the name HILL rally club), however new ground will rarely be in the same locality as the exisitng sites (not a problem for the comps, but a big factor for a multi-venue event!)
   
3. Being crowded out by other events is another issue: there are, I think, something like 27 "national" comp safari events in the UK. The BCCC is an obvious one, and then NORC, AWDC & the SCCC all cater for competitors from a wide geographical area... and we are all competing for the same 'customers.'
   Competitors need time between events, both to service (and repair) vehicles, and to gather the money to enter the next event. Two weekends is a minumum, three weekends is good, and four if it has been an arduous event. Organisers, therefore, need to plan when they hold events to maximise the number of competitors they can get, whilst also providing the greatest opportunity for competitors to take part in the "major" events.
   Competitors will, obviously, choose which series they prefer, and if there is a dates clash, they will need a lot on incentive to miss an event from their own series.

So where does this leave us for 2011?

Well, there will definitely be no Multi-venue cross-country rally (the classic Hill Rally) in 2011.

I am unsure if there is merit for a Single-venue, multi-stage rally (the sort of event we do at the "Borders") in 2011 - particularly as we share competitors with the BCCC, and there is just one weekend between a BCCC round and the "Perthshire."

We, the Scottish Hill Rally Club, will run something - we need to as history is littered with events that have taken a year or two off, and then lost the date as another organisation has appropriated it.

I think the future for the "Perthshire" needs looked at - we need to go "Bigger" and "Better": We need to go National A; move to be three days; have more competitive milage.... and accept that the cost of the event will go up.
This will require major sponsorship (£1,000 here, £200 there is not enough.... we need to look at £5000+), and a LOT of work!

..... but we (I) need to talk to competitors, to see what will interest them -- Roll on the "Borders"