Detroit SCCA Autocross/RallyCross COVID-19 Event Guidelines
The following guidelines will be put in place for our upcoming Autocross and RallyCross events.Please note that these rules and procedures will be in place only as long as the pandemic poses a threat to our entrants and event workers. We will adjust as conditions change, and as we get feedback from our membership. Thank you for your patience and understanding! You can also download a PDF of these guidelines here.
OVERVIEW
In light of current events, Detroit Region SCCA is taking precautions to ensure that our autocross and RallyCross events are as safe as possible for all entrants and volunteers. The following policies and procedures will be put in place for all of our upcoming autocross and RallyCross events. We will continue to evaluate our procedures as we gain more experience and as conditions change. We ask that you be patient and understanding with the actions that we are taking. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact the Solo Director, John Li, or the Rallycross Director, Matt Wolfe.
Solo Director: John Li
Rallycross Director: Matt Wolfe
REFUNDS
We are offering full entry free refunds, no questions asked, by request. If you are not feeling well, do not come to the event — we will give you either a future event credit or a full refund of your entry fee. Please let us know as soon as possible so that we may let someone on the waiting list take your spot.
REGISTRATION
To facilitate contactless registration at our events, for the time being we are only accepting online registered and paid entrants only. It is at the event chairperson’s discretion if registration will be closed before the event or the day of, and whether or not the event entries will be capped.
For the first couple of events, expect entry caps and/or early registration deadlines. Additionally, only competitors and event workers will be allowed on site. For now, we are not allowing any spectators at our events to keep the number of people on site to a minimum. This policy may be relaxed later in the year.
Competitors and event workers will be asked to check in, as usual. Check-in may take place with the registration worker behind a plexiglass divider on a table (for autocross) or behind the window of a car (for rallycross). Show your drivers license and your membership card behind the barrier and the registration worker will check you in. Once again, only online payment is accepted, and we are not accepting cash or checks at events.
Waivers
It is strongly recommended that SCCA members apply for yearlong waivers, aka “hard cards.” To receive a hard card, click must here to log into your SCCA account. Then, print out a waiver form and either 1) have it notarized, or 2) sign it with an SCCA member witness. You may bring the yearlong waiver form to an event and sign it in front of the waiver worker, which would fulfill the requirements for a hard card.
Any site-specific waiver forms will still need to be signed when entering the site for the first time with the waiver worker.
At the entry to the site, we will have two buckets of pens, one clean and one dirty. You will be asked to use a clean pen to sign the waivers, and to deposit the pen into the bucket of dirty pens once you are finished. Wristbands will either be handed to you, already separated, on the clipboard with the waivers to sign, or placed on a table near the waiver worker for you to pick up.
TECH INSPECTION
Tech inspectors will be inspecting aspects of your car from the outside only. They will ensure that the wheels are solidly mounted to the car with no play in the wheel bearings, the tires are not damaged and are not showing cords, the battery in the engine bay is properly tied down, and the car is appropriately marked with class and car number.
The tech inspector will ask you to verify that your brake pedal is firm, the accelerator pedal returns, and that the car is clear of loose objects.
You may be asked to show the tech inspector the sticker inside your helmet if you do not have a current helmet sticker. Once the tech inspector visually confirms the helmet sticker, you may be directed to pick up a sticker from a table next to tech inspection.
DRIVERS MEETING AND AWARDS CEREMONY
We will be doing pre-event online drivers meetings. We will send out either a link to an online video, teleconference, or written document before the event that will comprise the general safety and event procedures of the event.
We will also hold a condensed on-site drivers meeting to answer any questions that entrants may have. This may be done either with a socially-distanced gathering where we have the safety steward answer questions with the use of a bull horn or microphone, or with a teleconference or live stream.
There will be no official awards ceremony after the event. Trophies may be distributed either at the event, with entrants picking up their trophies from a table, or sent to entrants after the event.
Procedures for the drivers meeting and the awards ceremony are liable to change as we learn what works well and what doesn’t. Any official guidelines from the SCCA, government organizations, and suggestions from our local members in the medical community may also affect how we conduct pre- and post-event meetings.
PADDOCK, COURSE, AND TIMING RULES
When outside and not in cars, all entrants and event workers must maintain 6 feet of social distance from each other. This means staying 6 feet away from other people in the paddock, out on the course when doing course walks or working corners, and in spectator areas.
Face masks are mandatory if you are within 30 feet of the timing truck/RV. A 30 foot perimeter will be marked around the timing truck/RV, and anyone within the marked perimeter must be wearing a face mask.
We will attempt to staff the timing crew with volunteers from the same households. Timing crews may be asked to work multiple heats in an attempt to limit the number of people that need to enter and exit the timing truck/RV in a given day. The event chair will make the determination, along with the worker chief, as to how to handle the timing crew staffing. No one outside of the timing crews will be allowed inside the timing truck/RV when the event is running. This will be strictly enforced.
Anyone found flagrantly disobeying the rules detailed here will be asked to leave the event immediately.
LOANER HELMETS
For the time being, we are not providing loaner helmets. All competitors must bring their own helmet to use in competition, and the helmet must pass tech inspection.
CORNER WORKER ASSIGNMENTS
Corner workers must stay a minimum of 6 feet apart. Only the corner captains will be allowed to handle the radios and the flags. There will be disinfecting wipes at the corner stations; corner captains will be asked to sanitize the radios and the flags before and/or after their shifts.
There will be no coolers of water at the corner stations. Water will be distributed out in the open (e.g. spread out on some surface) at the timing truck/RV for workers to take for themselves and bring on to the course. The intent is to remove the corner water cooler as a point of contact.
AVAILABILITY OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
Competitors are responsible for bringing their own face masks and gloves. Please do not forget to bring your own. The club will have a small reserve supply of face masks and gloves at the timing truck/RV for those that forget to bring their own, but we may not have enough PPE to supply all entrants at an event.
Cleaning wipes will be placed at the corner stations and at the timing truck/RV. Remember, face masks are mandatory within a 30 foot radius of the timing truck/RV.
EVENT SETUP AND CLEANUP
Workers setting up and cleaning up the event are responsible for bringing their own PPE. We will not be attempting to disinfect all cones, equipment, and material after the conclusion of an event; enough time will pass between events such that equipment and gear will naturally disinfect itself.
TEMPORARY MEASURES
These rules and procedures will be in place only as long as the pandemic poses a threat to our entrants and event workers. We will adjust as conditions change, and as we get feedback from you.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!