WCMA.ca/Go Racing! Brainstorming

[GTcalgary]

This area is effectively a "post it note" board from which we will draw on for the implementation of new ideas. Please submit positive only brainstorming suggestions here. The thought is that by sharing one idea, it may spark a new idea by another individual or spark a way in which the already suggested idea can be further tweaked or improved. This area is meant to capture some of the exciting new possibilities and thoughts generated from the new strategy. This is a new way forward so please frame your suggestion in a constructive way that outlines exactly how it would best support our new Brand Strategy in the future: "Focus on Growth through a Unified brand. Increased recognition of and participation in WCMA.ca. Consistent high quality experiences at every touch point."  For example, there were at least a dozen high quality suggestions made during the WCMA AGM that we suggested we would like to see submitted here. For those that were unable to attend the AGM and did not see the presentation, please contact your club president for more information. WCMA affiliated club presidents should email me at GerardTobin@wcma.ca for a copy of the presentation and a discussion of the strategy.

Note this is not a place to criticize previous operations or vent. No knocking of ideas permitted. Please refrain from creating "discussions" here by responding out of format to a suggestion made, or by delivering a lecture. Keep it brief and we will contact you individually for more input as necessary. If you have a better suggestion, please submit it in the specified format and it will be evaluated and taken into consideration against others made. If you feel that your suggestion may be particularly controversial or sensitive or for competitive reasons you would rather contact me directly about it, please email me at GerardTobin@wcma.ca.

Please submit your suggestion in the following format:
1. New idea or Tweak to existing idea
2. Discipline your suggestion relates to (All, Road Race, Time Attack, Autocross, Schools, Other) / 1a. Summary title for your suggestion (all in Bold)
3. Full Name, 2a. Email address
4. Current member of which club(s), and 3a. current position held if any
5. Discipline/activities you participated in during 2015 season
(space)
6.Summary of Idea
(space)
7.How specifically it helps to grow the sport and works with our brand strategy
(space)
8.Details
Include here if your idea came from a group of people or is equally generated through conversation with another individual. i.e. some credit where credit is due.

Example:

New
All - Website Landing Page Navigation Wizard Tool
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA, Spec Miata Championship
Spec Miata Road Racer

I suggest creating a wizard tool on the landing page to help new visitors to the website quickly locate the information they are looking for.

This helps our growth because it will take people to the information they are looking for very quickly and easily. This creates a high quality user experience worthy of referral and a higher possibility of conversion to a participant. This helps to lower the barrier of entry for new participants by making it less complicated to find information and also makes it easy for the public, media and other stakeholders and visitors.

To begin, on the WCMA.ca website landing page, a user selects either A) their location  or B) which discipline they are interested in  or C) Drop down box of certain other website features & information.  Based on their selection, a new selection will become available to further narrow down the location of the information they are looking for / most interested in on the website. Then, based on their final selection, the site automatically takes them to the page they are looking for. Details on exactly what information should be in this "decision tree" type of wizard is open to further suggestions.

This idea was generated in discussions with Chris Semanciw

--------------------------------------

Tweak
All - Website Landing Page Navigation Wizard Tool
Joe Member, tireshredder@gmail.com
WSCC
Time Attack

I suggest that one of the choices on the wizard at every level of the drop down process is a "Return to Homepage" option. This way if a user is getting frustrated at any point along the way, they can simply go back to the homepage and try to find the information using traditional website navigation methods.

This helps to create a higher quality user experience.

Additional details if necessary......

--------------------------------

[GTcalgary]

New
Road Racing - Regional Championship, National Championship (West), Can-Am
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Create a WCMA Regional Championship event that alternates between Alberta and Manitoba each year
Create an ASN National Championship (West) that alternates between Alberta, Manitoba and BC each year  (Eastern Canada can have their own. Its just too far)
Help CACC create a Can-Am event with ICSCC that alternates between BC and Washington each year that works with our combined calendar of events

Not a completely new idea but fits better with our go-forward strategy of increasing recognition of and participation in the sport.  This will help to grow the sport as it will raise our profile with the media and the public and may encourage more cross-provincial participation among racers. It also contributes to having a unified brand and appearance as far as the public and media and even racers are concerned. It also helps to create high quality experiences as a club is more likely to focus their efforts to bring a higher quality regional or national event than a regular weekend event. It allows for cost and travel efficiency as all racers from one province are likely to travel to the other province at the same time (also more fun). This could replace the need to try to equate regions using a points system.  It could simplify our reporting which would have the effect making results seem more accessible and easier for racers and non-racers to follow. Racers compete against one another directly at the same event within their class for all the marbles.

Use something similar to the following schedule where it spreads big events in the most sensible and efficient way when possible. For example:
2016) Regional in MB, Nationals in AB, Can-Am in BC
2017) Regional in AB, Nationals in MB, Can-Am in WA State (CACC in partnership with ICSCC)
2018) Regional in MB, Nationals in BC, Can-AM in BC
2019) Regional in AB, Nationals in AB, Can-Am in WA State
2020) Regional in MB, Nationals in MB, Can-Am in BC
2021) Regional in AB, nationals in BC, Can-AM in WA State

Use Gary Roberts Tow Fund ideas to help make sure the winners from each class are supported financially to attend Regional, National and Can-Am events. Gary and Chris Semanciw traveled to race at both Gimli and Mission in 2015 to encourage this type of activity among provinces/tracks/regions.

[GTcalgary]

New
Road Racing - Spec Miata Support Races for NASCAR Canada Series
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Our large single marque Spec Miata Series to act as support races for NASCAR Canada Series at Edmonton International Raceway Oval and at Castrol Raceway Road Course.

This would give excellent exposure to WCMA.ca and Road Racing and draw on cross-pollination opportunities to draw oval track racers that already have tow vehicles, trailers and mechanical know-how, over to the road racing side. Castrol raceway may appreciate the opportunity to host an event like this. Increases recognition of and particpation in WCMA.ca.

Spec Miatas handle the corners very well which allows them to have surprisingly fast lap times on a tight oval track when compared even to the high horsepower stock cars. They also already look like miniature stock cars in a way and have been known to bump draft. Spec Miata Oval racing already happens for example at South Boston Speedway. These would be exhibition races with their own trophies per event. I think a lot of fans, spectators and TV audience will be surprised at how the little miatas can be very quick and race very intensely for a limited budget. It would also be possible to schedule other class based road racing during the Castrol race, depending on feedback from NASCAR.

[GTcalgary]

New
Road Racing - Class Based Windshield Banners
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Using the new Technical Regs, require cars to run a WCMA.ca/Go Racing logo along with large class description banners as windshield banners for the start of the 2016 season. Banners can also be color coded or inverse highlight colored between Performance Touring, Super Touring and Super Unlimited using logo colors. Sponsors to get space on different prominent locations on a car.

This helps people looking to get into the sport to better understand the classing system when they are watching an event or looking at photos and videos online and in social media. It also helps potential sponsors, the general public and the media to better understand and describe our structure in an easier way resulting in better/more word of mouth and interest in following our sport.  (Alternatively, confusion as to what is going on would not help in this regard for example). Contributes positively towards recognition of and new participation in WCMA.ca events.

The lettering font size should be as large as possible while allowing space for a prominent WCMA.ca Go Racing logo.   Red, Black and White colors can be used to highlight the three main classes in different ways in addition to the text. This system would be similar to a IMSA Tudor or Le Mans type of identification.  For that matter,  class identification letters should be quite large on the sides of cars too including sub-classes eg PTD.

[GTcalgary]

New
Road Racing – Points System
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Create one single and simplified points system that is universal in use throughout the region. As this is amateur racing, allow participants to miss one event per season without losing points i.e. a “Best Of” system.

An extremely easy to understand points system allows followers and other onlookers, potential new participants, public, media and especially new potential sponsors and even existing racers, to more quickly buy into following our events and our series. Simplicity and no potential for confusion will help to remove a barrier to recognition of and participation in our sport. The current media attention span is less than 30 seconds thanks to mobile media training. All information has to be very quickly digestible. The end game is to attract new participants from outside of the existing roster of racers. This more closely follows the intent to truly grow the sport which helps to achieve long-term financial viability of events. A unified points system unifies our brand throughout the region as clubs will appear more unified in all of our activities. This includes when posting results to the WCMA.ca website or regularly reporting results to the newspapers. As every regular season race is, going forward with the new unified strategy, a "WCMA.ca" race in effect, there will be no need to separately schedule a single "WCMA Points Race" or call any race a WCMA points race.  "Fun races", enduros, special events or races falling outside of the regular season races due to their general format would be counted, scored and reported separately from the regular season races and totals.

The Best Of system increases participation as those with family commitments, life events or emergencies during a season don’t feel disadvantaged when competing for a drivers’ championship within their class, for example weddings, funerals, graduations, work assignments, health issues, significant or mechanical issues requiring delayed imported parts etc.  It also allows racers with slightly lower incomes or feeling a pinch from the economy but with potentially great driving talent to still compete for the championship on a slightly lower budget. We hopefully hear less of "I'll never win because..." Spirits of racers in all classes are lifted and racers can change car classes freely and be directly judged against their peers in performance-equalized car classes using the new NASA system. This more inclusive system will appeal to a wider range of participants, therefore better growing the sport overall. Racers from other regions can come and go and know that they will find fair competition based on the same NASA points system that their local racing is based on (for a Championship Event for example).

Use the F1 points system for road races: 1st) 25 points  2nd) 18 points  3rd) 15 points  4th) 12 points  5th) 10 points  6th) 8 points  7th) 6 points  8th) 4 points  9th) 2 points  10th) 1 point  11th+) 0 points. Formula E now uses this format too. At the end of the season, easily figure out how many races to include in the best-of total by removing the number of races corresponding to the event with the highest number of races in a single weekend (i.e. assume a racer missed that weekend).  For example, in 2015 the NASCC held 5 race weekends for a total of 20 races. One weekend had 5 races in it, the most of any weekend during the season.  The “best of” would be calculated on a racer’s best finishing results from 15 races. Each class would use this points system.  A racer wins his class by having the most “best of” points. This only needs to be calculated once at the end of the season. Racers from different provinces would be awarded trophies based on their local track only for the regular season.  In the case of a points tie, the racer with more superior results is the winner. This is the system currently used in the Spec Miata Championship and it has been found directly that certain major Sponsors like this system (in fact some insisted on the simplicity of it).

To allow racers to determine who is the best driver in a Region, there would be a completely separate single Regional Championship Event once a year where racers in the same class but from different provinces would compete against one another in a winner-take all race (or race event) (see WCMA.ca forum idea). Again, this would not be included in the regular season series best-of points total. In combination, the region could consider implementing a “Seed” system similar to what CARS Rally uses, Tennis or even the FIA etc as to which racers may seed higher based on certain criteria (see WCMA.ca forum idea). 

Operationally, this simplified points system can be easily incorporated with MyLaps such that finishing places from each race are awarded our chosen number of points and those points are also instantly and automatically reflected on the MyLaps website along with the finishing positions.  Furthermore, the San Francisco SCCA region has developed a free application that automatically pulls the MyLaps results and can upload them to the WCMA.ca website. This will help to get points results from an event out instantly which helps maintain interest and attention from racers, their friends, families media and other onlookers of the series. It may also be able to be quickly and more easily shared via Facebook along with the highlights of a race.  It helps to reduce the workload on our administrators and volunteers. Timeliness is important. As always, results are unofficial until reviewed and approved by the Steward and this would be indicated on all posted results. This system will eliminate the need for multiple points systems overlays. Trophy budgets can be used to extend trophies down to 5th or even 10th place in a class without increased total cost.

Apparently Formula E now uses the Spec Miata Championship format where they allow drivers to miss one race too. http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/driver-standings.aspx   

[GTcalgary]

New
Road Racing - Event Schedule
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

10 ideas that could be incorporated into an event:
1) Attempt to maintain schedule consistency from day to day and weekend to weekend
2) Races to be minimum 20 minutes and as much as possible, only 20 minutes
3) No need to schedule a "WCMA Points Race" (see WCMA.ca forum idea on Points System)
4) Hold any podium presentations at 2:45pm on Sunday which allows the out of town racers to hit the highways earlier.  (A single non-points track session would be held following the podium presentation until the track rental finishes (more on the session below))
5) Hold a post Saturday racing late afternoon/early evening celebration allowing racers, workers, families and others to get together in an organized way
6) Hold a regular track session for Charity Rides for $20, Sponsor ride-alongs for themselves or their special guests, media ride alongs, media or celebrity mini-races and/or an all race car classes test & tune. This session could also be used for novices or drivers wishing to swap cars to give pointers or try out another racer's car
7) Hold one "fun race" per event weekend that doesn't count for points.  For example, inverted grid
8 ) If holding one "enduro" type of event per weekend, structure it so that a minimum 5 minute stop is required. This would allow a second driver to participate using the same car if they choose. Single drivers would not need to change but would need to stop for 5 minutes any time to equalize. No fueling. Alternative is to use this time block for a feature race such as NWFC or Spec Miata or Vintage.
9) Allow a morning "track walk" with the assistance of bicycles or vehicles or both (walking might take too long)
10) Hold a novice meeting before the regular driver's meeting and after the track walk. Use novice sessions to advance new licenses throughout the year


A lot of things here could be interpreted as helping towards the new strategy.  Many of them could help in some intangible ways to improve the quality of the experience. Certainly getting charities and sponsors more involved will help raise the profile of the group and therefore help to grow the sport. Having a more predictable and less hectic schedule will help the efficiency and punctuality of an event which contributes to a higher quality experience.  A less hectic schedule allows for more predictable times that families and friends will be able to visit with racers etc and makes it more enjoyable for the racer. V8 Supercars has 20 minutes sprint races and it seems that spectators like that in terms of their attention span, followed by the ability to share conversation and get refreshments etc following a race. Must be some marketing savvy that was applied.

More details to be added...

[ChrisS]

New
All - Retention
Chris Semanciw
CSCC & NASCC, WCMA Licensing Supervisor, Spec Miata Championship
Spec Miata Road Racer

Perform an exit survey with participants that stop participating (particularly 1-time participants).  Understanding why people aren't coming back is key to being able to retain them.

[GTcalgary]

New
Driving Schools - Gift Cards
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Produce gift cards for each of the less expensive introductory driving schools eg for $100 each.

Increases recognition and participation by offering a high impact way to get new people involved.

I could see $100 gift cards for a "Winter Performance Driving School" or "Summer Performance Driving School" being very popular for Christmas stockings and Birthdays etc. This would be for people who have never been racing before and know nothing about wcma.ca.  From there we can introduce them to additional activities available.

[GTcalgary]

New
Autocross - Single Marque Events or Invitations
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Invite single marque car clubs to attend an autocross event or run an event for them. (This is not my idea but was presented at the WCMA AGM from the Solosport group.)

Cross pollinates other car enthusiast groups and introduces them to the motorsport side of things which increases participation.

For example invite the Mustang "club" etc to come out for an event. Helps towards the cause and helps the clubs make a few extra bucks. The same idea could be applied to dealerships / manufacturers to hold customized events for them.

[GTcalgary]

New
All - Create a Calgary / Edmonton Competitive Rivalry - Get Celebrities & Media Personalities Involved
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Nenshi vs Don Iveson head to head in a couple of Spec Miatas with media coverage? Can make it for benefit of a charity. Maybe a couple of NHL players from Flames/Oilers? Radio or TV Personalities? Well known racers that originated from each of the two cities? Could do this over lunch break on a regular race weekend.  Same idea applies to Autocross and other events.

Helps with recognition as its something the media will be more interested in talking about.

Similar suggestions and "tweaks" to this are welcomed

Chris Semanciw has mentioned the Calgary/ Edmonton rivalry general idea in the past

[GTcalgary]

New
All - WCMA.ca Logo Design Contest
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Once we have definitely decided on our "name" brand, create a competition for graphic artists and marketing professionals and others to submit their winning logo design.  (Andy DeBoon suggested this at the AGM)

Helps to spread the word about the directional change, creates some excitement around it, increases recognition.  Gets members thinking about how best to represent our Brand Strategy.

Likely have to offer some sort of cash prize. Would need suggestions as to who to make aware of the competition eg NAIT/SAIT/COllege of Art etc etc.

[GTcalgary]

New
All - Website (Sitelet) Subdomains
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Create subdomains for each of the clubs from the main WCMA.ca website. (Recommended by Wayne Schellekens)

Increases hit count on main domain which will be helpful when approaching sponsors.  Also makes it easier to administer for many of the smaller clubs.  More turn key which increases efficiency by working smarter together.

For example, the Winnipeg Sports Car Club could use wscc.wcma.ca for their sitelet subdomain

[GTcalgary]

New
All - Create a Digital Archive on the new Website and/or on each Club Sitelet
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Create a section on the website that shares the rich history of each of the clubs and of motorsport in western Canada.

Helps us to elevate the status of motorsport in western Canada to something more positive. This could help with keeping club members involved for longer and perhaps help with the sport's PR image to the public which in turn may make it easier to secure certain venues in the future.

For example add some photos from each year or competition starting right from the beginning of each club and including major events held for example at Edmonton International Speedway by famous F1 drivers etc. This will help to remind people that motorsport is part of the western Canadian culture and something we should be proud of. I have seen some examples of even some very old video of racers at Claresholm at Ft Macleod with hay bales etc. THis is the kind of stuff that I'm sure will be included in the "Of Cars & Cowboys" film.  As we all get older and stop racing, it will be a nice place to visit to relive some of the great memories created. This is an important feature to past club members and less active current members. Some verbage on major developments about the club's history would be good too. This aspect should be promoted along with the new initiatives.  Understanding our long history will help build trust in the community and with key partners.

[GTcalgary]

New
All- Event Coverage - Video, Photos, Live Streaming, Live Timing, Twitter, Facebook, Forums
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

Assemble event "media teams" to create rich digital content and make the experience easier to share and more interactive

Helps to create a high quality experience. Helps to spread the word increases recognition and participation in events and in the sport. 

For example, Millennials are an important target market for us and they will respond well to video clips to give them a virtual experience before they buy into becoming a participant. Facebook shares and recommendations from their trusted friends and associates is the other half of the equation. Create a Facebook "Event" that key influential people can share with their enthusiast group clubs.

Re Video: Place a couple of stationary GoPros in safe areas on tripods to capture raw footage that can be later mixed together with in-car footage and roaming paddock/social type of shots.  Have a way to share these large file clips (Dropbox? Google Drive/Hangouts?) with a media team that can quickly edit the footage into sub 30 seconds pieces that can be shared on social media in close proximity to the time of the event. Another video option is to have the new self-tracking camera systems that pivot/zoom to keep you in the shot without a cameraman.  Each club could look into spending some money to set up a media hardware package for their own clubs to use at their events. eg Two GoPros and tripods.  Can take it further and get something like a Blackmagic box and mix live streaming from in-car, external and two announcers to Ustream. Include twitter stream for event. Put it all together without spending a true fortune to get pro company in to do it. Could also ask individuals with cell phones to live stream to a central Ustream wcma.ca channel.

Photos:  Have a central location to which the best photos from various photographers are shared and a selection of the best can be chosen to upload to Facebook etc. Depending on how large/prominent an event, could have media team upload photos real-time. Invite a number of amateur photographers and photography clubs / schools to come out and use our racing activities as ways to practice and share their photography.

Live Timing - use Race Monitor to provide live timing.  Could set up a TV monitor at Race Control or near bleachers so spectators could look at timing and create discussion around it. Also available on smartphones.Combines with Mylaps.com for updated results very quickly.

Twitter:  Encourage people to twitter #wcma #racing #go racing etc etc their observations about the race etc. especially on a live basis

Facebook:  While being very careful not to inundate the WCMA.ca facebook page with too many posts at once (people will just unfollow us if too much) have a team of people at an event to share the video, photos, results etc to facebook on  a real-time basis or at least very quickly.

Have designated people to share events on non wcma.ca affiliated forums. Eg beyond.ca, Calgarypuck, etc etc

[GTcalgary]

New
All - Western Canadian Sportscar Expo (i.e. Goodwood North)
Gerard Tobin, GerardTobin@wcma.ca
NASCC, Director Motorsport Development WCMA.ca
Spec Miata Road Racer

In conjunction with other key partners and stakeholders, create an over the top annual motorsport event and show

Ultimate exposure to the public for our organization.  Very likely bump in participation.  Goodwill.

Working directly with Castrol Raceway and the Edmonton Motor Dealer Association (and perhaps also the Calgary Motor Dealers Association), host an all encompassing Sportscar event that includes the following main elements:  1) Every manufacturers top two sports car models on display (no every day cars allowed like a typical auto show)  2)Demonstration/Exhibitions by WCMA.ca racing disciplines (Road Race, Time Attack, Autocross) and Rallycross and Kart  (i.e. all FIA affiliated disciplines) 3) Classic sportscar show and auction (think Concours like in Monterey California). Its a gamble with weather so plans would need to incorporate a plan B. Event would run from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.

1) Top two sportcar models from every single manufacturer lined up along each side (north and south) of the drag strip under 20'x 40' tents  with an open walkway in the middle. Also under tents/pop-ups on the dragstrip would be displays by WCMA.ca, Kart, CARS (rally).  In another couple of tents would be iRacing (connected to Mazda), and Gran Turismo (connected to Nissan), Forza, Race Room. Also possible would be Radical Canada.

2) On the west road course, new car demonstrations and ride-alongs would be provided to auto dealer customers and potential purchasers by the auto dealers themselves (they may ask for some assistance). At the east end would be FIA demonstrations of road racing and time attack and possibly a feature race Saturday night. Kart would be set up in the paddock, shared with Autocross.  In the oval, CARS would set up a rallycross demonstration and potential feature race using both the oval and infield and using several jumps. Again charities and celebrities could be involved in the activities.

3) In the northeast corner closest to the highway where it is a large grass field, have a classic sportscar show.  Live auctions would be set up for a specified time at the start of the dragstrip area where all of the bleachers are primarily set up.

In the northwest corner, it is a motorcross track and kids activities could be set up including allowing them to bring their own bmx or mountain bikes to ride around the track. Other sparts car themed activities would be arranged for the kids and families.

Eg Participant list:
Acura
Aston Martin
Audi
BMW
Bugatti
Cadillac
Chevy
Dodge
Factory 5
Ferrari
Ford
Honda
Hyundai
Infiniti
Jaguar
Kia
Lamborghini
Lexus
Lotus
Maserati
Mazda
McLaren
Mercedes
Nissan
Pagani
Porsche
Scion
Subaru
Toyota
Volkswagen