Sports Car Club of America® President and CEO Mike Cobb conducted a 60-minute, virtual address Thursday, May 2, 2024, as a means to keep SCCA members up to speed as the Club celebrates its 80th anniversary.
What follows are a few items of interest from the presentation, which opened with a reminder that SCCA’s ongoing vision is to be the preferred motorsports community in the U.S., built on fun, shared passion, and access to an exhilarating motorsports experience. In service of that concept, SCCA strives to fuel a safe, fun, and exciting motorsports experience for automotive enthusiasts at every event.
Members who missed the videoconference can access the presentation through their Member Account Portal (MAP) at my.scca.com. Click My Learning > Member Content > Annual Meetings and Updates to watch the video at your leisure. (Or, click this link to go straight there.)
MAP Momentum
Progress and expansion of the online MAP platform accessed through SCCA.com has been a focus for several years. According to Cobb, that initiative remains critical because the platform improves efficiency and provides a better experience for all, which delivers on SCCA’s mission.
“MAP serves as the central repository for Membership, Licensing, Education, Sanction, and Reporting transactions; all of which are conducted through one system and store information within one database,” Cobb said in a post-presentation interview. “Behind the scenes, MAP advancements yield a more friction-free experience for members, be they event participants or organizers. MAP puts all things in one place and within one system. That allows the Club and all 115 Regions to consume less resources and improve efficiency.”
Data shared by Cobb shows MAP continues to gain traction and acceptance. For instance, 85% of membership renewals and dues are now processed through MAP as compared to 54% in 2019. And thanks to MAP, Cobb was able to exactly report that as of May 1, 2024, the Club has 51,466 fulltime members.
“We’re trending in the right direction, with 485 new members as compared to the same time last year,” Cobb said. “So, that’s a good thing. And it’s important to point out that none of this progress would have been possible without the hard work at the SCCA National Office by Aimee Thoennes, John Bauer, and Deanna Flanagan.”
More MAP
Building further on MAP’s utility, SCCA has been utilizing a recent registration feature within the platform. In the first quarter of 2024, all registration has been managed online through MAP for Tire Rack SCCA Starting Line schools, Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack, and Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty events.
That first quarter yielded 3,452 entrants for those three SCCA programs. A share of those, coming in at 21%, were brand-new driving enthusiasts joining the Club for the first time as annual members. Another 24% signed up as weekend members, and the other 55% were existing annual members.
MAP is where you can also find the SCCA Academy, which serves as an online training and development classroom for those seeking education toward SCCA volunteer specialty licenses and more. In the first four months of 2024, SCCA Academy saw the completion of nearly 1,050 courses including F&C Corner Marshal, Solo Safety Steward, RoadRally Safety Steward, and RallyCross Safety Steward, to name a few.
“There has been pretty good growth in all areas of SCCA Academy,” Cobb noted. “Even though the number of courses has grown, that’s not negatively impacted the quality of coursework as we’ve received a 94% ‘Likely to Recommend’ [score] from those who have completed the online classes. We’ll continue to put focus on the SCCA Academy.”
Cobb also noted that SCCA’s Marketing Department constructed a “To Do” list within MAP for Regions seeking advice on the marketing of events. That information is found by clicking Member Resources > File Cabinet > Region Marketing Resources at my.scca.com.
“It’s a tool for Regions to map out and set up how to promote an event in advance,” Cobb said. “It’s a great tool to help Regions plan ahead.”
Getting Together
Cobb reported that January’s virtual SCCA National Convention, which was themed “Grow,” had 1,021 registered attendees who made the most of 67 instructional sessions streamed live online. As of today, 59 of those sessions are available for viewing on demand through MAP.
Beyond that, a $25,000 investment was made toward in-person Division Conventions, with SCCA National Staff in attendance. Then there was the Rocky Mountain Division, which held its convention virtually for the very first time.
“It was a great way to start the year,” Cobb said of the Divisional gatherings. “It was a very good way for the Club to get out there, get one-on-one, and deliver the ‘Grow’ message to leaders on a Regional level so we are all going in the same direction moving forward.”
More communication is on the way, as Cobb also pointed out some important conference calls are not too far off. Tuesday, June 11, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time/5 p.m. Pacific Time is the Jumbo Region conference call. Then on Thursday, June 13, the Small Region chat begins at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. That is followed by the Tuesday, June 18, Medium/Large Region call at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. For more info on those Region conference calls, email regionservices@scca.com.
New Places
Cobb’s presentation included updates on SCCA’s various programs, including efforts and schedules for RoadRally, RallyCross, Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty, Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing, SCCA Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack, and others.
Of great interest to many will be the work of SCCA’s Solo Department. This past weekend, May 3-5, SCCA’s Kansas Region and Wichita Region joined forces to oversee the first-ever autocross event at Independence Freedom Airport in Independence, KS. It was a new site for autocrossers, and acquisition of new Solo sites is a major focus for SCCA’s Solo Department.
“The team garnered FAA approval, and we got to test that site out,” Cobb said. “Each site is a little bit different in terms of ownership, conversation protocols, etcetera … but we need more Solo sites, right?”
With that directive, the Solo team has pushed forward. Results of their diligent work are evident with the June 7-9, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Oklahoma Solo National Tour at OK Space Industry Development Authority – which is a new venue in Burns Flat, OK.
Beyond that, the SCCA Solo Department is also exploring new playgrounds in Courtland, AL; Hope, AR; Wendover, UT; and Chattanooga, TN.
One Last Thing
Lots more was revealed during Cobb’s video presentation, which can be viewed in its entirety through the SCCA Member Access Portal – that’s right, the MAP. However, here’s one final thing of note.
Actually, two last things.
First, SCCA’s Senior Director of Rally, Solo and Experiential Programs Heyward Wagner is currently competing in One Lap of America with Washington DC Region member Eric Sienkiewicz in a Club Spec Mustang. Club Spec, a concept brought to reality by SCCA in 2023, offers a solitary spec ruleset that spans a variety of competition types. The end result is a vehicle that excels on multiple fronts – which is exactly what’s happening on One Lap.
You can check out One Lap’s results as the event continues this week. People with a sharp eye will also notice a variety of past and present SCCA members taking part in this event, including Dave Ogburn III, David Marcus, Julian Garfield, Tom O’Gorman, Chad Gilsinger, DJ Alessandrini, Brian Peters, John Hogan, Andy Hollis, Tom Suddard, Randy Pobst, and more.
And finally, the beloved SCCA Chevrolet Camaro is for sale. A tangible piece of SCCA history, this blue Camaro has been part of the Club’s lore for several years. Yes, there’s some miles on it; but this car has been lovingly maintained. The vehicle has appeared in countless articles over the years, and taken part in practically every activity SCCA offers.
Want to own the Camaro? Contact us.
