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SCCA San Francisco Region
If a tree fell in the middle of the forest and no one was around would it make a noise? We have all
heard that theoretical question to which the answer is of course it would, but shy of some strategi-
cally placed recording equipment there is no way of proving it. The relevance to San Francisco Re-
gion road racing is: if we held a race and no one announced the race did it really happen?
Somehow or another our board decided that
announcing or doing the color for our races
was not necessary. Apparently they received
complaints that the public address system was
annoying. Some people were complaining that
all the noise was hindering their ability to do
the job. According to some board members they
have received several complaints regarding the
constant barrage of noise coming from the public
address system.
Because of these complaints it was decided that
the region would ask our announce crew to only
use the PA system for essential announcements,
you know things like the speed in the paddock is
slightly faster then a brisk walking pace; group
six to pre-pre-grid; or we found some keys to
a Tesla, please come up and identify. Naturally
the people that agreed to be our announce crew
decided that would not be very much fun so
they decided to support the club in a different
manner.
The worst part of this decision was it was based
on a few complaints. There was never any
research done on this matter. No one ever polled
the driver’s, no one ever polled the entire work
force, no one ever asked the crews what they
thought about this. So based on some com-
plaints from a few people it was decided that the
color or play-by-play announcing of the races
would cease.
I do not know who was complaining, but I have
to ask, if you are at a race track why would you
expect there to be peace and quiet. When I go
to the race track I look forward to the noise. I
like the sound of the cars slowing down for the
turn and accelerating down the straight. I like
the sound of the tires screaming for adhesion. I
like the sound of the announcer letting me know
what the hell is going on. I like all of that. Asking
the announcer to be quiet while a race is going
on is like asking the sound technician to turn
down the music at a rock concert!
As board members we have to keep in mind who
the customer is at the race track. It is not the
volunteer work force. The people paying the
bills are the drivers. They pay the entry fee that
pays for the entire operation. So if there was
ever going to be decisions that effect the driver’s
wouldn’t you think that there would have been a
formal polling of them to see what their thoughts
are?
As a driver it does not make much sense to me
to eliminate the race play-by-play. As a driver
I want people to know how I am doing. I want
my crew to hear my name on the loud speaker. I
want my sponsors name announced. I want my
wife to hear my name. All of these things are the
sizzle that sells the steak. Once we decide not to
announce the races we have become a track day
club.
The announcers have a better view then most
people at the track. They tell the audience what
is happening on the other parts of the track.
In addition to satisfying the driver’s need for
an ego massage, the spectators need to hear
the announcer describing the wheel-to-wheel
racing. They need to hear the excitement in
his voice. They need to understand that this is
exciting edge-of-your-seat thrills. How are we
going to create excitement if there is just a bunch
of cars going around without anyone sharing
describing what the driver is feeling, what the
driver is thinking, and what the driver is trying
to do? How are your race weekends going to sell
new members or new drivers without someone
explaining what is going on?
We are trying very hard to attract new members
who will hopefully become new volunteers or
new drivers. How do we do that without the
buzz created by announcing the races? I just do
not get how we came up with this decision.
But to be fair, our public address system could
be toned down at the right time. We already
shut everything down once the races are done
for that day and do our best to have silence
during the lunch break. I can understand if a
volunteer is trying to communicate via the radio
with someone at the other end of the paddock
and every time they try to talk there is someone
blasting away. I get that, but I think the solution
the board came up with was throwing the baby
out with the bath water.
One thing we might need to look at is the ability
to turn down or off certain speakers that are
directly blaring into the ear of a particular group.
I can see how a public address system stepping
on your conversation could be difficult. So are
some of the complaints justified? Most likely but
you do not eliminate the most important part of
the weekend to address those complaints. You
come up with some compromises, you do not
eliminate one of the best things about the week-
end because of a few complaints.
Where do we go from here? For the short term,
I am happy to say that the race play-by-play will
return. I am happy to announce we once again
have an announce crew. The long term solution
will be a survey that will be designed so that as
board members we can find out exactly what our
members want from the announce crew.
So if you are in the same camp that I am, please
participate and let the world know that a race
without an announcer is like a tree falling in the
middle of the forest.
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And it wasn't Spec Miata or SRF, it was a closed wheel class. 
