ANICC Navigation Rally Committee

I've been going to the ANICC meeting for a few years now to represent QUBMC. As Queen's only run a few events I don't need to do much so it hasn't been that taxing, but that has all changed now as I was voted onto the navigation rally committee for 2012.

This is going to be a big year for navigation rallying. Due to the low entries that events have been getting we are going to try and encourage new competitors to come out and get started in motorsport by running a series of beginner events rather than the normal championship.

I think the two main problems with navigation rallying are that most people have never heard of it, and those who have are being thrown straight in at the deep end where there is just too much to get your head round. Hopefully we will be able to address both of those issues this year. We will be trying to kick up a bit of interest on the internet and in local motosport magazines with some press releases, and we will be attending stage rallies and car shows to hand out flyer and talk to people. As well as that before each of the seven beginner events we will be holding a rally school to go through all aspects of nav' rallying. Competitors will then go out on the roads to put into practice what has just been leaned, and when they finish there will be a debrief to run through the instructions so people can learn from any mistakes.

Navigation rallying is too important to let disappear so we need to put up a fight to try and save it. There are a lot of current competitors and organisers who cut their teeth in nav' rallying so if nav' rallying isn't there at the grass roots it could spell trouble for all motorsport in NI further down the line.

I just hope that I can get across to people how much I enjoy nav' rallying and encourage them to have a go themselves.