SCCA Autocross

I live in the Gulf Coast Region of the SCCA and today they were having a Autocross at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. I have six grandsons all driving the youngest with a learners permit. I thought about taking a couple of them to the autocross  as spectators wanting to show them there is a responsible place to drive aggressively. Was told absolutely no spectators and further more gates would be locked so no one except participants could get in. Haven’t been to a autocross in a couple years but would routinely attend as a spectator in the Birmingham Al area. I was sometimes asked to sign a waiver which I had no problem. 

Is this the norm? I understand the liability issues. Just seems it’s hard to get people interested unless they can see what it is all about. I guess this could be a condition for using the venue they are at. Just asking the question. 

That is certainly weird, while we don’t advertise our events for spectators, we do permit them.  There is a bleacher section and they sign a waiver to be on site.

Perhaps an overzealous local misinterpreted the rule or the site has some specific restrictions barring spectators.

Being that this is at five flags speedway they are mostly likely renting the track so my guess this is part of the rental agreement. Likely allowing for spectators would require a higher rental fee and more insurance.

I agree, it must be a site limitation. SCCA has no rules against spectators at our autocrosses.

We have spectator areas and it's fairly usual to have 20+ people watching. They do all have to sign liability waivers and get a wrist band to be on site, but that also means that they can get ride alongs if they borrow a helmet. We have loaner helmets for that. I've probably given several dozen people their first autocross ride ever over the years. SCCA has the best rules for this in our area. With other clubs there are no ride alongs unless one of the people in the car is an instructor. 

Sorry you had a bad experience. The SCCA as an organization is a good group of people even if you do run into an outlier every now and again.

I’m certainly not angry and thought it might very well be the venue owners restriction on spectators. Just wanted to ask if other areas didn’t allow spectators since its been awhile since I been at an autocross. I just thought with a couple of the grandsons in town it would be an opportunity for them to see the cars as well as a teaching moment about where to drive responsibly. 

The easy answer is, go ahead and enter. You're allowed to bring as many guests as you want.

I am willing to bet that the "no spectator" rule is solely based on a site requirement. Locally, we used to have a site that prevented any spectators and minors. It's all because of insurance.

I'm the Regional Executive for the Buccaneer Region in Georgia so I have the contact info for the Gulf Coast Region RE.  I emailed him to make him aware of this discussion and will let you know if he replies.  As others have suggested, it may well be a requirement for the site owner, as it's not an SCCA requirement.  If that's the case the folks working the gate should have been educated so that they could explain it to anyone that shows up expecting to get in.