Will York Rally ever make a comeback?

[atoz]

Hi all

Given the huge success of Le Tour de Yorkshire, as Phil Liggett so well put it, I wonder if the CTC are ever likely to reconsider reviving York Rally (or if you like, York Cycleshow).

It struck me at the time that CTC's national policy on the Rally ie that it wasn't a national event was very convenient- that the rally was a piece of the past that the folks down south wished to bury.

If head office in deepest Surrey wish to consider a revival, maybe they could get some advice from Gary Verity- he seems to know what he's doing when it comes to promoting cycling in Yorkshire..certainly worked for us..

[Si]

There are a number of events where it is not National Office policy to support in a major way, yet these are still merrily ticking along under their own steam, thus I wouldn't really see any Mulder & Scully type hidden plot at N.O. to do away with York unless further proof can be supplied. Indeed, I seem to remember that when N.O. did offer a bit more involvement a while ago the organisers were keen to stay independent...however, I stand to be corrected here.

It could be argued that N.O. could give more support to all of these events, but that does not mean that N.O. wants to do away with them.

As for York, it would be nice if it returned, but I was under the impression that the organising committee cancelled it because of financial issues and lack of trade support, not because N.O. had told them to bin it.

You can see the difficulties with running it this year - if they didn't do it over the TdF date then they run the risk of losing a lot of punters who'd rather be there on TdF weekend. And if they did do it on TdF date then you'd find prices rise, accommodation is harder to find and punters would be off watching the TdF all day rather than doing York Rally events. Plus the trade people might be spread thin across various events on that date.

[pete75]

Yes it will - next year.

http://www.yorkrally.dougiereid.co.uk/

http://www.yorkrally.dougiereid.co.uk/f ... ork-rally/

[dellwood33]

Just seen the latest Press Release

http://www.facebook.com/l/rAQHCZPw8AQFm ... s-release/

[Bazza55]

Is the new York Rally due to be held June 2015 anything to do with the CTC?
Having looked at the website for the event there is no sign of the logo or mention of the CTC, so is it a club event?

[bikepete]

Hi Bazza, all,

I'm the publicity officer for the York Rally committee which is attempting to revive the event for 2015. Other committee members are as detailed here:

http://www.yorkrally.org/about/

We are a group of independent volunteers currently without any affiliation to the CTC or indeed to any particular club. We do absolutely, though, hope that CTC members, DAs and the national CTC will support the event and we recognise with gratitude the tremendous and unstinting efforts of the previous volunteer CTC committee who staged the rally for so many years.

The Rally will be the traditional sociable get-together with the traditional schedule of rides. There'll be camping on the Knavesmire as usual, too. We believe this is the core of the Rally - a chance to meet up with old friends and go on rides.

Like many of you, most of us on the committee have been going to the Rally for decades and we value it primarily as an opportunity for cycling fellowship - we all have friends who we miss seeing on the Rally weekend.

Beyond that it's all still to be decided, and indeed it's largely up to potential participants to make their wishes known. We're hoping to work with all sorts of cycling organisations, clubs, forums and interest groups, including the CTC if they wish. We'd like to make the Rally a meeting point for a huge variety of cycling club members - whether their interest is in touring, tricycles, vintage bikes or whatever it may be. We also plan to have attractive activities for younger riders and newcomers to cycling - especially in the wake of the Tour this year.

We are however starting from an almost zero budget so things like hiring huge marquees will depend on funds being raised. Our initial objective is to cover the hire of the Knavesmire, toilets & showers, and to obtain event insurance. Then we have an event! And can build on it for years to come.

If you would like to support the revival please do consider becoming a 'Friend of York Rally':

http://www.yorkrally.org/friends-of-york-rally/

and/or taking part in the Sportive which we are running to raise funds on the 21st September:

http://www.yorkrally.org/sportive/

Online bookings for the campsite will also be available very shortly, with generous early bird discounts.

It is still very early days in the planning of this event so if you have ideas, please do let us know - I'll watch this thread and pass on notes to the committee - and even better, if you'd like to be involved in the organising please get in touch via info@yorkrally.org - you don't have to be based in York. All are very welcome at our meetings: the next is at 'Your Bike Shed' cafe in York on the 13th September, 10AM.

Oh - we are also aware that the 20-21st June 2015 is a potential clash with the Eroica Brittania event (although we haven't yet seen any confirmation of their 2015 dates). Our dates are rather fixed by the availability of the Knavesmire, certainly for 2015. The Eroica is a rather different event, anyway, and we hope there'll be plenty of cyclists around to attend both!

All the best,

Peter Eland
Publicity Officer
http://www.yorkrally.org

[Karen Sutton]

Interestingly the entry for the Sportive is via British Cycling. One small step.....

[Bazza55]

You have to admire the enthusiasm of the new York Rally Committee and wish the event every success. The CTC tried to turn the Rally into a Show, especially in 2000 when an inner perimeter fence was erected with security guards. As a result the event went downhill from that point onward and the reputation was ruined. Thank goodness the CTC are not calling the shots anymore and the event can go back to being a friendly social event as was intended in 1945. Let's make sure in years to come it isn't spoiled again.

[Si]

Bazza, the York Show / Rally / Experience was run by its own committee (indie MG I believe ) who were not part of CTC Head Office, thus its independence has not really changed much. Head Office has offered help where it can but really it would appear that Head Office would be happy for the Rally to run itself. I guess they will damned whatever they do: if the CTC try to help the Rally organisers then they'll be accused of interfering and destroying the event, but if they stand back and let the Rally committee get on with it then they'll be accused of not helping and not caring. And if the York Rally committee should make an unpopular decision then the CTC Head Office will be blamed for it.

There are some events around would be glad of some more help from Head Office!

[bikepete]

Hi Si, all,

On behalf of the new York Rally Committee perhaps I could clarify the situation from our point of view.

While appreciating the historic links between the CTC and the Rally, we as a committee are not seeking any assistance with the organisation of the event from the CTC, or indeed from anyone else. We are completely independent of the CTC: some individuals on the committee are CTC members, but many are not - and we value our independence. Nor are we allied with British Cycling or anyone else. Being completely independent (and focused on just one thing - running the Rally - with no other agenda) allows us to invite absolutely everyone active in cycling to come to the Rally, to make it the 'rallying point' that the 1945 founders intended.

What we would very much value, however, is the CTC's participation! The Rally wouldn't be the same without it.

The York Rally in mid-June comes perfectly timed to capitalise on the cycling buzz generated by the Tour de Yorkshire, recently confirmed for early May. We're working closely with City of York Council and especially their iTravel York team to pitch the event as the place where people fired up by the racing can come to try out non-intimidating, non-competitive cycling. CoYC will be using the Rally to promote workplace travel, active health for the elderly through cycling, and cycling inclusivity amongst other things, in line with their own objectives. To do this they'll be bringing a variety of activities to the event, and they'll be helping us promote it. We're delighted to host them.

We are also working with a local artist and cyclist who will be bringing a very interesting 'event within the event' to the Rally - details will follow when we're ready to 'officially' launch it. We provide the basic event infrastructure; he'll bring a great public-friendly activity area and likely many extra campers. Again we're happy to host this free of charge.

So the idea is to work with any cycling group or organisation who sees the Rally as an opportunity to reach out at a big public cycling celebration. We (the YR committee) are doing the hard work of getting the event in place. What we invite other organisations to do is to be there, run activities, and show off! That will bring more activities and more people to the Rally, which all helps spread the cost of the basic infrastructure, which is what makes the core Rally 'get-together' possible. And with lots going on it becomes a more attractive and sustainable event.

So we would love to have the 'official CTC' at the Rally, explaining what they do and taking advantage of the event both to attract new members and to connect with current ones. This might take the form of e.g.:

- Running rides - a chance for prospective new riders/members to meet local/regional groups and see how a CTC ride works

- Running touring talks/seminars - e.g. inspire people to try long distance cycle touring? Or show how easy it is even for a beginner to go on a supported cycle holiday?

- Running a legal/insurance Q&A session? A talk about what to do after a crash? Perhaps whoever does the CTC's insurance these days would be up for it...

- Running campaigning workshops/talks/courses - show why the CTC's work matters and how people can get involved!

- Running something to attract young riders - maybe a 'cycle orienteering' treasure hunt around the site or something? How to buy a decent child's bike advice? Leisure riding with children masterclass?

- Running some completely different activity which I haven't thought of - which is interesting to Rally visitors and advances the CTC's own objectives.

- Having a stand to sell CTC membership/holidays/courses/insurance etc.

We would be happy to host all or any of these free of charge (as they would add to the activities on offer at the Rally) except for the last item - if the CTC wish to have a stand they will be invited to book it at standard trade stand rates. This applies equally to any other national cycle (or related) organisation with a 'serious' budget and paid staff - e.g. Sustrans, British Cycling, etc. City of York Council will also be paying for any trade stands they put up. We think this is reasonable to help support the basic costs of staging the Rally.

I should also add the proviso that 'hosting activities free of charge' doesn't mean that we can necessarily provide a marquee. Hiring those is one of our larger costs. If an activity needs marquee space it may need to pay its share of the cost. For not that much money in the grand scheme of things the CTC could even have a marquee all to themselves, which they could brand up as they wished, and run a full programme of talks, workshops, rides etc. from! We'd love to have that at the Rally.

If any CTC Local Group/Member Group/DA wishes to put up a display, too, we will be happy to host that free of charge - you'd need to bring your own gazebo but we'll find the space!

This is the same 'no charge' offer which applies to any primarily enthusiast/non-paid-staff cycling club or organisation, be they national or local or internet-based, who could put on a display, activity or ride at the Rally. We would love to line the grasstrack arena and the main avenue approaching it with club stands, as a real celebration of grass-roots cycling and the people who make it happen.

If anyone with suitable connections reads this, please do feel free to pass it on to the appropriate decision-makers! The best person to talk to at the Rally would be our Event Co-ordinator Paul Reid on 016973 43089 or e-mail organiser@yorkrally.org.

We hope to meet many CTC members on the Knavesmire in June!

Peter Eland
Publicity Officer
For the York Rally Committee
http://www.yorkrally.org

[Bicycler]

Peter, that sounds really exciting. The best of luck to you!