Junior kart program terminated

[Lynn]

No message, title says it all.

[-pru-]

Article via SCCA.com on Junior Driver Program (JDP): Junior Driver Program Update

After careful consideration, the Sports Car Club of America has decided to disband the Junior Driver Program (JDP) and the Junior Kart classes in the autocross program over safety concerns.


The JDP Assessment Committee was named on July 2, 2020 following multiple similar incidents that called into question the safety of the program. The JDP committee performed an exhaustive analysis of the program and ran a limited pilot program during the 2021 season to initiate and study new rules, standards and procedures. Ultimately, the JDP Assessment Committee advised the SCCA Board of Directors that, even with the proposed changes, there are only a handful of regions across the country that would be able to safely host JDP karts.


“This is a tough decision for the SCCA leadership, but mostly the for JDP parents and children ” Bob Davis, SEB Chairman, said. “The committee explored many options for keeping the JDP program alive because we know the importance of family participation in our Club. Unfortunately, one thing became clear - there were not adequate, reliable ways to overcome inherent safety issues in the program and no one was willing to put children in harm’s way in an effort to do so.”

[caracal25]

https://www.scca.com/articles/201555...program-update

[killerken53]

After being out of Autocross since my son was born, I was getting ready to get back in, and bring him along in the Kart program. Now with this announcement, I have to decide what the next step forward is. I don't really have much choice, other than to wait till he is older. It probably is a sounder financial choice anyway.

[Bill Schmidt]

Did this have anything to do with Covid Pandemic? Or, are we talking about other safety issues?

[Lynn]

It is all about risk management and safety. The number of incidents involving Junior Karts was remarkable higher than those for cars. Apparently, there was another serious incident last year which did not involve a death, fortunately.

[E1pix]

As a lifer around karting, that’s just the way it is with kids going fast. Things go wrong, as with racing in general.

Colorado suffered its own tragic loss of a young karter a decade ago, and a much-older driver I raced with just one year later — both very rare accidents. Terrible, heart-wrenching situations, but the media only jumped on the young driver’s loss and treated it like child abuse. The youth’s accident was as much or more the fault of some involved parents as it was karting’s, and almost saw the retirement of a now-prominent young American driver — and very nearly a permanent closure of the track.

But for that one tragedy are hundreds of participants who never get hurt, dozens who move on to cars with a much-safer set of skills under their belts, and the vast majority reaping the benefits of hard work, determination, competition, fair play, and all the other life lessons our sport can help flourish. The math simply does not justify the loss of any racing means to start and grow from.

To deny any entire group is a certain guarantee of less participation a decade later. Kids want to pursue their lives, too, and we can’t lock them away. Dangers are everywhere. Things go wrong. Life can be cruel, and that’s not to disrespect any tragedy.

Watching 40 Junior karters in a final at any big National SKUSA, IKF, or WKA race is about as good as any sight that exists in racing, and lest we forget this is how career drivers get started — especially on other continents. I suspect this decision has everything to do with possible litigation, little wonder we can’t produce a F1 driver.

Kids get hurt on bicycles every day. Kids get hurt hiking, playing football, baseball, soccer, and everywhere else.

What’s next on Racing’s Road to Nowhere? What or who will be left?

[Chris Livengood]

As much as I hate seeing karting get removed from SCCA autocross events, there are plenty of other places to race karts. It stinks for autocross dads who can't double dip, that's about it though. Arguably, autocross is a terrible environment to learn to kart anyways. In my opinion, about 90% of the skills young drivers learn they learn from following other kids. Maybe that's why they had so many incidents?

[Mark_Silverberg]

If there is a kart track available in the area is provides a much better environment for involvement than autocross. Participants get more track time and they have the option of just running practice days in a much more relaxed environment. I understand the desire of autocrossers to get their children involved but perhaps a better solution is for the parents to get a kart as well and support the local track if they want quality motorsports time with their children. SCCA simply decided there was not sufficient control over the autocross environment for Jr. Karts. It is an understandable decision.