Clubs and Series Championship

I understand that there are about 7 clubs that make up EMRA.

British Sports Car Owners Association

Long Island Corvette Owners Association

Long Island Sports Car Association

Liverpool

Scuderia-X

South Shore Sports Car and Beer Drinking Society

Sperry


They all seem to be Long Island based and a few seem to be non-active. As much as I would like to join the South Shore Sports Car and Beer drinking Society, I wouldnt feel comfortable having a few beers and driving home from LI. Are any of the clubs above Northern NJ based or can one branch into nj? If not, how does one create a club and have it applied towards season points.

Some clubs are less moribund than others, to be sure. The South Shore Sports Car and Beer Drinking Society only appears to be inactive, but we are actually still alive and well. In fact, it's long-suffering champion/president/carrier of the torch lives in PA (though he is a former Islander). EMRA's TT Chair, Richie Cox has been very active in bringing back LICOA from the dead. In the end, it doesn't matter which club you belong to, as long as you belong. I've always told people to "just join the one your friends are in" which explains why I was a SSSC&BDS member even when I lived in NC many moons ago. Liverpool used to be northern NJ based, but I'm not so sure about them now.

But, with regards to your legitimate inquiry "how does one create a club and have it applied towards season points", it ain't so easy or so simple. History Lesson: A basic founding tenet of EMRA is that it was formed by the seven founding clubs, circa 1970, as a method to pool resources and get track time for all. To that end, the seven clubs are EMRA, and the incorporation papers define it as such. EMRA didn't/doesn't actually exist except as a means to that end. It is both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. Adding additional clubs is a complicated and difficult process, and one that has not proved advisable in the past.

In short, find the club where your friends are, join that one, and let it ride.

Rob, Hero Retired, Semi-Official Old Fogey, FOG friend of GOD.

Never mind. The club thing was just explained to me. I just done been learned.

You may compete at EMRA events without joining one of the founding clubs. You can obtain an EMRA license--wheel to wheel competition license--or time trial license--but there is no "joining" EMRA. To qualify for a championship one must join one of the founding clubs. It's not a big deal--any one of the still active clubs will welcome you to their midst. In the case of SSSC&BDS our already low annual membership dues have been suspended for this season. Beside the individual class championships there is also a competition between the clubs for most championships garnered in a season.
The requirement for club membership to qualify for a championship may seem convoluted in today's world but that's the way EMRA was legally structured to allow the members of the individual clubs to compete on the world class tracks we use. Before EMRA existed the individual clubs ran separate events -- autocross (called gymkhana in prehistoric times) - TSD rallyes - ice races - hillclimbs - etc. Joining forces gave the clubs the monetary power to run on road courses. Changing the format now would be a lengthy and expensive proposition.

miniracer wrote:I understand that there are about 7 clubs that make up EMRA.

British Sports Car Owners Association

Long Island Corvette Owners Association

Long Island Sports Car Association

Liverpool

Scuderia-X

South Shore Sports Car and Beer Drinking Society

Sperry



They all seem to be Long Island based and a few seem to be non-active. As much as I would like to join the South Shore Sports Car and Beer drinking Society, I wouldnt feel comfortable having a few beers and driving home from LI. Are any of the clubs above Northern NJ based or can one branch into nj? If not, how does one create a club and have it applied towards season points.

BTW - South Shore I think began in the late 50's when a weekend at the track might be followed up with everyone having a few beers and talk about the day. The club has nothing to do with drinking but we honor our forefathers by not changing the name.

I don't know this as a fact--but I always thought the name was inspired as a a low-brow response to the high-brow Manhattan Sports Car and Chowder Society. In any case I think we have the neatest looking logo decal and have been proud to display it on my cars. Once while doing photos at a road course in South Carolina I was approached by a fellow who saw the decal--turned out he was an early member. No, we didn't have a beer--still cars on track.

that makes sense! lol

Sorry just a test .. needed to check something.. Carry on !!

Very Well. . . Carry on

Need to make a correction--that would be the ---- Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society -- Dave