(This article offers a look into the SCCA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Sports Car Club of America®. The column’s author, Jim Weidenbaum, is a member of the SCCA Foundation Board of Directors.)

SCCA Foundation is proud to support SCCA’s drive to build member knowledge and capabilities through its new Learning Management System (LMS) which is a key element of the broader SCCA Academy.

A significant challenge for many organizations is disparity in the knowledge basis of members and officials/managers. An LMS helps build a consistent and common “language” and understanding. Consistency of language and policies within SCCA® is critical for reasons of both safety and competitive fairness. Yes, our rulebooks (GCR, Solo® Rules, RallyCross® Rules, and so on) offer a comprehensive listing of rules, while SCCA Academy goes beyond stating facts to help build comprehension. Participants (be they drivers, workers, or officials) must be conversant in competition rules; SCCA Academy is designed to facilitate educating and testing users in those requirements, thereby creating a consistent level of technical understanding, language, and insights.

An LMS is not a substitute for years of real-world experience, which is why SCCA developed SCCA Academy content and modules with members that have decades of hands-on experience who are also experts in racing, education, and training. As Chris Robbins, SCCA Director of Region Development, states, “While watching a video or taking an online course does not constitute ‘training’ all by itself, completing an online course and testing to ensure comprehension is a valuable first step in the training process and the best way for learners to absorb knowledge before practicing a new skill; it’s even better when a qualified, licensed individual can provide coaching and feedback as the learner practices doing the job.”

The flexibility of an LMS is that training can work around the member’s availability, be that time or location; that is to say, content can be learned in the comfort and convenience of your own home. Quoting Chris Robbins again: “Programs … developed through SCCA Academy offer unparalleled ease of access when it comes to motorsports specialty training.”

SCCA Academy’s goal is to bring consistent education, training, and licensing policies, procedures, and practices to all Club members, with the LMS a critical element to that success. Given that one of SCCA Foundation’s core missions is motorsports education, the Foundation’s Board of Directors unanimously supported helping fund SCCA’s LMS with a $50,000 grant for 2024.

Approximately 2,500 SCCA Academy courses have been taken, with an 80% successful completion rate. About 40% of all completed SCCA Academy courses are for Flagging & Communications marshals, with Safety Stewards courses from Solo, RoadRally, and RallyCross comprising more than 30% of completed courses.

SCCA members can view the SCCA Academy’s start guide by clicking here. There’s also a YouTube video about how to register for SCCA Academy’s online learning.

SCCA Foundation’s dedication to advance motorsports education dovetails perfectly with SCCA’s Learning Management System and its self-paced SCCA Academy learning platform.

For more information on SCCA Foundation or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit SCCA Foundation’s website at sccafoundation.org

Photo by Philip Royle