2010/2011 Vic DH State Series Official Discussion Thread!!

swanny

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Hey Boys and Girls,

The planning is underway for the next VDHS, off the back of our most successful series EVER in 2009/10.
This Series would not be possible without some key people and of course the Clubs which make it all happen, but it also would not be possible without the great attendance of all you riders out there. So with this in mind, this is your series, so we want to run it the way YOU want, so give us your input.
Last year we ran a similar thread, and with a great response, we used many of your comments and criticism's in our annual meeting which formed many of our decision for the series. So this thread, unlike many other threads on here, is VERY IMPORTANT!!
The VDHS committee is proud of what happened last year and was, by and large, happy with the series, but as with everything, there is room for improvement.
So, riders, parents, friends, onlookers, Clubs.......anyone........Let us know your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, criticisms (keep it civil), anything that is relevant. If someone has said something that you thought of, let us know write it down also. If we get many comments of the same type, we will take them on board even more.

So get thinking, at the end of this month there is a big meeting to discuss all your ideas and bring them to reality.

Next season will be the biggest and best ever and with the tracks that we have already had discussions about, you wont want to miss ANY races.

Matt and Nick.
 

jacko13

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Have you guys settled on tracks yet?

From the ones that were in the polls, if the better ones were run it would be a really good from a racing perspective.

I'd like to see races at Mt. Beauty keep the mini-buses over the school buses just due to how much quicker the shuttles were.
 

dl79

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I really enjoyed the last series and believe it was the best yet. I think from my perspective there is not a lot to improve on. Just continuing to refine the processes already in place should make for a geat series again.

A couple of points I would like noted:
-Mini Buses for Mt Beauty race/s
-Earlier practise start time for Sunday to allow for earlier start/finish to racing. Seemed to work well at Mt Beauty Big Hill.
-Keep pro only and No-pro practise.
-I thought the whistles for marshalls at the last Youies race were brilliant. For me one of the more dangerous parts of racing is having people on the track that don't know your coming and the whistle system worked a treat.

Keep up the hard work guys, much appreciated. c u at rnd 1

Cheers

Leachy
 

jacko13

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I really enjoyed the last series and believe it was the best yet. I think from my perspective there is not a lot to improve on. Just continuing to refine the processes already in place should make for a geat series again.

A couple of points I would like noted:
-Mini Buses for Mt Beauty race/s
-Earlier practise start time for Sunday to allow for earlier start/finish to racing. Seemed to work well at Mt Beauty Big Hill.
-Keep pro only and No-pro practise.
-I thought the whistles for marshalls at the last Youies race were brilliant. For me one of the more dangerous parts of racing is having people on the track that don't know your coming and the whistle system worked a treat.

Keep up the hard work guys, much appreciated. c u at rnd 1

Cheers

Leachy
+1 for those whistles.

Were you saying get rid of non-pro practice?
 

Staunch

Eats Squid
Another +1 for the whistles, brilliant idea, make it much easier as a rider and a spectator to know when people are coming. Also, as Jack mentioned, keep the mini-buses for Mt. Beauty, they worked a lot better than the full size ones, was easier to get more runs in :)

Can't think of much else, last season was good as, if 7 good tracks are chosen for this upcoming season it could be even better than last :)
 

Gravity Addict

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Hey just some ideas.
For the hardcore riders. you could have a deal. buy the whole season for 5-6 hundred dollars (stipping maybe 50-100 of the whole cost, might entice some more riders)
a beginners class.
looking forward to the next season. getting ready on me hardtail
 

Riedy

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Keep Mt Beauty, and use the Nationals track this yr for Beauty race!
Also bring back Barjarg and Buller.
 

bike_nerd

Likes Bikes
I'm another for keeping cost down. It's the reason why i'm not doing all the races. $20 cheaper at each race would help, i think you'll recover your money by increased number of riders.
 

woody 14

Eats Squid
as already said theres not much to improve on. last year was a great season which saw alot of good racing. here are my thoughts.
1) keep the whistles. Great idea
2) i saw knock $15-20 of race fees but increase the number of races and im sure you would still get you money back.
3) keep the mini buses at beauty.
4) Keep Big Hill. thats a truly awsome track and its unique in the fact that its the only 10+min track that we race. please keep it in.
and thats about all i have to say. once agian thanks to everyone involved in last years season and i say bring on 2010-11 season. its gunna go off!!
 

camby_mtb

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Hey guys,
I also think the whistles were a great idea! I saw them first at canberra WC in 08 and have wondered ever since when we would see them in vic.
Deffinately bring back barjarg and buller. I've heard criticism about barjarg being too hard etc. so maybe have a build weekend or something and make some b-lines that will cater for the "not-so skilled".
The new You Yangs track I think was great both to ride and for spectators and should definitely be included next year, along with yackandandah and Beauty short course for sure.
Just my 2cents. :)

Cambo.
 

cluster

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Maybe change the points calculation system so it's more like the world cup??? Just seems a bit unfair to me that someone like Connor Fearon can go to one race and take out 15th overall in Elite men... that's not to say that I don't appreciate his incredible level of skill (and people like him) but maybe if the points didn't ramp up so much towards the top end it would be more fair to those who make the effort to go to every race.:rolleyes:
 

Sean

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Maybe change the points calculation system so it's more like the world cup??? Just seems a bit unfair to me that someone like Connor Fearon can go to one race and take out 15th overall in Elite men... that's not to say that I don't appreciate his incredible level of skill (and people like him) but maybe if the points didn't ramp up so much towards the top end it would be more fair to those who make the effort to go to every race.:rolleyes:
Great suggestion, couldn't agree more. Makes people more enticed to go to all the races to get a good overall too!
 

jacko13

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Maybe change the points calculation system so it's more like the world cup??? Just seems a bit unfair to me that someone like Connor Fearon can go to one race and take out 15th overall in Elite men... that's not to say that I don't appreciate his incredible level of skill (and people like him) but maybe if the points didn't ramp up so much towards the top end it would be more fair to those who make the effort to go to every race.:rolleyes:
Great idea!, would make for more competitive racing too.

I think the full season entry would be a great idea, or lower costs at all races. If you say, dropped the seniors price to level it with juniors, felt a bit ripped off sometimes when i was being charged as a "senior" when i was 16 in under 19's.
 

swanny

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Ok, awesome, keep the comments coming. Just to have a quick reply to the first few comments, but trust me what i say now does not mean this will stick.

1/ Buller and Barjarg are definitely on the radar, but no promises, all planets need to align first.
2/ Whistles.......agree....good idea, we will try to make them stick.
3/ Mini buses for Beauty, hoping to keep them, they do work better.
4/ Cheaper entry...... Unfortunately, this is very hard. With all the costs involved in running events, the cost will be about the same. By automatically assuming we would just get a better rider turnout by reducing fees, would be foolish. There are too many factors to contend with for numbers, marketing, weather, location, timing etc. If an event has poor numbers, then that Host Club loses money. And if an event has good turnout, the Club makes money and it all goes back to you guys anyway, with better equipment, track building, blah, blah, blah......In short the entry will be about the same.
5/ Cheaper 'season pass' entry fees. This has been looked at in the past , however it is hard because each race is run by a different Club and each Club is the one who makes or loses money, its hard to group it all together. We are looking at this idea however.
6/ Beginner Classes.....we already have the Fun Class which is for first timers.
7/ Tough courses...... this is what everybody wants but for those starting out who do have difficulty with hard bits, we will always have A, B, C lines, and we will endeavor to have some rider skills training at some events to assist those in need.
8/ One other thing we are looking at is having the final round carry more points (maybe double) in order to attract more riders to the final round. We will see.....

Also, FYI, the tracks we are looking at this year will all be very popular. Best season ever????

Keep the comments coming.

Matt
 

jmurphy

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2) i saw knock $15-20 of race fees but increase the number of races and im sure you would still get you money back.
!

It doesn't work like that, they would still have to pay for the shuttles and everything at that extra race.. I don't think people realise that it is not a profit for the organizers, ALL MONEY that is made goes back into the sport!!!

James
 
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macca21

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I don't think people realise that it is not a profit for the organizers, ALL MONEY that is made goes back into the sport!!!
Well then why has the You Yangs had so much development (money going back into it) and Mt Beauty not changed at all? It does cost a lot to run Mt Beauty I know, all the buses and that, BUT... the recent rounds there have pulled numbers around the 300 mark! There's a lot of money in that, $30,000 in entry fees!

8/ One other thing we are looking at is having the final round carry more points (maybe double) in order to attract more riders to the final round. We will see.....
How is that going to spread the points over the whole field for the season? All that will happen is the fastest guys will get further ahead and the not-so-fast will end up further back! By spreading points out across the field more evenly there will be more competition during the season, the fastest guys will still win but the points will be tighter.

Here's the WC points chart,(http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/sho...ficial-Downhill-World-Cup-Tipping-Competition) , very different to our Vic one,(http://www.vicdhseries.com/article.asp?articleID=1324) , where only the top few riders get any points worth talking about. Maybe increase the points across the field so that there are more points to spread through the middle to lower half of the field?
 

D.HILL817

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We need to have a race at BULLER because of the chair lifts and also like everyone is saying use the nationals track at beauty again. Have a race at SHEPPARTON because they have good tracks to chose from and its a short shuttle trip up.
 

jakey_trickster

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Fantastic Series just gone guys, would like to thank everyone again for an awesome time had by all.

For the 2010/2011 Series the main thing I would like to see is a large number of events, say 7.
I also think that evenly spaced races is a good idea, say minimum of two weeks brake inbetween to allow people to gather funds and heal from the event just gone, I know this already has been the case in past seasons, but would like to see it continue.

The minibusses at Beauty is a good thing, but the prices would be quite high, if it becomes to expensive I would rather see normal busses and the event still ran that have not enough money to have the event. I'm sure people can agree with that, though I can't imagine that not enough money would be gathered from rego.

I think a hot-seat should be a common every event thing, rather than a just 'here or there' thing, like we would see one at some events only, and larger splits between the final top ten elite riders to grow higher levels of suspence and create better atmosphere.

Jake.
 
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