Called to order 7:32. 29+ 7 proxy.
President’s report, Debbie.
2015 was another great year for ASCC, with 160 plus members, a full season of events with our club supporting race, rally and solo all over the region and some even rallying away. We also celebrated our 60th birthday and enjoyed seeing many “old” faces at the ARMS AGM Awards banquet on Nov 21. Which, I’ve been told, was the best AGM party the region has had in many years.
We will continue to work on growing the club and continuing it’s mandate of providing safe and competitive motorsport events for our members. The search goes on for parking lots where we can play. We have been fortunate to have had the support of the Stoneridge Church here in Sackville but we should always look to add locations to our schedule. Solo Sport is growing and we must make sure we can continue to present challenging courses.
At this time I must thank the exec and directors for working so hard and providing such good support all year long. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that these guys do to make the events run as smoothly as they do. We would not be much of a success without them.
And finally, we are lucky to have so many dedicated volunteers and to be able, in a small way, to thank someone each year by presenting them with the Ron Johnson Memorial Presidents Award. Ron and his family were active in the marshalling group for many years and exemplified the spirit of volunteering. In reading all the names of past recipients it is nice to see that many are still here, helping out and competing. We are lucky to have the help and support of such dedicated people and it is also a good sign that there are many new people who will qualify for this award in the future.
This year’s recipient has been very long time club member and, even when living far away, he managed to keep us informed with his Chapters from China. Always educating and entertaining and ready with a lame joke, may I present our master of the trivia contest, Bruce Buntain !
Reading of 2014 AGM minutes, it was suggested to add election of club officers to last year’s minutes. Motion to accept as amended Owen S, 2nd Chris W.
Solo report, Joel N.
Debbie expressed gratitude to all solo volunteers.
Rally report, Ian P.
2105 was a year of some improvement for rallying in the Maritime Provinces.
ASCC’s January Navigational event had 18 entries, a decent turnout by all accounts. Navex in general is still struggling with only two events on the calendar. A lack of organizers and time for already busy volunteers seems similar to previous years.
Rally X had a strong year, and the fall events thus far have been showing record high attendance in the high 30’s.
Whlie the Lookoff hosted an excellent event in August, it suffered last minute when expected teams did not join due to mechanical issues and and event conflicts. A rescheduling to July for next year will hopefully assist in the area of conflicting dates.
The end of the year in performance rally has seen strong signs. The Trout Lake event saw 7 cars, a highwater mark since the return of stage rally events in 2009. On a continuing theme, several teams made the trip to Quebec for Rallye de Charlevoix, in late October, and showed well. Local teams put their names on trophies for the MEQC.
Returning from the Quebec events, several new to the region log-booked shells were brought to the area and are undergoing preparation for 2016. This puts the car count of Performance Rallycars into the double digit area, hopefully a sign of good things to come.
We look forward to 2016 with enthusiasm, and hopefully good pacenotes.
Race Report: Brian G.
ASCC 2015 Race Report
The 2015 race season has come to a close and while we have not had so far the same amount of snow as last year the track is closed and playtime is over for 2015. I mentioned last year that ASCC continues to support road racing with over 50% of the field on any given starting grid and the support continued for 2015, great showing by ASCC members!
Every year I talk about change, so to not upset my trend I will of course mention it again! 2014 was a trying year on volunteers, officials, Stewarts and Marshalls. I mentioned Dave Hull had an action plan in place to deal with rules and situations that happen on and off the track. Personally I feel that for 2015 the plan was executed well with new officials trained over the past winter and put to the test this past season. It’s unfortunate that I have to use the words tested because we are all supposed to be there for fun, but a clear set of rules never hurts when some people choose to test every possible loop hole they think they can find in the rules. I know this is an ongoing process with updating rules and it can only continue to make our region more robust for moving forward.
On the more exciting side we had 6 students in the May race school and a few new cars on the starting grid. These students continued to race for the season and earn their full regional race license before the season ended in October. I look forward to seeing them return in 2016! The GT field saw a few new cars and old ones return to make for a great season of sedan racing. Lap time records continued to be broken this past season as everyone has stepped up their prep levels. GT-1 saw the new closed wheel lap record broken, GT-3 continues to set fast laps as they represent a more modern touring car and the front wheel drive record is now down into the 1:14’s! These lap times are a lot different than even just a few years ago when a 1:17 would make for an eye popping lap time.
On the less exciting side, the SM field was almost extinct this past season with only around 4 cars regularly making the starting grid. I know ARMS and the future promoter of SM will work together in growing the series back up to what it is capable of being. I think ARMS and the member clubs realize that better communication moving forward is required to help keep people heading in the right direction and to eliminate people jumping to conclusions. There were a lot of rumors, misguided information and a few drama queens that all spilled over from the 2014 season to help diminish the 2015 SM starting grid. Let’s hope the new promoter and ARMS will ride out this low and turn it back into a high!
The year ended off with the JCM on Thanksgiving weekend and just for fun this year we decided to try 2 mandatory pit stops. The idea behind the 2 stops was to help encourage 3 member teams to participate and to challenge the 2 or 1 member teams into putting more thought into their race strategy. While there was a few people who kicked up quite the storm over the 2 pit stop change on the ARMS forum and even social media without ever stating any facts behind their objection, I believe even they ended up having a great time in the end. The JCM saw a good increase in numbers from the 2014 year, was it because of the pit stop rule change, I don’t know, maybe, but one thing is for sure and that is when the numbers are decreasing it’s time to shake things up a bit. This race is all about having fun and 2015 was a great example!
I would like to wish all ASCC members and their families a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing everyone in 2016!
It was asked who the new spec miata promoter was. It has not been decided.
Membership Report: Alan G. 167 members. Some 2016 cards already issued, are available now.
Joel N: Toyo tire sponsorship for solo. Dave H won $200 off set of toyos
Treasurer’s report: Brian J.
Thanks to Brian and Joel for hpds and solo comitee for help to club
Thanks to Oregans for Scotia Speed World Solo event sponsorship. Atlantic Acura for Agm. Thanks to PBM Construction and kraftwerx for ongoing solo Support
Ian P, Scott M to accept treasurers. All in favour
Debbie: AgM went well, will look at hosting for club’s 65. Possible format change going forward. Trivia was great, probably won’t have band. Many alumni members. That is for help. Jen Harrie put together a video of hi lights of 50 years of as cc. Available for $10, profits to club.
New: Talk of skidpad or kart track at amp, hopefully plan will come to fruition over next year or two.
Brian g: cost will be very high. How will we recoup this cost? Will have to be a high cost of entry for this.
Debbie: Brian J is presenting gift to members Evan and Brenda, Joel and Krista on their weddings. George S was inducted to the Maritime Motorsports hall of fame this year and ASCC has awarded him the new lifetime achievement award. George has been a member since 1972, first trophy in 1974. George will be featured in next issue of Inside Track.
Motion to ratify the actions of the Executive: Gord S, 2nd George.
Nominating committee Ian P. Current exec is willing to reoffer. No nominations from floor for any positions.
Swap: old t-shirts and hats are available for some events.
Chris W. motion to adjourn, Pidge P 2nd.
Adjourn 8:19