A lot of the kids that stick with racing are gonna run what everyone else does, and right now that is clips. If we didn’t have clips, then they wouldn’t know better.
I think if you ask any kid on clips right now which he prefers, he’ll say clips because that is the fashionable thing. Its the norm. I doubt you’d get too many kids saying “no I’d rather be on flats (and risk losing)” cause thats what they are thinking.
The only way you are going to find out if fear of clipping in was the reason someone stopped racing is by doing exit interviews. But I doubt anyone is going to invest in that. But, we’d learn alot if we did.
Preventing rider fallout comes back to what a lot of people have been saying and that is making new riders feel welcome, getting to know their parents, and giving them a way to contact you if they have any questions, ever. Those first couple of times a rider is on the track are critical. How we handle them and their parents will be a huge determining factor of whether or not they come back a few more times.
So yeah, I’m changing the subject here a little, but I know not everyone here is gonna do it, but those that can, be willing to “adopt” a new family, give them your phone number, and be accessible. This way they can call you when they have the questions. There is a saying I use in my business, and that is “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Its all about creating “community”.