I am going to address why people aren't attracted to or gravitating to the sport as well as how to attract the practicers back to racing (obviously the latter being the topic).
As we all know so, many things have caused a decline in mx. We have only been in it since 2009 and I have seen a decline since then, which isn't that long ago. I have seen many people come and go, just in our (me and jonathan) short time of being in the sport. I believe that it is hard to attract people into a sport when the cost of entry is so high, just to touch on a few needed items: dirt bike (new or used?), a couple thousand ($2500-$10,000) and up, a vehicle to get it there, which is normally a truck ($5000-$60,000), some sort of trailer open or enclosed is even better ($500-$8,000), tools to repair the bike('s)($200-$1,500), all of the extra parts like tires, tubes, pads, bars, grips, levers, filters, oils, shifters, etc. ($300-$800) and this is to get you started and it only goes up from there. Well, I don't know about you but those things my friends are some serious barriers to entry for the typical american, especially if you are not even familiar with the sport. I would say the stick and ball sports are looking pretty good to the non-mx'ers.
Now for some of the guys that I know that have fallen off of the racer/mx band wagon. Some have completely left the sport due to injuries, some the kid lost interest, some because of the danger of the sport and for some they left because of financial reasons.
Its already been addressed but lets rehash some of this again. Racing is fun for the first couple years but after a while the ridiculously long days and nights gets old. s**t at some point, I have to start to pay attention to my house, my wife and my daughter again or those things are going to start to crumble. Also, for my son the tracks start to get old and he grows tired of them, not necessarily the tracks fault, its just the fact that things get old. So, our dilemma starts to be go to a race ride 2-3 classes for about $100, get very little seat time and be there for over 12 hours if we do the morning practice or go to a practice track for $25, get a ton of seat time, get there and leave when we want and its only takes about 5 to 6 hours of your day.
The other thing we have just recently learned is that our tracks are like highways due to our soil around these parts. We have started doing some riding in Michigan where the lap times are quite a bit longer, the sand is way more difficult to ride in, quite honestly it kicks his butt, some of the tracks don't even run sessions due to it not being crowded so, you can ride until your arms fall off. Some of the tracks have killer breaking and acceleration bumps and giant rutts for days. So, even though going up there takes time and money it actually takes no more time or money for a day or two than if we were to go to a local race here. Its comes out to just about the same but there is way more riding and on tracks that, I believe make you become a better rider.
Now, as far as, the local mx community getting more guys & gals to race locally, I think you have to be realistic about who and how you are going to attract.
First of all, I don't think that you are going to be pulling non-mx'er into this sport or at least not enough to make a difference so, lets forget about this group. You have to get the practicers to have a desire to come or the old racers to come back to racing. You also have to give the current racers that race but only a few times a year, to show up more often. If we can do this then we can get some larger gates and a better racing experience. So, the very first thing you do is let anyone that hasn't raced this year a "free" first class sign-up or waive the OMA membership.
Secondly, if you are an OMA member and you are the one responsible for bringing this person or persons to the track you get a "free" third class sign-up (I feel the gates filling up). Secondly, reduce the number of classes (OMA you ask the people how to do this).
Thirdly, if you are not using a sliding scale (i.e.$25, $20, $15) for your classes then don't charge the racers an entry fee, as a matter of fact the racers shouldn't be charged an entry fee period, as long as, they come in the gate with someone. I have said this before and I will say it again, mini's race from 9-12, large bikes from 1-4 and quads from 5-8 or some variation of this. That way if you don't want to be at the track all day you don't have to be but if you do, have at it. This could be on some kind of rotation and could be decided when the OMA is making the schedule. If something happens because of weather etc. so be it but 90% of the time, I am sure it would work out and if something gets screwed up, I'm ok with it, because bitchers are gonna bitch, anyway.
Fourthly, the OMA needs to make some kind of decision, in house, about is it ok if a track runs practice, while another is running a race. Because when these promoters are arguing about this kind of s**t in a public forum it sure doesn't look good for the organization. I know they are somewhat new but they should be having some kind of rules and general guide lines to follow, as an organization. They should also have meetings about what is working and what isn't working for the local mx community. Share idea's and practices and keep this momentum moving forward because, I think this year their lack of planning and not really all being on the same page has hurt them, which in turn hurts us.
Fifthly, I beleive the tracks need to make more changes to their tracks more often, try new things. It doesn't have to be a complete rebuild but change a section or two, bring in a s**t ton of sand or build a wall but do something every two months. Sixthly, give the person that came in "first" and the person that came in "last" a free class when they come to their next race (yes, I said last bc you are trying to get people to come back not chase them away). It doesn't have to be in every class but it should happen in at least one class per race event. Also, make it so that is expires with in a month or two so that, they have a reason to come back soon. Seventhly, maybe get away from the two moto format and just go by time, say 12 minutes plus two laps. I would think this would make for better racing and cut down on the time spent at the track. If they are going to keep the two moto format, I still strongly recommend a timed race. Instead of the pw's being out there for twenty minutes while the fast guys are only getting eight minutes, that's just not right. Lastly, if I were a promoter, I would be handing out a free t-shirt with my name all over it and the sponsors names instead of a trophy that no one will ever see except for the racer that won it. These guys need to do more promoting of their facility, sure a trophy is nice for little Jonny and I am sure less expensive than a t-shirt but I bet more people will see the t-shirt than the trophy. So, give the guys a choice on what they get. Malvern does Kames Bucks and those are great and we love the rocky mountain cards but I think the promoter's on a whole need to promote their tracks and events better.
I believe in the promoters eyes that they thought (or maybe is was bc of the parents bitching that little jonny needs his own class) more classes means more money but as we are seeing today that might have been short sided thinking and in effect has caused the day to get to long and the classes to get so watered down that now their is no one to race so, why even show up. Maybe, maybe not.
