Riders' Rep feedback

[scott411]

[QUOTE=codgyoleracer;1130461271]

Haha, whilst its a privlidge it can also get pretty petty at times aye J. never-the-less you are correct in most cases the answer is already written somewhere, and to be honest there are often officials at the track (believe it or not) that have a pretty good understanding of the rulebook. Did i just say that ? :-) .

Note to the other riders, - only hassle the riders rep (especially if he/she is someone that is racing 'on the day' ) - only after tracking down an official that might have an answer for you, and then only if you absolutly cant make any headway with said official.

Its interesting to note also that there is a rather limited explanation on the riders-rep duties and their protocols / powers on the day in said rulebook. Something i have talked with Billy about before.

Actually , you are ment to contact the riders rep before the official, i can not believe you still have a 'riding' riders rep tho, its pretty unfair on that rider, imo it needs to be a non riding person, perferably someone that has raced at a high level before,

[budda]

Once upon a time many years ago, riders rep was somewhat of an honorary position, that involved doing fuck all. Now with the majority of competitors being whinging bitches that have completely forgotten how to have fun, the riders rep seems to be a full time job.
.

AMEN to that

[Maido]

Don't get me wrong, I don't actually mind doing the job.
If anything as others have said on here and I have talked to a few officials on the day the riders rep is a representative for the riders, it really shouldn't have to be a rider. I don't have time at the moment, but after the 3 rounds in the south I will email MNZ with a proposal to change the current wording to allow a non rider as voted by the riders to do the job, or possibly have 2 riders reps in different classes so that if you are heading out for a practice etc you can go to the other riders rep.

Glen, it was stated that you see the riders rep first, It was said in the briefing that there was to be no direct contact on these matters between riders and officials. I can fully understand this, the riders rep is like a mediator and should be impartial to both sides, this means cool heads will prevail and you don't get a gang up mentality going on from both sides.
However what happens if the rep him/herself has a complaint or query, or someone wants to protest the riders rep for something they did in the race then we have a grey area.

Like any rule, it is put in place as a common sense approach, generally rules are changed once they are found to be flawed and I think I was unluckily especially the way my weekend went that I happened to be a great example of how having a rider (or at least a single rider) as the rep can backfire or become difficult.

Lets move on.

[budda]

Don't get me wrong, I don't actually mind doing the job.
If anything as others have said on here and I have talked to a few officials on the day the riders rep is a representative for the riders, it really shouldn't have to be a rider. I don't have time at the moment, but after the 3 rounds in the south I will email MNZ with a proposal to change the current wording to allow a non rider as voted by the riders to do the job, or possibly have 2 riders reps in different classes so that if you are heading out for a practice etc you can go to the other riders rep.

Glen, it was stated that you see the riders rep first, It was said in the briefing that there was to be no direct contact on these matters between riders and officials. I can fully understand this, the riders rep is like a mediator and should be impartial to both sides, this means cool heads will prevail and you don't get a gang up mentality going on from both sides.
However what happens if the rep him/herself has a complaint or query, or someone wants to protest the riders rep for something they did in the race then we have a grey area.

Like any rule, it is put in place as a common sense approach, generally rules are changed once they are found to be flawed and I think I was unluckily especially the way my weekend went that I happened to be a great example of how having a rider (or at least a single rider) as the rep can backfire or become difficult.

Lets move on.

There are other issues to contend with with multiple reps too, dont need to get into that here though - my understanding for the last 40 years has been that the primary functions of the rep were A/ to do exactly as Jeremy said, and B/ act as a filter for DUMBARSE questions .... most will take it a bit kinder if another Rider tells them to bugger off and grow up, rather than hear it from an Official. It is now and always HAS been, a thankless job - just seems to be getting worse as people pass the buck on knowing their shit and think life owes them a "fair" shot at Club Day glory !!!!!!!!!

Valid points raised though, these WILL be discussed ...........

[codgyoleracer]

[QUOTE=Maido;1

Glen, it was stated that you see the riders rep first, It was said in the briefing that there was to be no direct contact on these matters between riders and officials. I can fully understand this, the riders rep is like a mediator and should be impartial to both sides, this means cool heads will prevail and you don't get a gang up mentality going on from both sides.
However what happens if the rep him/herself has a complaint or query, or someone wants to protest the riders rep for something they did in the race then we have a grey area.
/QUOTE]


Ok, thats a change to how its often presented up here which is 'dont hassle the rep, come see us first', but i can see it from both sides for sure aye.

The impartial comment i am not so sure of though - as you are the 'riders rep" ..........

My experience is when the shit hits the fan the riders rep actually needs more than a few average skills, including depth of knowledge of processes and rules, a non-flappability under pressure skills, and as you say a balanced viewpoint for all parties (including the sport as a whole) with the ability to keep things in perspective. This can be no easy task especially when you ride a Honda , as your time is already in high demand mechanic-ing..... (Haha ;-) )

[Grumph]

Last time I looked there was no requirement for the riders rep to actually be a competitor at that meeting...

I well remember Dallas Rankine almost being a professional riders rep back in the day after he'd stopped competing at top level.

[budda]

My experience is when the shit hits the fan the riders rep actually needs more than a few average skills, including depth of knowledge of processes and rules, a non-flappability under pressure skills, and as you say a balanced viewpoint for all parties (including the sport as a whole) with the ability to keep things in perspective. ;-) )[/QUOTE]

Thats a very long way of saying " I volunteer " isn't it ?

[clmintie]

Speaking as a photographer, legible racing numbers are very important. Makes it very hard to deliver images to sponsors sometimes.

[Kickaha]

I wonder, if in the interests of personal sanity, if the riders rep should be a non competing, experienced racer.

I nominate Shaun Harris for the job then

or possibly have 2 riders reps in different classes so that if you are heading out for a practice etc you can go to the other riders rep.

Not quite what you're proposing but Sidecars used to have a seperate one, one per class?

[sidecar bob]

I nominate Shaun Harris for the job then

Na, he cant, hes racing a 675 Daytona at the nationals this season. . . . .

[scott411]

Not quite what you're proposing but Sidecars used to have a seperate one, one per class?

this happened at the NZ junior champs a few years ago and was a big success, made it easy for a few people rather than one person being snowed under,