A MOMENT WITH MIKE: Building A Strong Foundation for a Bright Future

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Mike Garrison

0 July 30, 2019, 12:47 p.m.

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

A Moment with Mike is a weekly opinion column where LiveRC’s Mike Garrison gives his take on hot-button issues, general topics, and conversations within the RC industry. The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of LiveRC.

Did you read yesterday’s Talk It Up Tuesday interview with Brian Burnett, the co-owner of Loganville RC Complex and the Southern Off-Road Series? If not, you should (CLICK HERE to read it now). Brian has a lot of interesting things to say, but one that that stood out to me more than anything during our interview was this comment,

“Anything you build you have to start with the foundation and build from there…in this case it's the youth, kids, and novice racers who will make this awesome hobby grow.”

Brian went on to say, “You have to help them out when they come to the track and make them feel that they belong, and not be scared to death to ask a seasoned racer a question. Help them out and encourage them to just have some fun, and if they do that they will come back. In case everyone has forgotten we were all a novice racer at one time. If you do this, you will see a change for the better.”

Brian is 150% correct. While for some experienced racers it can be frustrating to deal with new and/or novice racers on the race track, turn marshalling, or in the pits – it is VERY important to remember that as Brian said, “We were all novice racers at one time.”

I rarely think about the basement at my house, and when I do I am usually annoyed or concerned that it is leaking, flooding, creating a problem, or home to some sort of unwanted creature. What I forget is that while I am busy being annoyed, irritated, or concerned with it – my basement is what is holding up my entire house. Without my basement as a foundation, it would be extremely difficult to have a stable and secure place to call home...

Novice racers are truly the foundation of our hobby, and much like the basement/foundation to your home, we need to remember and recognize how important they truly are by doing our part to make each and every new racer feel welcome, help them to learn, and share with them the love we have for racing.

The top pros and local fast guys may be the superstars today, but without the next generation of new and novice racers there will be no tomorrow. Novice racers are the future of R/C racing, and today I want to encourage anyone who is reading this to make an effort to reach out to a new or novice racer during your next visit to the track by simply introducing yourself, offering assistance if needed, making them feel welcome, and doing your part to build a strong foundation to keep the future of R/C racing shining bright.