THSCC Forums

I too would like to echo my thanks for all 19 teams for coming out and running a wonderful rally. At the risk of sounding like a back-handed compliment, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the teams did. This was not a straightforward rally and I think you all did great. My advice to the "beginners" was to just try to stay on course your first time out and not worry about the time, and you come in with 1's and 2's and 11's...unbelievable (for those that don't know what that means, that's VERY good! A 1 is equivalent to being 0.6 seconds early or late on a leg that's sometimes 17 or 18 minutes long!)

Anyway, so I can capitalize on the enthusiasm and momentum generated by this event, I would appreciate your feedback. I usually have an evaluation form available after the rally, but I have been having computer issues and didn't get it to Bowie in time. So I'll post the gist of it here. If you'd like to respond publicly here, go for it. If you'd rather keep it private, just click on the "PM" button below to send me a private message. And if you would like to remain anonymous, well, I'll have to ask the webmasters if they would mind taking the information and forwarding it on to me anonymously. At any rate, your feedback is important to help us put on great rallies in the future that you will enjoy.

Rate the following on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being best and 5 being worst:

1) Was registration smooth and efficient
2) Were the general instructions clear and concise?
3) Were the route instructions clear and concise?
4) Did the rally conform to the stated rules?
5) Were the rally speeds too fast, too slow, or just right (1=too fast, 3=just right, 5=too slow)
6) Did you enjoy the roads run on the rally?
7) Was the length of the rally enjoyable?
Did you enjoy the format of the rally?
9) Were there adequate rest breaks on the rally?
10) Would you participate in a rally in the future?
11) Was the entry fee for this rally fair?

And please attach any written criticism or comments that would help us to improve rallies in the future.

Q8: By "format of the rally", in the case of this rally I mean the fact that it was a moderately trapped rally, trapped meaning there were tricks designed to take you at least temporarily off-course or bring you in at the wrong time. Other formats include:

Straightforward - no explicit traps, but a working knowledge of the rules is still a necessity. The focus of a straightforward rally shifts from course-following (avoiding traps) to being ON-TIME at all times.

Gimmick - gimmick rallies are sometimes more games than serious competitions; not quite a scavenger hunt, they usually feature answering questions along the rally route for points, and the focus is less on traps and being on time as it is answering the questions properly--we had one gimmick-style instruction in Goblin's Go. There are other varieties as well including "there and back" (you get instructions to the half-way point and then you have to reverse your path on the way back--not as easy as it sounds!); "regularity" (You execute a loop twice. The first time through you go at whatever speed you wish (within reason) and you are timed in at checkpoints. The second time through you must duplicate your times exactly--this would be a good one for you GPS enthusiasts, as clearly the focus is not on course following); "poker runs" (although hard to classify this as a rally per se).

Basically I am trying to get a feel for what you thought of the Goblins Go format (I thought it was extremely well done and enjoyable myself), and also whether the 3-4 hour format worked well for you, as opposed to say a longer format with a lunch break in the middle, or even overnight rallies.

Let us know what you would like to see.

_________________
Zeroes,
...Lance

Rate the following on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being best and 5 being worst:

1) Was registration smooth and efficient? 1
2) Were the general instructions clear and concise? 1
3) Were the route instructions clear and concise? 1 (well, as clear as cryptic instructions are going to be anyway.)
4) Did the rally conform to the stated rules? 1
5) Were the rally speeds too fast, too slow, or just right (1=too fast, 3=just right, 5=too slow) 3 (except for the 34 mph section, we had to put the van in 2 just so we didn't have to ride the brakes the whole time)
6) Did you enjoy the roads run on the rally? 1 (except for that damn Ada Taylor!!!! I think I saw her name 100 times yesterday!!)
7) Was the length of the rally enjoyable? 1 (I think it would be challenging to run a longer one but for us novices, this length was perfect.)
8 )Did you enjoy the format of the rally? 1!!!!!
9) Were there adequate rest breaks on the rally? 1
10) Would you participate in a rally in the future? 1!!!!!!!1!!111!!111!!!!!! When's the next one????
11) Was the entry fee for this rally fair? 1

_________________
Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

1-4 all get 1,
5= 3-I don't think we bothered regular traffic very much. The speed was good.
6=1 The country roads were great, not very much traffic like a 4 lane road would be, so we could look around (turn around) on the road if necessary w/o crashing into anyone. Also, on a highway, if we missed a turn if might be a mile or more before we could turn around. Then we'd have to speed to catch up.
7=1 By the end of page 3 I was about ready to get where ever it was we were to go, so I was very happy with the length of the rally. Perhaps once we have several under our belts and actually figure out who'd be best at driving/navigating, and exactly what each person should be responsible for doing, a longer rally might be more enjoyable.
8=1 Format was very enjoyable. I liked having the gimmick for extra points. One or two would be OK, but too many would be very distracting from other duties. (Ah, maybe that's the point.)
9=2 Now that I kind of see that the break would have been a good time to read the last two pages of the instructions, and not gab with friends, perhaps a few minutes longer would have been good. However, I was also anxious to get back on the road. Let the fun continue!
10=1 Heck Yes!!!! Ready to go whenever you guys are!!!
11-1 Entry fee was quite fair. Who else would buy the beer!

_________________
SCCA Solo Triad Award Recipient 2014
SCCA HSL National Champion 2012
SCCA DSL National Champion 2013
SCCA DSL National Champion 2014
NCR National Driver of the Year 2012
THSCC Heel of the Year 2011
Former Club Secretary
http://www.petscompanioninn.com

1) Was registration smooth and efficient
Yes, although as the first team to register, we weren't given the general instructions nor our score card.
2) Were the general instructions clear and concise?
For me all but the wording on how to prioritize the instructions was clear. I knew the intent of the instruction before reading it.
3) Were the route instructions clear and concise?
LOL... isn't the point of this to be puzzle? Yes the instructions were clear in the context of a Road Rally. Our team was confused by the restart instructions as we never found the red and beige building. Since there was no offical checkpoint at the break, we weren't sure if the restart was at the cemetery of the BP or somewhere in-between
4) Did the rally conform to the stated rules?
Yes
5) Were the rally speeds too fast, too slow, or just right (1=too fast, 3=just right, 5=too slow)
3. except when we were making up time for a couple off courses.
6) Did you enjoy the roads run on the rally?
Ask my driver, I have my head down performing calculations.... Yes I like the backroads with minimal local traffic and 0 stoplights on the timed sections.
7) Was the length of the rally enjoyable?
Yes. By the end I was ready to get a mental break.
Did you enjoy the format of the rally?
Yes. I like the moderate format. I think it provided a challenge for novices, should have been enjoyable for pro-rallists [cough]Fishers[/cough]
9) Were there adequate rest breaks on the rally?
Yes.
10) Would you participate in a rally in the future?
Definately
11) Was the entry fee for this rally fair?
Yes, especially since it included food and icy cold beverages.

A general comment: Having this on Sunday, it would have been nice to start it a couple hours earlier to have been finished earlier. I'm sure you had reasons to start at noon.

_________________
"Ruttin' is racing"

Chris Suich
Apex, NC
AutoX 2012 Nissan Leaf (Quietly changing the world)
AutoX 2003 Mini Cooper S (on sabbatical)
RallyX 1993 Nissan Sentra - "Le Tigre"
FunX 1970 Camaro LT1 ('95)

^ x2 - to add driver comments, I enjoyed the roads. Speeds seemed to work out well - I'll admit nothing, but I hope Chris would navigate for me again
The challenge seemed just about right - doesn't have to be much harder, THSCC folks are just that damn good
I don't know how Saturdays work for the logistics, but getting home late works better Sat rather than Sun.
Count me in absolutely if there's another one.

_________________
One of those LeMonHeads...
91/95 Miata, 02 Focus SVT, 01 Ford F250, 09 Suzuki SV650SF
rusty 84 C4 Vette, tiny piece of the General Lei
Irish Sport Horse - 1hp NA!

1) Was registration smooth and efficient 1
2) Were the general instructions clear and concise? 1
3) Were the route instructions clear and concise? 1
4) Did the rally conform to the stated rules? 1
5) Were the rally speeds too fast, too slow, or just right (1=too fast, 3=just right, 5=too slow) 4
6) Did you enjoy the roads run on the rally? 1
7) Was the length of the rally enjoyable? 1
Did you enjoy the format of the rally? 1
9) Were there adequate rest breaks on the rally? 2
10) Would you participate in a rally in the future? 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
11) Was the entry fee for this rally fair? 1

We had a great time and thought everything was great but I would up the average speed a bit. I hate holding up traffic(I also hate driving below the speed limit, offends my sensibilities)

We enjoyed the "misdirection" in the instructions. Otherwise you are just trying to find your maiden aunts house.

_________________
RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"