To all PDCC Members,
Unfortunately the PDCC racing schedule of old was not sustainable. Many of our committee members spend 10+ hours a week ensuring that racing goes ahead each week. This is on top of 40+ hours a week of work, commuting, family/spouse time and sometimes riding. Putting on 15+ events a season takes a lot of work and time. And I, on behalf of the committee apologize for not having the time to give the members the race calendar of previous years.
The events that PDCC is putting for the criterium season will still be run in the same way that our members are accustomed to. We will still have the juniors hot laps before the graded racing start. We will still try to maintain our family friendly atmosphere that we have always had.
Yes the pricing has increased. This is not a money grab by PDCC. This is to pay for things such as ambulance, increased toilet facilities and other associated costs. The increased fees was based on an estimate to break even based on conservative entry numbers. The treasurers report for the year will be available soon. If you really want to find out the running costs, I suggest you have a read. We have kept the racing artificially cheap for so long as we have always had people willing to volunteer ridiculous amounts of their time so that members can race each week. Unfortunately, the current committee do not have as much time to offer, and as such have reduced the calendar. If you would like to see more racing at PDCC, feel free to join the committee for 2017 and assist in the organization of this.
Obviously the decision to join the Ring series and reduce our calendar has upset many members, for which I apologize. I agree that we should have had a process of consultation, for which I again apologize. We are trying to represent our members in the best way possible, however we also have lives outside of the PDCC committee. The committee is also hoping to organize some training, skills sessions, social rides, social events and seminars for our members. This also takes time, but we feel it is important in the development of the club.
If you have any questions, please approach a committee member about attending the committee meetings on the second Tuesday of every month.
Liam Magowan,
PDCC President