Sidcup show how it’s done

Published: 15th March 2007

Author: John Dickinson

Once again the Sidcup club does a great job on the motocross front - how do they do it?

THE 2007 British Motocross Championship kicked-off last weekend and I can’t say how pleased I am that there was a cracking crowd of around 10,000 to witness the show. There’s no doubt that big-time MX in Britain has had some major kicks in the teeth in recent times (OK, many of them self-inflicted) but Sunday’s figures are a fantastic testament to the enthusiasm of Britain’s MX fans.

Now, the Sidcup club is one that we at T+MX hold in the highest regard. It somehow manages to operate on a higher plane to most clubs in the country. To the outsider (me) Sidcup, almost alone, appear to operate as a genuine collective club, not as separate individuals.

Come on, how many clubs do you know that are run by two or three hard-line individuals? They do incredible work, flog themselves until all hours but don’t appear to get the support they need. Just think where the club could go if only there were more people involved! Often though there is a flip-side to this coin. If anyone does volunteer to help they just get told what to do, they are not allowed a say, just told to dig here, bang posts in there or paint somewhere else. Sooner or later - usually sooner - these volunteers see the lie of the land and simply drift away. I can name you a dozen such clubs off the top of my head and in total must surely run into hundreds.

But somehow the Sidcup guys and girls appear to have avoided this ultimately self-defeating trap. They have always been forward thinking, a point epitomised by their purchase of the famous Canada Heights track thus allowing the club to be master of its own destiny.

I genuinely do not know how they differ from other similar clubs in their internal workings although I wish I did. Jobs appear to be delegated and most importantly the individuals must trust one another. The secretary does his/ her job and trusts the clerk of the course to do his who in turn trusts the chief marshal to do his and so on right down the line to whoever is manning the gate and parking the cars. The result is a club that continually sets standards for others to wonder at.

This is not the first time that we have paid homage to the Sidcup club nor I would guess will it be the last. Perhaps it is actually all done by smoke and mirrors although I personally very much doubt it!

In theory, all clubs should operate like this but as we all know, all individuals have their quirks and failings. We have all attended club meetings and witnessed, or to be strictly accurate been part of, a room full of motorcycle enthusiasts, with the good of the sport at heart, disintegrate into silly warring childish factions within 10 minutes of being called to order. Twas always so I’m afraid...

JUST out of interest, did you all watch The Great Global Warming Swindle on Channel 4 last Thursday? It made for most interestin’ viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject.

Firstly, the programme admitted that global warming is certainly taking place. But the scientists (that’s scientists NOT politicians) on the programme claim that global warming is NOT caused by man releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it is a result of solar activity. The same solar activity that has been responsible for the ever-changing climate of the earth over millions of years. This appeared to be backed-up by lots of impressive scientific evidence. Like humans are only accountable for around half of one percent of all carbon dioxide in the atmosphere anyway.

Now I - just like everyone else on this planet - am in no position to say what the hell is going on with the climate, other than to say I would tend to believe a bunch of politically neutral scientists with a powerful, sensible argument, rather than a bunch of scientists who have been set up by the establishment to provide ‘proof’ that carbon dioxide is to blame for everything. - and the way to cure that, as any government can tell you is to TAX, tax and tax everyone until they bleed. Tax you to drive your car, tax you to catch a plane...how long before they latch on to motor sports. My money says they will let motor sports continue - but of course we’ll have to pay a tax!

Yes, it’s The Geat Global Warming Swindle...