INTERCOLLEGIATE COMPETITION

[Mr.Rauq]

Jump to the end if you just want a summary.


This is an idea that I was throwing around all summer, and I came to the conclusion recently that the sooner it becomes our initiative rather than my initiative, the more likely we'll be able to get it through. I remember conversations that we've had in meetings, over dinner, in person, and online, talking about how we don't get school funding because we have no intercollegiate competition. What the club sports office wants to see before they give $$$ to a "club," making them an official club, is that we are spreading Clemson's name, and spreading it in a good way. For club sports, intercollegiate competition is typically the way club sports spread the school's name. Without further adieu, I present to you my plan to set us up as a university-sponsored club with intercollegiate competition.



1. Talk to collegiate sports car clubs across the nation and get them to express interest, while also gauging the size of their clubs.

I know Texas A&M, USC, NC State, UGA, Ga Tech, and other schools have car clubs. The purpose of this step is twofold: to be able to go to the club sports office telling them of nationwide interest in intercollegiate sports car club competitions, and building upon that, to reinforce that supporting our initiative would thrust Clemson into the spotlight as the founder of intercollegiate sports car club competitions. The second purpose is be able to go to the club sports office telling them about how WE are one of the (if not the) biggest/most active/leading collegiate sports car clubs in the nation. The Texas A&M guys had heard of CSCC. Couldn't tell you how.


2. Plan fundraisers.

I know we already do this. We do it because we want to (right?) But the Club Sports Office wants its clubs to not only be seen in our sphere of influence but to cast Clemson in a great light. The Toys for Tots autox was great last year and the autox/car show for Boys Home of the South was great too (although it would have been better if the guys had come out- they didn't make it, did they?) I can tell you that TfT alone was more fundraising than some of the official club sports do.


3. Talk to regional sports car clubs and get verbal commitments to an intercollegiate competition.

We don't have to know when or how it's going to work, but being able to go into the club sports office and tell them these 6 schools would come if we had an event is going to be meaningful.


4. Go to the Club Sports Office.

Here is what we have to present so far:
a) Collegiate car clubs across the nation would like this to happen, and if it did, Clemson would be the start of it all.
b) We're already the (biggest/most active/leading) collegiate sports car club in the nation.
c) We already do these community/statewide fundraisers and associate the name of our school with (these initiatives), and with club sports funding and support, it's only going to get bigger.
d) With your support we already have interest from (these schools) in a competition. We would alternate hosting events (like the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) does, I play club water polo and I've drawn from that experience a little here).


5. Given their good graces, we either go to NASA or SCCA for help on setting up our intercollegiate competition, or work with the others schools on setting up our own.

I can go to the CWPA and get advice from them on how they got started- they had to have started out in either California, Texas or Florida, and grown from there. I can talk to the Southern Women's Lacrosse league- my girlfriend is on the team and is kind of an officer. We can talk to any other national organization that any other Clemson club sport is a part of that anyone else in our club has a connection to, or even one that we don't have a connection to. I think it'd work out better if colleges hosted these events, but maybe there could be a whole new NASA/SCCA division, a collegiate division. We could work out competition between club cars, personal cars, classing, all that. Those details are later in the game and once more people are on board could be hashed out together.


6. ????

7. PROFIT!!!



Any and all input is appreciated. If we want to do this, and I have the club's good graces, I'd like to take point on this project. Realistically it's not going to happen this school year. If it's going to happen, we're not going to figure it all out online, and we're probably not going to figure it all out at our first meeting. But it's best to get the ball rolling, and we can get ideas from our older folk online as well, so lay it all down. What does everyone think?



I want to get the club to a point where we can get club sports funding by creating an intercollegiate competition, spreading the name of our club and the school.

[stevebullitt]

I like everything mentioned above, but there are 2 main issues that we currently face

1. The University doesn't like that we make profits. Other orgs don't really make profits off their things and we don't want to share with the University. Our profits go to keep CC1 alive, but they consider them profits none the less.

2. I've actually contacted guys at other schools and their orgs are in baby stages. As a matter of fact, USC's club has gone MIA the last time I tried to contact them for the Karting showdown. GT has a good club, but they aren't interested in competition. Formula SAE is what gets the bulk of attention from schools, so unfortunately our humble redneck club isn't considered in the same realm.

At one time we were a chartered chapter of the SCCA and were in their massive fold. There is a long and complicated story behind it, but I'm not sure if that can happen again. I do have another more personal note: I want this to be A FUN CLUB. I want the club to be an escape from the stress of college life and a silly alternative to the sleepless nights and relentless competition of SCCA or even SAE. We are enthuasists and car mad men and the club should be our asylum from the rest of the unbelieving masses

[Mr.Rauq]

Is CC1 the only place our profits go? I know the only fundraising the water polo team does is a benefit night at some restaurant downtown and the only place that money goes is into equipment for the team and tourney entry fees. We can discuss that in person if need be.

i don't think having some kind of regular schedule competition has to take away from the fun of the club. Dinners with the club, carpooling to Petit Le Mans, drag strip visits (and the drive to the strip), and wrenching together has always been a lot of fun. Would it really be a big change if a couple other schools showed up to one of our autox's and a handful of us caravaned to one of theirs?


If you don't think this is worth pursuing, don't be afraid to say so. I just think it'd be cool.

[Theodore]

Great ideas and thoughts... there has been efforts to create competition between schools before. Lots of problems from :
- few schools with programs.
- few drivers in other clubs with resources to drive to Clemson to run and expect our students to drive to THEIR school to run.
- little support from school - financial or otherwise.
- time of officers - this will take some time and energy... and history says our officer's GPA suffers just keeping CSCC going.

I fully agree with keeping CSCC fun and independent. IF it was going under, I would be willing to work to make it a chapter of SCCA as we did at USC. They have about 20 members, monthly meetings in Columbia, and are working on a car show and possible AX lot in Columbia last time I spoke with SCR officer about it. The USC club is doing what I tried to encourage CSCC to do when they had no lots... they run other clubs and represent their club. A tent, a banner, and paddock together. They don't have lots, they don't have school support but they have their own cars and a desire to represent.

These are good ideas... keep them coming. It's not impossible but someone has to step up and take the project on and make it happen...And be willing to accept first event might be after you graduate. I'm really proud of how CSCC has survived and grown over last few years... looking forward to more events run where few believed we would ever see... ON CAMPUS! Keep the momentum going!