hensley Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Im looking into starting a club or at least maybe getting together to try an event dont know which needs to happen first the club or the event. In sw missouri their are about 40 maybe 50 modern trials bikes within a 50 mile radius the nearest club is 200 miles and there are a total of 6 clubs within 300 miles hardly anyone goes anywhere to compete they just get together and ride as each individuals schedule allows Questions i have Renting land there is an old quarry which i am tring to locate the owners over 1 million tires burned for over 3 weeks 5 years ago and no one claimed it for years prior and after but recently it was purchased for back taxes. It is not posted and no problem riding there but for an event we would probably need a rental agreement. Would a per head fee be the best way to approach?? Insurance does anyone know of a insurance company? also if the land owner doesnt request it do we need insurance. I heard of a club that lost their land because the land owner agent threatened to cancel his farm liability insurance if he allowed any more events. Does farm liability cover injuries during an event? What about liabilty of individual club officers? Several of the riders in our are ride more on Saterday than Sunday wanting a day to recoup before going back to work? anyone try Saterday events is the turn out any good? I thought about starting by having an unoffical event a fun ride where we taped sections no entry fee no trophies maybe we could get 10-15 together score ourselves and go home. If so how many lines 3 enough novice something in the middle and expert? btw there was an active club here 15 years ago advice anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 John, I have been pretty active in my club lately putting on trials and the such, so her are my thoughts. Insurance does anyone know of a insurance company? also if the land owner doesn't request it do we need insurance. I heard of a club that lost their land because the land owner agent threatened to cancel his farm liability insurance if he allowed any more events. Does farm liability cover injuries during an event? What about liabilty of individual club officers? That's why events are AMA sanctioned, they do the Insurance (or it's a outside company they use) different types of events have different rates and trials is the cheapest. Several of the riders in our are ride more on Saturday than Sunday wanting a day to recoup before going back to work? anyone try Saturday events is the turn out any good? We have both Sat. & Sun. trials. Some people like Saturday and some people have to work Saturday. Go with what the people in your area like. If they are already Saturday riders then that would probably be best. I thought about starting by having an unofficial event a fun ride where we taped sections no entry fee no trophies maybe we could get 10-15 together score ourselves and go home. If so how many lines 3 enough novice something in the middle and expert? The number of lines would just depend on your rider demographics. You know who will most likely come, so will all of those riders riding ability fit within those classes three classes? If not add more. Since you are just starting out small you want every one of your riders to have a good experience. My only other piece of advice for starting your club and putting on events is, do what will make your members happy and not so much how you think things should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan bechard Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Hey bud, Check with your local insurance agents and see if anyone is willing to write a policy to cover it. My experience has been that the AMA is about the only way to go on that and get coverage. Is there an Enduro or similar club that you guys could partner under without having to form an entire additional club, basicly you could form a "chapter" under someone already in existence, and then pull your AMA insurance under them? I would check with the AMA and see what groups they have listed as active in your area, then go too them. Check with your state, TN has some laws about holding harmless for recreational use, but there are some "catches" in there, and if you are holding an event that you are collecting money for, it changes the complexion of the deal. Under those laws, we held some fun events, no money, no trophies etc. just guys getting together to ride. That was how we held our "potluck" trials where I marked the loop, and each group set up a section. and yes, we just did a small med and large section (nov, int, adv) as we just did not care about trophies etc. it just made it fun. You can find the landowner through the courthouse. It is a matter of public record, but sometimes you have to go down there and look at the Platt's to see. Speak with a good realtor and they should be able to help with that process. Many places are also putting GIS info on line. For my area it is done by the local university. I can go online and see our properties, and the surrounding area's who owns, what they pay, etc. etc. I would not do an event without speaking with the landowner and his consent and support. Even on the events we have, there was a corner of the property contested (and the landowner we deal with won) but we just elected to not have anything in the contested area, it is just not worth the hassle in my opinion. I would not hold an event, and collect any monies for the event without some form of insurance. I did put out a donation jar, at some of my fun events to help pay the porta pottie costs, and as usual with trials riders the donations were plentifull. I like the standing joke that you can set a $20 bill at the sign in table of a trials, come back at the end of the day and there will be more money there because folks think it is a collection for a good cause. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensley Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 chris I checked into AMA it wasnt too expensive but not sure how it would work for 8-10 riders starting out. Also for the first timer membership could be a problem. Alan havent heard from you in long time are you still busy with the remodeling? A fun Event sounds like a good idea as a starter that could lead to more events. Since most of the riders here have been to many events many none were short section help. There is an enduro club here and that might be something to explore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 (edited) "I like the standing joke that you can set a $20 bill at the sign in table of a trials, come back at the end of the day and there will be more money there because folks think it is a collection for a good cause. " Aint it the truth !!! And Alan ; Why wern't you at the trackrock event ? I still owe you a putt on the old fantic ! I thought for sure we would finally meet ? Glenn Edited May 13, 2008 by axulsuv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan bechard Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I have all but dropped out at this point. Just doing all we can do at the moment between house's and business and a lot of it is the kids interests are wandering quite a bit. Not even sure we will make the YN this year, the kids are looking at Germany this summer and that may be about it for the Bechard family vacation budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 I can relate ... My boys are getting into skateboards and just starting to look at girls !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjax Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 chris I checked into AMA it wasnt too expensive but not sure how it would work for 8-10 riders starting out. Also for the first timer membership could be a problem. Starting out can be a losing proposition, but I think you are correct when you said it can lead to more. I have been involved in the setup and promotion of many different motorcycle events over the years and it seems to me that you have the basic formula for success. Since the cost of travel is so high right now, your new "closer to home" idea should make it work. I think that doing lots of initial e-mails or calls might be the answer to having a good first event I do know that the reason our off road club (Bent Wheels CC) makes money is our sponsorships. We have sponsors that include members (their own companies) as well as numerous local shops who have become our anchor sponsors over the years. We have recently been able to step it up with bigger companies (Toyota, Planet Honda, etc) but that comes only with time and exposure. The other key ingredient in our club is member participation. You will most likley find that a few will work their tails off, while most will follow without really trying quite as much. The more the "few" do, the more the "followers" will do, it seem's that the ratio between the two is quite consistent. On insurance, I would go with AMA, most riders have membership already, and it makes financial sense for your new club. It really does take time. We lost over $3,000 last year on our first local Endurocross, but have high hopes for this years event on June 7. On the other hand, we had nearly 1000 riders and spectators for last years Color Tour and MOTA trials in October. The other club (trials) that I am part of runs on a much tighter budget, but once again is successful due to member involvement. We get 45-100 riders at most MOTA events (most average in the 50 range). We are trying a two day format this summer for our club as a gas saver. We'll see how that works. Budget for a potential loss on your first event, but once agian, the key in my opinion is communication within your current group of potential riders. If I can be of any help, feel free to ask. Good luck! Keith A. www.bentwheels.com www.motatrials.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensley Posted May 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 Ive been letting advice soak in from this forum and others local in my area. Went to a bike shop in town yesterday whos owner operator is pro trials he has probly sold 20 used trials bikes in the last year seems there are way more riders or part time riders than i thought. He has been throwing out the idea that we need a club and land needs to be purchased 20 acres at 2000 / acre and divided over 40 yrs =1000 per member per life. Lands a little higher than that and even though were in the Ozarks it probably would need to be more than 20 acres unless it was a good rock quarry. He also mentioned that trials riders have recently been fined $120 for riding off the trail at our local national forest (Chadwich) which is the main riding spot for 75% of the riders. Ill keep everybody posted to how things are going and keep sending more advice btw Alan i hope it works out for you to make the youth nationals they wont be the same without the Bechard family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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