Tuesday Night Sprints needs volunteers

Help on pursuit nights will definitely be appreciated. Many thanks to the people who stepped up last time, hopefully we can get some regulars helping out!

Tim

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No worries, if you can help out that would be great.

I just wish it were under different circumstances! Hope the recovery goes well,

Tim

Thanks Tim.

I spent the last 7 years of my life busting my butt on a bike. I would be at the track a minimum of 2 times and sometimes as much as 4 time a week training. On top of working a full-time job. And I STILL FOUND TIME TO VOLUNTEER MY TIME AND HAVE A SPRINT NIGHT for you people.

And I can only get one "maybe - until I can ride again"?

One of two things is going to happen here. Someone will volunteer to help Tim and I at sprint / pursuit night, or (and I can't speak for Tim on this) I'm going to limit registration for sprint night, probably to 12-16 people AT MOST. The only other option would be for me to require that one person who shows up "volunteer" to help on a randomly-drawn basis. This has got me aggravated enough to talk to Jeff about re-instituting a $20 per event charge for folks who don't volunteer.

This was always supposed to be a "Steve Teaches" class, not a "Steve shows up and runs a race." It's your call, folks. Spread the word if you want Sprint night to continue in its current incarnation.

"You people"? Aggravated?

Dude, your "I'm doing you a favor" attitude doesn't help. I've been to every sprint night except 1 for the 2009 and 2010 seasons and I can't recall being taught anything except how to do jumps and do the "Encino style" flying 200m start from a paceline.

You can be heavy-handed with your words, Steve. You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

There were 3 sprint nights last season (May 1st, July 3rd, & July 17th) and you missed one of them. So you hosted 2 sprint nights last season while you were training. (Just sayin' since you brought it up.)

I thought it was always "Steve shows up and runs a race" as we've never done anything else. No match sprint skills training. No come-arounds. No look-back drills. No instruction on finding the right 200M line. No advice on finding the right gear(s),. Etc...

I'm not sure if Sprint Night *should* be about instruction. Pursuit night, Tuesday night, or Wednesday nights are not about instruction. Isn't that what Monday nights are for?

Also, instead of creating a reason for racers to NOT participate (charging $20) how about creating an incentive for a volunteer TO participate? I.e. Every night you volunteer, you get to race 2 nights free or 5 Volunteer points or something along those lines.

PS:
And I do volunteer, too. I raced Friday and volunteered all day Saturday at the FOS. I do lap cards on most Tuesday and Wednesdays. I did a 500M TT then worked the remainder of the pursuit night till 11PM. It's not much. But, it is something.

Carleton, this wasn't directed at you. I know you volunteer. But YOUR "Hey, I'm now going to lecture you on how you should act" attitude doesn't help. I don't want any flies. I want volunteers.

But am I aggravated? Damn right I am.

I get aggravated when people expect something from me, and then complain about the manner in which I deliver it.
I get aggravated when I've been asking for volunteers for three years, and only one person helps.
I get aggravated when people try to tell me how I should run the night that I've been running for 7 years now.

On getting people TO race, well, I don't think you're paying attention. We have TOO many people racing for one (or two) people. I'm looking at EITHER increasing the staff, or DECREASING the number of riders, because, as I said, I want to get back to teaching at the class like I used to do. And on the other hand, while your suggestion is good (for getting people to volunteer) I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO AUTHORITY to make that offer. So perhaps you should direct that to the powers, because it's a good suggestion.

And before you spout off on my not teaching, why don't you ask someone who's been around more than a year? Because your memory does not equate to all of history. This used to be a teaching class, and if I'm running it, it will be again (whether you think it should or not) because that's what I like doing. I don't like running a stopwatch and yelling for people to come to the boards, which is what sprint night has become. It's not what it used to be.

Finally, I'll address one point: "No come-arounds. No look-back drills. No instruction on finding the right 200M line. No advice on finding the right gear(s)"
Two of those things I addressed DIRECTLY, and to two different groups of people. You must not have been paying attention. We USED to do a lot of this, and we don't any longer, BECAUSE WE HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE, and no time. We USED to sit around for upwards of 45 minutes after the racing and do a Q&A, which we no longer have time to do. We used to have a quick Q&A BEFORE we got on the track, which we no longer have time to do. I USED to be able to be all over the place asking questions, helping change gears, etc., which I no longer have time to do. We used to change up the program a lot, and do different stuff, which I no longer have time to do. So your memory, while technically correct in the short term, is, unfortunately, tainted by a lack of awareness of the larger (and longer-term) picture.

One more thing:

"Dude, your "I'm doing you a favor" attitude doesn't help."

It may not help, but by definition, I AM DOING EVERYONE A FAVOR by having sprint night.

Or at least, everyone who shows up.

Just sayin'!

I think that Steve, John, Jeff, everybody else who runs a race/training night (I think there may be somebody else for the women's, I can't remember, and the Wed. night racing crew), and I are doing people a favor. But we're also doing ourselves a favor because we're giving back to a sport we all love. It is frustrating some times when others don't show the same level of support.

Carleton, I really appreciated your help and I let you know it. Same with Autumn, and those lovely ladies that came with Lee, and Craig, who left before I could say thanks. I don't think Steve's message was really intended for you though. I think it's intended more for the 100+ other people who come and go, some of them regularly, at the track who don't help out.

I think there's a misconception out there that you have to be an expert to be a volunteer. I raced at the track twice in late 2007 and then in the spring of 2008 I sent Pete and email and asked if anybody did pursuits or if there was interest. I had never run a race before and had only been to the track twice. Which, as a side note, is the only time I have raced except two sprint nights and one pursuit night. I just dug up the rules online to make sure I knew what was going on and gave it a go.

Unlike Steve, I'm not an expert. I read a lot, I've studied some of the greatest pursuiters, and I think it's the purest form of racing. If I have advice to give, I try to give it or if people have questions, I try to answer them the best I can. So for me, it is very much a "Tim shows up and runs a race" event.

The point is this -- anybody out there who comes to a race night should ask themselves: Would I miss this event if nobody did it? If the answer is yes, then they should volunteer.

The other question is: Do I have an idea for an event that isn't done? If yes, then they should step up and do it.

I've been in a lot of volunteer based organizations, and there's always frustration from those who do and those who don't. If the basic needs are being met, then the frustration is tempered.

But not being able to provide the level of interaction that is supposed to happen from lack of support and the frustration is justified.

First, thanks Steve and Tim, among others. Most, including me, are highly appreciative of the opportunity to train and race at the velodrome and the people who make it happen.

Many don't frequently read or post to the website forums so the lack of feedback to the request for volunteers is probably not indicative of a lack of interest or willingness to help. I didn't hear about it last Tuesday but I might have just missed it.

Decide how many volunteers you need (3?) and how many participants will be allowed. Work out the details and I'm sure TwoTone or someone else would be happy to put it on Facebook and Twitter so word gets out. Perhaps limit registration via this race forum or first come, first served on the sign up sheet, day of. As long as it's a method that doesn't add more work or complication for Steve or Tim. One idea, if it would be allowed by the DLV board, would be to give the volunteers, perhaps as many as 3, the same number of race points for volunteering as the first place rider's points for the evening. This would encourage people to volunteer and they wouldn't be punished in the standings for not racing that night. I don't think you'd have any trouble getting volunteers if you did that and then as a back up, when the evening is about to start, inform the group that it will be cancelled that night if 3 don't step forward to help with the timing and the call up to the boards and race placings notation.

I still think having too many people interested in the Tuesday night Sprints is a good problem to have. We want an active and growing base of participants.

I was out there last Tuesday because I wanted to ride hard, enjoy the friendly competition, and chase points for the season. I wouldn't mind learning how to sprint less badly, too. I didn't know there was teaching and coaching involved in the past as it was my first time.

Thanks.

Wow - real DLV drama!

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Steve,

I'll volunteer if it makes your life easier. I've only been doing this for a few months (and only one sprint night so far), but if you can get me up to speed on what I need to do, I'll be more than happy to help. Assuming it's not something that requires more experience than I currently have.