How about an event for the 30th Anniversary of the 944 and start there? Tagging it on to an existing event, although much easier seems a bit of a compromise.
Well, as you've seen it's not easy to get enough people to commit to an event!
I have a very personal opinion on events, specifically the way the Club has increased them year-on-year and the very real costs that people just can't afford these days. Given that you've really got to allow 50p per mile as a minimum, plus the costs of overnight stays, food etc. travelling to a 944 event is going to cost a large amount for anyone ot local to the venue. For those who are self-employed it's also lost income; the 50th event last year cost me well over £500, and I could have arguably spent that better on a holiday with the family rather than standing in a field parking cars. [8|]
The point of existing events is that people will have spent the money to go anyway, so you're only adding value. Given that many 944 Register members will be doing the Cotswold Rally, Silverstone Cllassic, the National, Frontrunners, possibly Le Mans, probably a few other Region events, it's easy to see that they might be running out of free weekends and money.
I'd like to see the Club calendar drastically reduced and the events much better attended. We have venues in place, and there's no reason why we can't get 944 owners out in force. I'm not going to break my back trying to organise things, though; we've seen that non-members don't come to Club events for some reason, despite them being very welcome, and the members seem to have settled into the events they enjoy.
I think expensive events like European tours are unlikely to get support from the 944 owners, most who want to do such a big trip are likely to treat it as a family holiday. The successful 944 trips to Scotlad and the IOW were largely a bunch of friends having a weekend away, rather than being "Register" trips. To me, "piggybacking" off an event like the Silverstone Classic, where many owners will be going already, actually makes more sense. We've had the Sunday lunch gathering at the Fire Engine bar for years now, it costs nothing if you're there anyway and is a great chance to catch up and talk cars.
Again, if anyone has ideas for how we can get more 944 gatherings together please come forward. So many events, Frontrunner is a perfect example, are really just a date that we can organise anything you want around. The trouble is that we have to commit to a date, and a venue, well in advance, so you need to think ahead a bit. I'd really welcome suggestions for Winter gatherings, preferably with indoor interest, but I've been asking for about 6 years and can count the number of replies on one hand, minus four fingers and one thumb......[&o]
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