WAIKATO STOCK & SALOON CAR CLUB May 2014 NEWSLETTER HUNTLY & TE RAPA SPEEDWAY
WAIKATO STOCK & SALOON CAR CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING On: Friday, 6 June 2014 WAIKATO STOCK AND SALOON CAR CLUB P O Box 155 HUNTLY 3740 www.huntlyspeedway.co.nz 2009 - Speedway Of The Year Club Promoted Venue Proudly Supported By: PLACEMAKERS Huntly & Te Rapa At: Time: Huntly & Te Rapa Placemakers Speedway 7.30 pm Agenda: President & Treasurer Reports: Election of Officers: - Vice-President: - Committee: Those below are due to stand down, but are all seeking reelection: Nigel Wilton Vice-President Lance Gribble Committee Annette Hutchby Committee Ammaron Broadhurst Committee Max McLaren Committee ½ Yearly AGM: Is it still relevant? Subscriptions: Motorway Update: General Business:
PRESIDENTS REPORT As the 2103/14 racing season and our 25 th Anniversary draws to a close, we can reflect on a Season of improvements, changes, great racing, and for the most part, fine weather phew! While overall crowd numbers were down, as it was across the Country at other tracks, we can rest assured that when the fans did come, we received rave reviews, compliments on our venue, the satisfaction of knowing that as a Club, we provided race Fans with value for money entertainment and to our Members I thank you for putting on a fantastic show. There was a lot of work undertaken prior to, and during the season, and it is our intention to continue to improve our venue for the Members and Fans alike with planned alterations to the clubrooms, a new toilet block, improvements to the implement shed, and the Chequered Flag Club, and several other maintenance tasks to tick off the list. As usual all the work undertaken at the track falls on a few who step up, put their money where their mouth is, give all their spare time, or in fact MAKE the time to contribute to the betterment of the club, its Members, and our venue. Every year I am amazed at what is achieved by the few who do help, whether it be in Labour, contribution of materials or financially, and while I am eternally grateful to these few, imagine as a Club what we could achieve if more were willing to help.. many hands make light work The disappointing consensus is that we live in an environment where the general Joe Bloggs feels that because he/she pays a membership, it gives him/her the right to criticise, judge and demand more. The fact is that your membership only goes a small way towards the financial stability of the Club. There is a huge amount of work, commitment, and money required to put on a show. The future of Speedway depends on a team effort, and a level of contribution, whether it be physical, financial or from constructive critism. There is always room for improvement, and while we may not always get it right, together we can improve, and everyone will benefit. Having said all that, I am proud to acknowledge that we have a huge group of loyal volunteers that take their responsibilities seriously, turn up every meeting and give of their personal time so our Members can race. Without them we could not offer a level of safety or support of such an event, and they are a testiment to our reputation, and record of success. We started this season with the intention of contributing to drivers, and as money doesn t grow on trees, we have worked hard to obtain Sponsorship and support, and while it proved a huge effort I can proudly acknowledge that through the support of some fantastic people and businesses we have met our promise, and remained true to our word. It would be naive to expect to fund speedway through gate sales alone, therefore I would like to thank all our Members and Sponsors for the contribution they have made towards providing our loyal fans with a fantastic season of racing, absolute entertainment, and a wonderful salute to our 25 th Anniversary. We look forward to next season, where we plan to continue to grow our business, not only in membership, but in providing our Members, Sponsors and Spectators with value for money, good family entertainment and a venue and Club we can proudly call our own.
PRODUCTION SALOON REPORT Thanks to all drivers, young, old and new for your support and contribution for making this season of the Production Saloon class a success. Thanks also to the outside drivers who came from other clubs to race and support Huntly Speedway, such as Rotorua and Kihikihi. We have consistently had 14-18 drivers racing on any one night and have provided some very interesting, competitive racing, which has given some great entertainment for the public. We also must thank the commentators for their on-going banter and providing great amusement for everyone at the expense of a few senior drivers and their ZIMMER FRAMES!! We wish Tyler Hutchby all the best in her new job up North, and will miss having her cheery manner at the track. Good luck for the future! The committee and volunteers have done a lot of work on our behalf, so it would be great if we could all make an effort to go to the prize giving on the 17 th May at the Te Rapa Club Rooms, Vickery St, Hamilton. Time 6-7pm happy hour, prize giving starts at 7pm. The band is Siren /9pm till late. $30 a ticket or two for $50. No door sales. See you there Cheers, Dave and Joanne
MINISTOCK REPORT The Ministock Class have had a great season, with yet again the excitement of some first chequered flags being achieved, and an overall improvement in skill and confidence from all Drivers. Thanks to Dave Roigard for being our Mentor again this season, and for encouraging all our new Drivers, and some of the Drivers from last season, in ways to improve their skill base and confidence. After a season off, we ran the Future of Speedway Challenge with 85 entries from all over the country including 4 from Wellington, travelling up to spend the day with us. It was a huge success, with every Driver leaving with a prize of greater value than the entry fee paid to enter the event. One lucky 12 year old, left with a new sign written wing, thanks to TWS and Rivercity Signs, and a $250.00 sponsorship deal for next season, all in the name of the Future of Speedway Huntly. We had great sponsorship, and a lot of support, and the Parents and Drivers from within the Huntly class all stepped up to offer help and assistance and this ensured a fantastic meeting. Special thanks go to Red for an awesome track, the Volunteers that made it all possible, the Sponsors for their ongoing support and, of course, to all of the Drivers who travelled and entered. As the Ministocks are one of the bigger classes, it wouldn t be the success it is without the support and assistance from the Parents, and in this regard I wish to take this opportunity to thank Ken Woodhouse for the Scrutineering, Paul Neave for checking belts and helping others around the pits with mechanical support and advice, Jo Phillips for being our treasurer with our fundraising, Paula Woodhouse for selling too many chocolates and raffles to count!, Phil Attenborough for repping, Tina and Colleen for doing the bands and collecting the Ambulance fund, Duncan Woollett and Brooklyn Harris for helping with gridding up and checking belts, Lisa Roigard for helping with the grid draws, and Rose Humble for shadowing me and picking up the reigns as the Ministock Rep for next season. You are all awesome!!! Thanks also to Hamilton Collision Repairs for sponsoring our Waikato Ministock Champs, and to Te Kauwhata Plumbing for sponsoring our Patetonga end of season event. We look forward to next season when we hit the track with our first Future of Speedway Sponsored car and Driver. And with more work, and a little luck, we hope to produce two Productions Saloons which the Ministock drivers can apply to have a season in, as a part of a new Scholarship initiative Huntly is starting to encourage them to stay in the sport. Last, but not least, I want to thank all the Drivers within the class. There have been some great friendships formed, sportsmanship displayed, support offered, a couple of romances, but most of all, a really great group of youth having fun, and doing something they all love together. Regards, Sharyn Flintoft Ministock Class Rep HUNTLY SPEEDWAY E-mail:Sharyn@flintoftroband.co.nz Mobile: 027 290 2029