2011 QLD MTB State Championships CANCELLED

[Kamikazee ideki]

Friz, the only thing more frustrating than your ability to spell (Mozilla Firefox has spellcheck if you need help) is that you are completely missing the point that people are trying to make here, and that is that your clubs communication with SEQ riders needs to be improved. I doubt very much than many people would be opposed to helping out at races if they were given clear and concise information as to what needed to be done and how they could help.

 

[friz]

Friz, the only thing more frustrating than your ability to spell (Mozilla Firefox has spellcheck if you need help) is that you are completely missing the point that people are trying to make here, and that is that your clubs communication with SEQ riders needs to be improved. I doubt very much than many people would be opposed to helping out at races if they were given clear and concise information as to what needed to be done and how they could help.

You say spelling I say grammar, 'what needed' should be 'what's' or 'what is needed'. And the information was not for SEQ riders it was for GCMTB club members, Iguess we will find out in the near future when other club"S" will be asked to take over and good luck to them, SEQ Water a government run organisation, paper work, lengthy delays in replies to submissions. Most are right its not just seeking help from club members, but that is all I wish to air on a public forum.

 

[Kamikazee ideki]

nevermind/

 

[D_Nine]

So let me understand this correctly a group of people decide to form a club.Out of this group some of them offer to volunteer to run the club, that would be the committee .So at some point this committee decides and I believe that it would be with some consultation with club members ,as I understand votes are required in deciding things to organise and run a state MTB Championship.I'm not quite sure but I assume the 2011 season was not the first time it decided to do this.So basically "the club" decided to run this championship,therefore "the club" is responsible,not solely the committee members.Yes the members organise the specifics but "the club" does the work,as I understand it.And I don't know any of the committee personally but I can only assume it was very difficult to decide not to go ahead.I am a member of several clubs and it has always been my understanding that the members are there for the club aswell as the club being there for the members.I'm sure that by reading this post that some keyboard expert will correct me.So these guys found it hard to get support and it's not hard to see why from some of the responses,give them a break,it is there unpaid spare time they were using.And to all you booners flogging them from the security of your keyboards here is an idea as most of you all seem to think it is so easy.Form a new club and run the series yourselves? Sorry no time ? Too busy flogging the guys who had no support ? How did all you guys think all this happened in the past ? The organiser fairy just turned up and it happened ? Here is another idea while I'm ranting,to race in a lot of RC Club events you must put in time volunteering at the event,marshalling,track maintenance setup etc.Maybe we need a similar system "NO help, No race" along the same lines as "No dig , No ride" ?

 

[Registered Nutcase]

So let me understand this correctly a group of people decide to form a club.Out of this group some of them offer to volunteer to run the club, that would be the committee .So at some point this committee decides and I believe that it would be with some consultation with club members ,as I understand votes are required in deciding things to organise and run a state MTB Championship.I'm not quite sure but I assume the 2011 season was not the first time it decided to do this.So basically "the club" decided to run this championship,therefore "the club" is responsible,not solely the committee members.Yes the members organise the specifics but "the club" does the work,as I understand it.And I don't know any of the committee personally but I can only assume it was very difficult to decide not to go ahead.
I am a member of several clubs and it has always been my understanding that the members are there for the club aswell as the club being there for the members.I'm sure that by reading this post that some keyboard expert will correct me.So these guys found it hard to get support and it's not hard to see why from some of the responses,give them a break,it is there unpaid spare time they were using.And to all you booners flogging them from the security of your keyboards here is an idea as most of you all seem to think it is so easy.

Form a new club and run the series yourselves? Sorry no time ? Too busy flogging the guys who had no support ? How did all you guys think all this happened in the past ? The organiser fairy just turned up and it happened ? Here is another idea while I'm ranting,to race in a lot of RC Club events you must put in time volunteering at the event,marshalling,track maintenance setup etc.Maybe we need a similar system "NO help, No race" along the same lines as "No dig , No ride" ?

D_Nine,

It is a bit different to what you think, if you look back over GCMTB club history (last 12ish months) you see how incompetent they are! I honestly can not remember the last time they hosted a race (maybe 2009?) that they did not cancel. I will not rip on them in regards to the weather as it was bloody awful, but they have canceled so many races and done so much to alienate them from the MTB community AND damage the "Sunshine Series". If they were a company they would have been bankrupt years ago. They have said they make a loss on most of their events....

It seems that most of the committee has their heads so far up their own arises they can't see that it’s their snobby and elitist attitude towards things that is destroying the club. You being part of clubs would understand that your members are your biggest assets. Without happy members you club could fold at any time. One great example of what I am talking about is that they asked for people to help rebuild Illinbah. They requested that you bring your own tools, your own water, your own food and DO not bring your bikes as you won't be riding them. Where is the incentive to help, or even a thank you, its not much but supply the water, or a sausage sizzle, just something small to say "Hey thanks for helping"


Its the "sunshine series" not a club day(not that they have had any recently) Why not ask for people help on RB, FB, other clubs or anywhere.

 

[friz]

Is it so bad to want to hold an event the best you can hold an event.
As for cancelling events in the last 12 months, 1 Nationals 2010 was cancelled by MTBA not the club we had no say in it at all
2 our Sunshine series set for Illinbah had to be moved to Mt Joyce, which turned out not to be ready in time.

Illinbah is on private property, the landowner allowed a company to pulled rocks (the size of cars) out for building rock walls this wrecked the road going to the top, the council found out and put a holt to everything and still has. Luck has not gone our way. So if you want to crucify us for that, what ever.

As for that build day the people that did show up where thanked and did get to ride, maybe you should have come along.

 

[cressa]

One great example of what I am talking about is that they asked for people to help rebuild Illinbah. They requested that you bring your own tools, your own water, your own food and DO not bring your bikes as you won't be riding them. Where is the incentive to help, or even a thank you, its not much but supply the water, or a sausage sizzle, just something small to say "Hey thanks for helping"

You had me for a while... then i read this. To me this typifies the attitude of too many downhillers. When Illinbah was first being built, I was into doing some races and we went out there a couple of times, own tools, own food etc etc and to be honest I didn't even consider being rewarded or patted on the back. FFS the reward is the opportunity to race/ride. You are not doing it for anyone else, you are doing it for yourself.

FWIW I haven't had anything to do with organised events from either side of the tape for many years.

 

[frenchman]

You had me for a while... then i read this. To me this typifies the attitude of too many downhillers. When Illinbah was first being built, I was into doing some races and we went out there a couple of times, own tools, own food etc etc and to be honest I didn't even consider being rewarded or patted on the back. FFS the reward is the opportunity to race/ride. You are not doing it for anyone else, you are doing it for yourself.

FWIW I haven't had anything to do with organised events from either side of the tape for many years.

Tough shit. Clearly telling them to do it out of love isn't working. And the last few years have proven this.
The clubs are getting volunteers who have most likely travelled 1-2 hours and then donated their time and their tools to help build / maintain a given track. The best part is getting to ride something that you have helped construct. Take that away and watch the number of willing volunteers dwindl.... oh wait.

No one is asking for $20 an hour to help build, but just a run or two afterwards to ride something you've built.

 

[cressa]

Tough shit. Clearly telling them to do it out of love isn't working. And the last few years have proven this.
The clubs are getting volunteers who have most likely travelled 1-2 hours and then donated their time and their tools to help build / maintain a given track. The best part is getting to ride something that you have helped construct. Take that away and watch the number of willing volunteers dwindl.... oh wait.

No one is asking for $20 an hour to help build, but just a run or two afterwards to ride something you've built.

Of course having a couple of runs would be great but whining about no one cooking up a BBQ - get the f**k out.

 

[Registered Nutcase]

Is it so bad to want to hold an event the best you can hold an event.
As for cancelling events in the last 12 months, 1 Nationals 2010 was cancelled by MTBA not the club we had no say in ti at all
2 our Sunshine series set for Illinbah had to be moved to Mt Joyce, which turned out not to be ready in time.

Illinbah is on private property, the landowner allowed a company to pulled rocks (the size of cars) out for building rock walls this wrecked the road going to the top, the council found out and put a holt to everything and still has. Luck has not gone our way. So if you want to crucify us for that, what ever.

As for that build day the people that did show up where thanked and did get to ride, maybe you should have come all.

Thank your stating for the record just how many have been cancelled. How many have gone ahead in the past 12 months?

It is not a bad thing that you want to, I think it’s a brilliant thing. However it seems that you are clutching at straws, hoping that everything will go your way to host an event. I said it before that it was a big gamble to hope that Mt Joyce was going to be ready in time, and it was not and this time you did not even try Rotorburn! It’s the "Sunshine Series" not a GCMTB ONLY event!

I understand about Illinbah and how that all went pear shape, hence the move the Mt Joyce

Because I am not a member of your club do you not want me to lend a hand, or my GF who joins me at races?

You had me for a while... then i read this. To me this typifies the attitude of too many downhillers. When Illinbah was first being built, I was into doing some races and we went out there a couple of times, own tools, own food etc etc and to be honest I didn't even consider being rewarded or patted on the back. FFS the reward is the opportunity to race/ride. You are not doing it for anyone else, you are doing it for yourself.

FWIW I haven't had anything to do with organised events from either side of the tape for many years.

I have helped build tracks stretching back for 7 years. Both up here in QLD and down in NSW. I have helped do build days down on Ourimbah... and they knew how to treat volunteers! We are all doing it for the love of the sport! If we don’t get to ride the track we made do you honestly expect to have people returning? A simple analogy is if you got shit service from somewhere even if you liked them you would eventually stop going there. You would have to be a moron to keep on doing that, Are you a moron?

FFS the reward is the opportunity to race/ride.

Exactly my point, why build a track, fix it up etc if you can't ride the bloody thing?

On an aside, what does FWIW mean?

Of course having a couple of runs would be great but whining about no one cooking up a BBQ - get the f**k out.

If that what you are focusing on out of my entire post you totally missed the point, its a thank your for helping out. NOT some bitchfest that I want a BBQ at every build day. To travel 140km round trip and supplying everything and not even get the sweet joy of riding... GTFO!

 

[RAC_DH]

Every canceled event ends up at the same point ... arguing about trails and lack of helpers. We all get it people need to pull their finger out and help out, but if they have no clue about when to help or that help is needed the bottom libne si they won't.


Lets focus on the QLD State Champs.

Mt. Joice needs no track building ... (a small amount is any)
It needs to be bunted and a timer set up ... not too hard maybe 1-2 hours work on the saturday or friday arvo

Arrange food stalls
Arrange Prizes - Call FTR, Taylor Cycles, Ashgrove Cycles, Venture Cycles etc. they will all be keen to help out at least one of the races (i would guess)

Arrange toilets - Not sure how hard this is
Arrange Shuttles - Not sure on the road but would asume troopies with trailers or bus and trailers would work same as always

Arrange People to attend the event - Rotorburn, Facebook, Shops and word of mouth
Arrange for Information to sent out to everyone so that they know what needs to be done, what help is needed etc.

Arrange Some info for people who are traveling to this event (some basics go a long way)
Arrange an after party - Brisbane city or wherever just ask one of the clubs/bars they are more than willing to have a bu nch of people come spend their money at their establishment

Anythign I may have missed? ...

Not telling you how to do your job but just trying to get this event moving in the right direction again.

 

[ajay]

On an aside, what does FWIW mean?

For what it's worth

 

[kona_kona]

Friz, the only thing more frustrating than your ability to spell (Mozilla Firefox has spellcheck if you need help) is that you are completely missing the point that people are trying to make here, and that is that your clubs communication with SEQ riders needs to be improved. I doubt very much than many people would be opposed to helping out at races if they were given clear and concise information as to what needed to be done and how they could help.

You say spelling I say grammar, 'what needed' should be 'what's' or 'what is needed'. And the information was not for SEQ riders it was for GCMTB club members, Iguess we will find out in the near future when other club"S" will be asked to take over and good luck to them, SEQ Water a government run organisation, paper work, lengthy delays in replies to submissions. Most are right its not just seeking help from club members, but that is all I wish to air on a public forum.

Holy shit. For this specific circumstance I retract ALL my comments over the volunteer issue and I am placing the ENTIRE blame on Friz.

Friz, upon re-reading this thread it's become apparent you have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to run a mountain bike club, host an event and liaise with the community.

You are the classic example of someone who should never ever be the leader of anything as you've shown you do not have the brain, skills or heart to do so. After what was a pretty tumultuous relationship with the previous President of the GCMTB I thought you may have changed things up. It's evident you want all the glory and praise and NONE of the hard work.

Sorry Friz, I don't even need to quote you any further as I'm sure everyone here can see how much of a twat you are and of how much ill-benefit you are to the scene. You have utterly failed in your role as the president of the club and have continued to justify your hopelessness with personal attacks and shifting the blame.

Get the fuck out of my sport. Now.

 

[trace]

Just adding to Stinky's post, Mt Joyce definitely is not a Gold Coast Club venue. It is open to anyone wanting to will in the Event paper work and submit it to SEQwater. SEQmtb is the club based there, but in more of a future growth of the park position rather than event position at this stage, but are willing to help other clubs with events.

I fail to see how it is not local to anyone, I have put up the distances before and at 72kms from the CBD of Brisbane it is one of the closest venues. It is probably easier to get to from Ipswich and Brisbane than it is from the Gold Coast.

Something will happen, there will be a State DH and XC plus possibly other events, watch this space.

I agreee and extend!!! NOT LOCAL!! this is the Queensland state champs not the Brisbane locals..... Cairns riders drive over 20hrs to get to a state race... Just saying

 

[stevenw]

Holy shit. For this specific circumstance I retract ALL my comments over the volunteer issue and I am placing the ENTIRE blame on Friz.

Friz, upon re-reading this thread it's become apparent you have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to run a mountain bike club, host an event and liaise with the community.

You are the classic example of someone who should never ever be the leader of anything as you've shown you do not have the brain, skills or heart to do so. After what was a pretty tumultuous relationship with the previous President of the GCMTB I thought you may have changed things up. It's evident you want all the glory and praise and NONE of the hard work.

Sorry Friz, I don't even need to quote you any further as I'm sure everyone here can see how much of a twat you are and of how much ill-benefit you are to the scene. You have utterly failed in your role as the president of the club and have continued to justify your hopelessness with personal attacks and shifting the blame.

Get the fuck out of my sport. Now.

Mate your attack on friz is purely uncalled for. Don't make this a personal attack on a person that has donated many many many hours to the Gold Coast Club. Friz had been our volunteer of the year, 3 years running. Whenever we held a race in the past, Friz would be there without being asked, and he would bring his sister, brother along to help as well, and they don't even ride. When Harvey Power stepped down as President (because of the floods) Friz was the only person to put his hand up. Yes thats right, no one else wanted to do the job. Why?... because we were all burnt out. Just trying to get people to attend the AGM was impossible. No one would put their hand up for anything and it was the same people doing everything. I hope you weren't talking about Harvey Power having a tumultuous relationship with the club? because the club made good money when Harvey was around, and he organised events well with the help of our committee.

Yes I agree that more communication could of been used on public forums ect, but from what I've learn t in the past, it doesn't usually help that much. Getting people to do the sausage sizzle is the easy job, but organising a race is a huge amount of work and unfortunately it's hard enough to get committee members, let alone help from you riders.

 

[Stinky]

Every canceled event ends up at the same point ... arguing about trails and lack of helpers. We all get it people need to pull their finger out and help out, but if they have no clue about when to help or that help is needed the bottom libne si they won't.


Lets focus on the QLD State Champs.

Mt. Joice needs no track building ... (a small amount is any)
It needs to be bunted and a timer set up ... not too hard maybe 1-2 hours work on the saturday or friday arvo

Arrange food stalls
Arrange Prizes - Call FTR, Taylor Cycles, Ashgrove Cycles, Venture Cycles etc. they will all be keen to help out at least one of the races (i would guess)

Arrange toilets - Not sure how hard this is
Arrange Shuttles - Not sure on the road but would asume troopies with trailers or bus and trailers would work same as always

Arrange People to attend the event - Rotorburn, Facebook, Shops and word of mouth
Arrange for Information to sent out to everyone so that they know what needs to be done, what help is needed etc.

Arrange Some info for people who are traveling to this event (some basics go a long way)
Arrange an after party - Brisbane city or wherever just ask one of the clubs/bars they are more than willing to have a bu nch of people come spend their money at their establishment

Anythign I may have missed? ...

Not telling you how to do your job but just trying to get this event moving in the right direction again.

Not quite that simple particularly when you consider in this case that you are dealing with a brand new venue, that is managed by a govt department with little experience in our needs, in an environmentally sensitive area in a venue that has some loigistical issues (parking will make Brookfield look good).

I am not saying that it is difficult but I think you are oversimplfying things a bit here. You have also missed the key element. Finding people to do all of the tasks you have listed and those that you have missed. This is the area that the club appears to be struggling with and may have been able to do something differently regarding recruiting those people.

I manage large sporting events all over the country and work with a full time vollunteer co-ordinator. The reason I use him is because the Volly recruitment and management is the single hardest part of any event.

 

[LessRideMoreDig]

Everyone needs to chill the fuck out! Friz and other GCMTBC committee put in a hell of a lot of effort that even the members dont know/care to know about. Its easy to sit back with 20/20 hindsight and tell people how to do their job but its another thing to get off that seat infront of your computer and be the change that QLD DH scene so badly needs!

 

[Kingswood]

And after all the promises,

i am struggeling to see how the organisation of this event is so much different to any other, in regard to prizes, toilets , food etc. i can only assume that over the years the club has (or should have) built up a list of the usual contacts, suppliers and vendors etc that were used at illinbah and the likes. so where is the difference? same job different location, surely it cant much more than that, even thoug Mt joyce is further away logistically it should be the same, and wasnt MT joyce supposed to be purpose built for these big events, doesnt it have toilets there?

There is a big difference, the carpark at Joyce is probably about 2km's from the base of the DH tracks, and I am not sure if the road can be opened up for the general public during events. Logistical nightmare compared to Illinbah where you could drive into the carpark, set up your esky, workstand and tools, and everything was there.

 

[Matthew McCorkell]

My son (Matt) is a junior Downhiller and we live in the ACT. Matt has raced in ACT, NSW, VIC, TAS, SA over the past 2 years and in that time we have never experienced the cancellation of a race other than the Illinbah National round in December 2010, which we understand was because of rain and access.

I thought I'd let people know the impact on us of the cancellation of the 2011 QLD State Championships.

We were ready to come to Illinbah but luckily hadn't booked anything because of the uncertainty. With official communication for Mt Joyce being released, and a number of posts re-iterating that it was a "goer", we booked flights and accommodation.

Mt Joyce cancellation will cost us over $200 in flight cancellations and possibly the loss of flights altogether if we can't use them within 12 months. Not sure if we will loose our deposit on accommodation yet. Matt had also declined an offer to join a team for the Scott 24hr because it is on the same weekend.

Criticising people who put in thier own time and effort does nothiing to further this sport. In fact it probably has the opposite effect by strangling any desire people might have to help out.

I would love to see the discussion turn to how the folk in QLD can make this event happen. Surely some of the brilliant QLD community spirit and team work shown in the recent floods is still about!

If volunteers are the key issue, there is still over 6 weeks to sort it out. I help out with organising races at Stromlo and while there is a significant amount of effort that goes in, usually by the committee, weeks before the event, volunteers for the weekend are usually not finalised until one week out.

No matter what the issue, someone who can, please take the lead to focus on making this event a "goer" and everybody else who can, please pitch in. Start with:

1. What needs to be done
2. When does it need to be done by
3. Who is going to do it

Ignoring the financial impact to us, we will be really dissappointed to not be able to come and visit and race in QLD for the first time.

Best wishes
Phil McCorkell

 

[friz]

Mate your attack on friz is purely uncalled for. Don't make this a personal attack on a person that has donated many many many hours to the Gold Coast Club. Friz had been our volunteer of the year, 3 years running. Whenever we held a race in the past, Friz would be there without being asked, and he would bring his sister, brother along to help as well, and they don't even ride. When Harvey Power stepped down as President (because of the floods) Friz was the only person to put his hand up. Yes thats right, no one else wanted to do the job. Why?... because we were all burnt out. Just trying to get people to attend the AGM was impossible. No one would put their hand up for anything and it was the same people doing everything. I hope you weren't talking about Harvey Power having a tumultuous relationship with the club? because the club made good money when Harvey was around, and he organised events well with the help of our committee.

Yes I agree that more communication could of been used on public forums ect, but from what I've learn t in the past, it doesn't usually help that much. Getting people to do the sausage sizzle is the easy job, but organising a race is a huge amount of work and unfortunately it's hard enough to get committee members, let alone help from you riders.

THANK YOU Jo, from someone that knows the HOLE STORY, I miss you.

And for all to know Queensland STATE Championships has NOTHING to do with the Sunshine Series, Hence the worh "STATE".