Re: 2011 Van Nats

by highwaymenace 6/5/2010, 4:28 pm

Meetings out, i dont know many details but this is what i have been told:

3 proposals put foward, Phillip Island, Benella, Albury
Voting was VERY, VERY close on all proposals.
and the winner is: Phillip Island and i have been told that the camping fees have been reduced quiet alot.

thats all i know
Daz

by Guest 6/5/2010, 4:31 pm

I must say I'm extremely disappointed with the result but I am not surprised.

You have lost a great opportunity. Thats all I will say.

by highwaymenace 6/5/2010, 4:35 pm

i cant say any more as i was not there may be i should have been but i have gastro so that would not have gone down too good.

by Vannin 6/5/2010, 4:39 pm

I was there, all 3 were good, was hard to choose......

I went for Benalla, different venue, looks like a really good one.....

Will have to see as Wastelands Cup Weekend run will be going there...

by Guest 7/5/2010, 8:32 am

glad to see that someone got the job
would have liked to see it go somewhere different

can anyone tell who the other people was that put there hands up

by mazdragon 7/5/2010, 10:04 am

woodvan wrote:glad to see that someone got the job
would have liked to see it go somewhere different

can anyone tell who the other people was that put there hands up

....what way? presenters? there was Ian, myself and MV's

by Ramble 8/5/2010, 11:58 am

Elegantly Wasted wrote:Back to Phillip Island... by 4 votes

ARGH ARGH ARGH.....

Nah, just yokin Its all good, so long as it happening somewhere. Next year is on "far shar"

by Guest 8/5/2010, 12:44 pm

Dear All

I think there is a bit of confusion in the vanning world at the moment.

I just to clarify that Russell Smith and myself placed a bid proposal, on behalf of Majestic Vanners, for Albury NSW.

We realised that Albury has been done to death by the VCV but with new opportunities, greater participation of the local council, in the form of $$$$$, marketing etc, and wider community support, we could see the potential that the Van Nats could bring to Albury, again.

Its a pity that the only reason that vanners within the VCV voted for Philip Island is the lower camping fees and thats its close to home for some.

This current fiasco would not have happened if the current President had made a public decision at the conclusion of the Nats this year.

cheers Sean
Majestic Vanner
Former member of Sinsity Van Club
Founding member of NSW Van Council 1989

by Vannin 8/5/2010, 1:48 pm

blue diamond wrote:Dear All

I think there is a bit of confusion in the vanning world at the moment.

I just to clarify that Russell Smith and myself placed a bid proposal, on behalf of Majestic Vanners, for Albury NSW.

We realised that Albury has been done to death by the VCV but with new opportunities, greater participation of the local council, in the form of $$$$$, marketing etc, and wider community support, we could see the potential that the Van Nats could bring to Albury, again.

I & most other vanners I associate with don't see a problem with returning to a venue we have done to death, how many years have van's been camped at Halls Gap for the Queens Birthday weekend, 30+ years, if my memory is correct then Halls Gap died 20 years ago!
So I as one, don't believe the location had any bearing on the voting, Albury & Wodonga have always been great venues & great Nats (ok, with the exception to the stormy one! but it was still great!)

Its a pity that the only reason that vanners within the VCV voted for Philip Island is the lower camping fees and thats its close to home for some.

It's a pity your mind is so closed like your opinion is, Benalla was a close second in the voting (by VCV members also). If it comes down to it, your proposal was disadvantaged by not being put forward at the Nationals (as I am lead to believe is "what is the normal way") and the chance for ALL in attendance to vote upon the next venue regardless of the state they came from. But with the 2010 Nationals Run & Done, no proposals, I left the nationals with the belief I would be returning in 2011 to Philip Island..... Cheap camping fees or not. (Come to think of it, I may need correcting here, but Benalla for 4 nights was cheaper than Philip Island, so by your way of thinking Benalla should have won!). As far as distance, Philip Island is only closer for a very small slice of VCV members, only 1 hour away from me, but I still voted Benalla, 2 1/2 hours away.

I, as one of many "vanners within the VCV" were excited to hear there were some other proposals for 2011 (be it late or not these proposals have been given a chance to be heard).
I did not vote for Albury or Philip Island, I voted for Benalla purely on the facility's this venue offered, 2x trailbike tracks, swimming pool, camp kitchen, proper toilet & showers. The proposal put forward for Benalla was 100% spot on, with even a distance (in kilometres) to supermarket, carwash and all the firewood we could burn, etc, etc.

This current fiasco would not have happened if the current President had made a public decision at the conclusion of the Nats this year.

The "fiasco" was not having any definite proposals at the Nats!
Again, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that the 2011 Nationals was going to return to Philip Island, But as several late proposals were put forward, the current President made (in only my opinion) the correct decision to let them be heard and voted upon. You'd be just as bitter in posts here & other forums if your were told "Sorry to late, its already organised!"

cheers Sean
Majestic Vanner
Former member of Sinsity Van Club
Founding member of NSW Van Council 1989

Sean,
Your a "the glass is half empty" kinda guy! Why not put your efforts towards the 2012 Nats, instead of feeling hard done by & down trodden because your proposal did not win the vote.
Benalla lost too! But if your going for 2012 as I know Benalla is also, you have your work cut out for you getting your proposal ready to present to all in attendance at the 2011 Nationals for it to be voted on there!!!

John
Wasteland Van Club,
VCV Member.

by Guest 8/5/2010, 2:36 pm

John

MV always knew we were behind the 8-ball when put together a proposal. Your atttude to MV has always been one of derision. MV has always been the black sheep of the vanning community and we knew that we only had a slim chance of getting the Nats.

Last Thursday night, I couldnt attend as I work in Sydney but I did offer to Maz and Matt that I could arrange a conference call with Rusty and myself. I didnt know until Friday when Maz rang me that you have an informal rule of no mobile phones in the hall - or in other words, we were screwed - we had no chance to give our advice.

Yes Benalla was a good choice for we considered Winton Raceway at Benalla but the contact officer didnt return Rusty's call. It would have been convenient to Qld, NSW and Victorian vanners.

If Phillip Island was a foregone conclusion then Ian didnt do his job effectively. I have made my point quite clear on that to Maz, in writing and by phone.

Yes, I have been asked to submit a proposal for 2012 but to be honest I couldnt be bothered. There is no guarantees that we will be successful the second time anyway.

And no, I am not annoyed at Phillip Island for 2011 but what I am really annoyed at is the lack of transparency that has been displayed by certain vanners in the VCV.

Sean

by Guest 8/5/2010, 3:02 pm

Trivial question but how many people actually voted?

by Guest 8/5/2010, 3:40 pm

I was advised that 30 people voted as the vote distribution was as follows:

15 - Phillip Island
11 - Benalla
4 - Albury

If MV didnt put in a proposal, it would have been an interesting outcome.

by mazdragon 10/5/2010, 7:23 am

oh my dear boys..... will it ever stop?????

I'm disappointed. Thinking I was doing the right thing by encouraging others to participate in putting forward proposals. Guess I was mistaken in thinkg I was doing the right thing. I'm on committee again this year, hmmm, how many more times am I going to be disappointed in the attitudes of those who can't be bothered getting off their lazy arses and putting forward suggestions or even organising events, or whinging it wasn't done their way or complaining about the weather.... yes, everything is always someone's fault and boy does someone else have a lot to answer for. How many more times am I going to be disapointed in the attitudes of others who mayhap don't win a vote, or don't win a prize for something, or don't win a trophY and then complain about it on an open forum.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that we would return to Phillip Island, however, through diligence, I managed to arrange other proposals to be put forward - I believed that to be fair and we should not discourage anyone from putting up their hands to run a nationals... we love to go all over the place and support local communities and support each other. When you think about it, Phillip Island had the advantage all along as we all knew the venue, Benalla (my effort) came a second close. I had 2 weeks to put all this together, and I must say, the overwhelming positive comments on a great presentation with local support was satisfying - even tho I didn't win. I'm not discouraged, I'm going to try again for the year after. MV's proposal for Albury was also well received, however, there was quite some to-ing and fro-ing by MV prior to the meeting as to whether they would do a proposal or not and at the last minute decided they would. It was brief and we only had a few slides. Matt did his best to present with the little info that he had. So, for those who feel they have been hard done by, maybe next time, make up your bloody minds whether you REALLY want to do this, and if you do, put a bit more heart and soul into it.
Don't disappoint the rest of us.
MATTER CLOSED!!!!!

by vanner065 12/5/2010, 3:49 pm

May i make a suggestion

Sean, i have no problem with MV if they want to run a nationals, it is always good to see some one else interested in doing it. But the one thing i and i am sure many others would appreciate is that Majestic vanners actually make a showing together at a nationals first of all and support the ones that MV expect to come support them.(it was great to see Russell there this year) That is where unity starts and by supporting all our fellow vanners from where ever they are around the country, every nats that is held will be looked at as a success. It is a matter of you scatch my back and i will scratch yours, in other words you support the VCV held nationals and we will all support a NSW run nationals. I will go to where ever and held by who ever as will so many other die hards but it is so noticable if you (or others) don't show up to a nats run by another state and then intend to run one because it may be closer to your home. We all have to make sacrifices and travel at some time. I am not having a go and don't wish to get in an arguement about it, i am just stating something that is noticeable to me and some others that have shared the same view. I just happen to be the guinea pig who will open my mouth and say something.
As like recieveing trophies, there is always a winner and a loser and the same happened with the choice of venue for the nats, their can only be one winner. My thought is that Philip Is. won because the infrastructure was already there and this years nats was a successful one and people were prepared to give it a second go, as the saying goes, if you are on a good thing, stick to it. I am all for a new venue the following year, no problems. Lets just accept the way the ball rolls and we can all be happy.
James

by Ramble 13/5/2010, 8:38 am

I probably dont have a right to express about this subject because i wasnt in attendence on the night BUT iam going too.
Iam just glad its going to be held "somewhere, anywhere"
If someones proposal wasnt accepted that should just make you more determind to fine tune it for the following year. As a NSW vanner id love to see a nats up nth coast way but without a PROPER proposal i wouldnt dream of trying, but iam STILL happy that there is going to be a 2011 van nats and iam going to try like hell to get to it.

The coin has been tossed, its been put to vote, the venue I hear, Is excellent, the 2011 nats are comming faster than a fat kid chasing an ice cream truck so lets put this aside and get behind the organizers and have a great vanning event in 2011.
If theres a better proposal, submit it at the nats and give it a shot.

by vanner065 14/5/2010, 10:52 am

look forward to seeing you there Ramble

by Ramble 14/5/2010, 12:03 pm

No worries James. cant wait to go.

by Guest 14/5/2010, 2:04 pm

James

I agree with you in that MV should appear together at a Nats, however, my mates in MV have been to quite a few Nats over the years, and to say that we have been disappointed with a particular aspect of the judging/format/presentation in the past Nats is an understatement, to say the least.

Yes, the venue we selected had been used continously by the VCV but with the support of the local council and businesses, we were guaranteed of a success.

Yes, we have been heavily critical of the Nats in the past and will remain critical into the future. I realise the Nats is the sacred baby of the VCV but we were willing to demonstrate an alternative format/presentation that hadnt been tried before. We were willing to show that we could do things differently, contrary to the rigid Van Nats Constitution that you expect Van Groups to abide by.

However, thats now in the past and we move on - Phillip Island was the victor for 2011.

In any case, my case is irrelevant, for I wont be attending next year's Nats. I would prefer to drive one of my panel vans with my mates.

by Mans Ruin 14/5/2010, 4:30 pm

jeeze its such a shame to see people, who supposedly have the same passion for vans bicker like school kids over silly little things. whos cares where the nats is, AT LEAST THERE IS ONE!!!
im only young and havent been in the van scene for long (cause after 4 yrs im still building it lol) but it sux to see people get like this, and i know, as with everything in life not everyone can be kept happy all the time but i think a few people miss the point.

at least vanning still exists, as does the nats, i mean im 24 and my dad tells me about how fun it was to go to a nats, before i was even born, you get to see new places, meet people from all over the place and in alot of cases make friends for life.
not to mention be able to admire the vans of others, and show the creation of your blood sweat and tears.

now it seems there is a bit of "my clubs better than yours", "im not going if he is" kinda deal and it would be a damn shame if bulls$#@ like that killed off the nats.
im gunna be at 2011 nats, id drive to WA or the tip of QLD if i had too, why not, vans should be driven not hidden!!
anyway i hope my young buck rant hasnt put me offside with anyone, and it wasnt aimed at any person or club. i am not in a club so its just my point of veiw.

Roll On.
Rick.

by Guest 14/5/2010, 7:03 pm

Hey guys its Rob(Checkmate) here, Im logging in as SMQQTH because I cant see the point in registering on this forum for just one post.
Id just like to take this opportunity to say, Am I the only person who doesn't give a rats ar5e about any of this?
I for one dont particularly care about any of the behind the scene politics in the van world, and I dont care what the VCV has or hasn't done. Im over the whole thing.
I'm sick of all this bullsh1t argueing and bickering over nothing at all, and thats exactly what it is nothing at all. This has gone on for way to long and needs to stop, Im certain this is one of the reasons why the van scenes dieing a slow drawn out death, lie to yourselves all you want and say it's going great guns but be realistic it could and should be so much better than it is.
It'd be so much nicer if everyone agreed to disagree and got together on the same page for a common cause, it's not rocket science people, just common sense.(Although common sense isn't all that common anymore it seems).
I think you need to embrace anyone that owns a van into your community, you can't afford to exclude anyone, your not a big enough scene to get away with it.
I wont be attending next years van nats, or joining up with the VCV, Im quite happy to leave my toys in the shed and just go on the occasional run/BBQ/cruise with my mates.
The old saying goes " if you dont like it, than leave", and thats exactly what Im doing, I want absolutely nothing at all to do with the van scene and I dont think Im alone somehow, several other Majestics members feel the same. Ive learnt from my mistakes and know how things work around here now.
I wish the organisers of the 2011 van nats all the best and have you have a successful event, but I think it's time everyone got together to make the van nats into the event it deserves to be, not some 3rd rate car show with a handful of nice vans.
I'd also like to wish Russell all the best with the NSW Van Council venture he has embarked on, I think every NSW vanner on here should get behind him and make it work. The vanning community certainly could do with the boost. I know certain people have been bagging him about this behind his back and saying it wont work, well your the people that need to get off your ar5es and support him to make it work if you want things to move ahead. Put the past behind you, extract your heads out of your ar5es and have a go.
Wishing everyone all the best(Including those people ive had arguements with in the past), and hope you have years of fun with your vans, have heaps of adventures and make a heap of friendships that'll last a lifetime.

See you on the street somewhere
Rob king

(The Checkered Prince)
www.majesticvanners.com

by Ramble 15/5/2010, 9:16 am

SMQQTH wrote:
I think you need to embrace anyone that owns a van into your community, you can't afford to exclude anyone, your not a big enough scene to get away with it.
I wont be attending next years van nats,
I wish the organisers of the 2011 van nats all the best and have you have a successful event, but I think it's time everyone got together to make the van nats into the event it deserves to be, not some 3rd rate car show with a handful of nice vans.(

A little bit of a contradiction maybe? SMQQTH. You cant say "Lets all pull together" then say "But count me out" Shocked

by Elegantly Wasted 15/5/2010, 10:54 am

On a lighter note... I to will be going to the 2011 Van Nats.

There's 51 other weekends to go cruising with your mates. If you want to go on a van cruise with upto 80 vans (2003) or display your van next to well over 100 vans (2009) on show day, it has to be the Easter VAN NATS. I started going to the event in 1983 to see the vans, now I go to see the vanners - nowadays, the vans are a bonus.

by Guest 15/5/2010, 11:19 am

Ramble wrote:
SMQQTH wrote:
I think you need to embrace anyone that owns a van into your community, you can't afford to exclude anyone, your not a big enough scene to get away with it.
I wont be attending next years van nats,
I wish the organisers of the 2011 van nats all the best and have you have a successful event, but I think it's time everyone got together to make the van nats into the event it deserves to be, not some 3rd rate car show with a handful of nice vans.(

A little bit of a contradiction maybe? SMQQTH. You cant say "Lets all pull together" then say "But count me out"

Geoff maybe you should read the entire post and not just sections of it mate, I used SMQQTH's log in, Im not SMQQTH.
And if you read the entire post it says "I want absolutely nothing at all to do with the van scene."
Im just suggesting to you guys in the scene that perhaps you need to be more welcoming to new van owners if you want the scene to grow, otherwise they'll go elsewhere like me and you might end up with nothing at all.
Cheers Rob(Checkmate)
www.majesticvanners.com

by Ramble 15/5/2010, 3:29 pm

Appoligies to smooth, consider me told on that point.
Rob, sorry you feel that way about wanting naught to do with the vanning scene, some very nice people among it, but each to its own. BTW on the welcoming new vanners, since ive rejoined vanning after 20 odd years away ive been made to feel More than welcome back.
cheers.
geoff

by Van 64 16/5/2010, 4:01 am

Howdy all,
Working interstate at the moment so dont get to the computer much at all. Have just managed to catch up with whats been going on both here and over at the MV forum and as a new vanner at this years nats I would like to add my opinion.
Firstly we had no problems whatsoever with feeling welcome at this years nats as everyone was friendly and made the event enjoyable.
Even though this was our first van nats as an entrant we have attended may national events with our other cars and these include both Monaro nats and Eh Holden All State Runs every second easter.
If I was to draw a comparison with the other two events on proffesionalism then the van nats most certainly comes a distant last.
Thats not to say that its not enjoyable but to me it seems to be stuck in a bit of a timewarp and doesnt seem to have evolved over the years like other events have.
I think that the most dissapointing thing at this years nats for me was the venue for the show, which amounted to little more than a dusty cow paddock with very basic facilities.
Given the isolation of the show venue there was no opportunity for entrants or thier partners to do anything but just sit there in the warm dusty conditions for hours on end.
I really think that both entrants and the paying public deserve a far better venue for the show and maybe this is one area that future organizers could look at.
We were undecided prior to the announcement of the next van nats location but now knowing that it is going back to Phillip Island we wont be attending next year.
Instead we will take uor EH to Canberra for the EH Nats.
Please dont take this post as a negative response as we did enjoy the nats but there is defenately areas that could be improved to make it more relevant to todays new vanners.
Happy Vanning

Van 64.

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