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Old 14-Jul-2005, 10:33
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DSC Member Jools Jools is offline
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Posts: 6,930
Join Date: Jul 2002
Mood: MT Meglomaniac
To borrow a phrase from Dibble "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" where do I start. Maybe in chronological order.

Flanks. You point out that Chris Bushell and others put a lot of their time and effort into getting the DSC started in the first place. That's true. To their eternal credit they also set up the management structure to support the whole ethos of the club as a club run for the benefit of all of it's members rather than pander to their own egos. They had the courage to let the club develop organically into what it is today and, with a lot of nurturing, this club developed into the best Ducati related club in the UK - perhaps the world.

We all value the benefits that we receive from the club, but more than that, the friendships that each one of us has formed through the club, the generosity of spirit and cameraderie that's evident at any DSC event you care to name is something very, very special and is unique to this club. This rare and unique club spirit may have come about through nature or nuture but, however it came into being, it is a very fragile ecosystem that we should all strive to protect.

You ask, if not the DD racers, who I am levelling my opinions towards. Well, the answer is DD itself, not any specific individual. You may notice that I have only mentioned Chris for the first time in the above paragraph, and only then in response to your point about his involvement in the genesis of the DSC.

So what do I mean about "DD itself". At the AGM in January, I raised concerns that whilst DD was a great idea, we, the members, needed to be careful that while a race series is very exciting, sexy and seductive, by definition only a small percentage of members would actually be involved and that it should not come to dominate everything in the club.

I've been involved (or very close to) motorsport of some kind all my adult life and I have seen at first hand some of the negatives. By definition, the people who get most involved in motorsport are highly competitive individuals and I've seen people who have been inseperable friends become mortal enemies over minor incidents or allegations of cheating. I have seen the bitter feuds that have started over interpretation of rules and regulations and I have seen the corrosiveness of the human spirit when a bit of competition creeps in.

When you start introducing competition into a club like the DSC it is all too easy to create some sort of Frankenstein's Monster (that would be the S4R then - to get the monster puns out of the way) that would start with the best intentions, but actually start from the very begining with imperfections. A Frankenstein's monster that quickly develops a mind of it's own, gets beyond the control of it's creators and rampages through the fragile ecosystem that is the DSC.

I say yet again that I am not on a crusade against DD, I think the series is a great idea, the racing is fantastic and I would be amongst the racers myself (and may yet be) as soon as I get Mrs Jools to agree. However, I would like to think that even if I was on the inside of DD I would still fight against "the monster" developing a life of it's own and causing a trail of destruction through the club we all love.

Thankfully, we are not at that stage, but DD has already been at the centre of many disputes, it has already led to the departure of some DSC members and, if we are all honest, is the single item (outside the Vman debate) that causes so much friction within the club.

Which brings me onto Dickie's point about me being wide of the mark with my comments about the "tension that exists within this thread".

This tension was not of my making. JPM had already opened a North/South debate and been jumped on for his troubles. Normally inoffensive people like Lizzie had been prompted to post remarks such as "So maybe give this north-south divide crap a rest maybe?" and for JPM to reply "Jesus...Can't say a thing can I? It's a very valid point FFS!". Various appeals to calm down had already been made before I voiced my opinion.

Dickie also countered my comments about "the grass roots" DSC member, and what one of those is anyway? A very good question!

In truth, there is no typical grass roots member, we have people whose interests are in long distance touring, we have people who get the most out of rideouts, we have people who enjoy DSC organised events such as the mega-meets, we have people who are track day fanatics, we have people who are avid race fans and travel afar to watch MotoGP and WSB, we have people who enjoy evening meets for a chat and a pint, we have hardcore long-distance riders as well as people whose enjoyment of Ducati ownership comes from polishing their bike. It's a very broad church. To truly be "The UK club for today's ducati rider" the DSC needs to be very careful to retain this broad appeal.

Of course we also have the DD entrants, but I say again, that is only 35 people out of 1000. This is not levelled at any personality involved in DD as an entrant, or any DD organiser but there is a perception (and quite a valid one in my view) that DD gets a disproportionate amount of the clubs attention given that it only accounts for 3.5% of the membership. I would go so far as to say it is the only one of the clubs activities (outside of the web site) that gets any 'official' organisation, all the rest of the clubs activities still go on, just as Dickie states, but they happen organically by members taking the initiative to sort out things for themselves and making things happen themselves. This is true for most rideouts, it is true even for 'flagship' events such as the BMF.

It would be nice to see some events other than DD get the same amount of 'official' attention. There are loads of things that could do with this DSC support - how about an "officially" organised tour to WDW 2006 to take just one example that would appeal to a different membership sector? Or starting a DSC organised UKDW as was suggested last year - perhaps a cross between a weekend's camping, beer, barbeque, bands and entertainment with a trackday thrown in?

Thanks for your remarks about your respect for my opinions though Dickie. As somebody who always tries to take an objective, rational and well argued approach to voicing my opinion I appreciate that.

I re-itterate that I am not against DD, I just want to make sure that it doesn't become the "Frankenstein's Monster" that ultimately tears the heart out of this great club.

I did not, and will not, personalise this argument and it's a shame that Flanks and especially TP have construed my remarks as a personal attack against Chris or anybody else.

I am also somebody who is willing to volunteer my time to help this club in any way that I can and I am well aware of how thankless a task it can be. I compromised my own ride at nearly every rideout last year to ensure that the stragglers at the back were not left behind and became a slower, less confident rider myself - as a result of not getting enough practise at the sharp end. I help out with the BMF every single year and support every DSC event that I can (including DD). And I have already volunteered to do much more for the club regions if my services are required.

So, I hope TP, that your remarks about "carrying on like this and just being bloody rude and ungrateful" were not levelled at me. However, since the statement in your reply was closely coupled to my remarks about "DD getting to big for it's boots" it looks as though they were.

As has been stated by others, Chris asked for opinions (he surely wasn't inviting opinions solely from DD entrants was he?) and I voiced my opinions in what I hope was a mature, considered and rational way. You will know from my entire posting history on this board that I am not given to ranting, so I make no apologies for voicing my opinions in the way that I do and I don't consider that I need any lessons in civility from you or anyone else.
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