Quick Plug: If you know a buggy fanatic who needs an outlet, send ’em our way and we’ll make them feel at home: https://goo.gl/forms/gzSbl4bomNfebFyy2 Nominations will be open until June 8th! Continue reading
Congrats Graduates and BAA Elections!
Now that we’ve finally been able to recover from Raceday, we here at BAA HQ have had a chance to look back on the year and make some notes for next year, but we would also love to hear your thoughts on the year, and ways we can continue to improve this sport we all love and devote our time and energy to.
First of all, CONGRATS TO ALL GRADUATES, and welcome to the CMU and Buggy Alumni family! As a special offer, all 2018 graduates are offered their first year membership for free! All you have to do is tell us who you are via this link!
Second up, it’s time for the 2018 BAA Elections. We currently only have one position up for re-election, but we are also looking to fill in some additional positions to align with our bylaws as well as a couple new positions we think would help us further the mission of the BAA. Here are a few more details
- Vice President – Jeremy Tuttle has reached the end of his first 2-year term and is up for re election. He is automatically nominated and is interested in running for a second term. The Vice President helps manage the internal projects of the BAA, as well as assist the President as needed in discussions with CMU Staff.
- Secretary – Listed in the BAA By-laws as the person to coordinate distribution of meeting minutes to general membership as well as handle and maintain the membership list in partnership with the treasurer.
- Graphics Specialist – Given the increased desire we have for making awesome newsletters, guides, and engaging info, we’re looking to bring on someone specifically for this role rather than frantically seek someone out last minute.
- General Officer – A lighter-weight new role that we’re looking to test out. We have a number of small tasks ranging from general alumni outreach, to tracking down specific information, or assisting with our numerous events throughout the year. If you’ve wanted to help out, but never thought you fit into a specific position, or you only have time sporadically, this is the perfect role for you!
You can of course also nominate for any of the other, currently filled, positions if you would like. For reference, here are the current officers:
President – Ben Matzke (Middle of second term)
Vice President – Jeremy Tuttle (End of first term)
Communications – Aileen Dinin (Middle of second term)
Reporting – Natalie McGuier (Middle of second term)
Treasurer – Bryan Arsham (Middle of first term)
Webmaster – Krishan Taylor (Middle of first term)
Lastly, since the summer has officially kicked off, the conversation has been getting going on our Discord chat, the same one we use during raceday! Feel free to jump and share your thoughts. We’ve got some discussions going around cutting up and uploading all of the missing footage from past racedays, and also updating and fleshing out our history database with awards and winners from recent and past years.
Raceday 2018 Credits and Thank You’s
I meant to write this last week, but it turns out Raceday/Carnival hangover is real and takes longer to recover from than your typical night out. There are few people that understand how large of an endeavor it is to put on an event such as Raceday and how many different heads this hydra has grown to include over the years, yet we continue to add more every year and it could not be done without the help of some amazing people around, behind, and in front of the scenes. This is not a complete list (since such a thing is probably not possible), but is as complete as I can make it.
Here we go…
The Finale! BAA Saturday Carnival Events
Exhibitions and Finals Races
7:30am – 12:30pm on the buggy course | Stream live on cmuTV or listen on wrct.org
The heats have been decided, the buggies are prepped, and the pushers are warming up, it’s time to see who will reign supreme! Join us on the course or catch the stream online to cheer your favorite team to victory.
Buggy Books will be available at the BAA tent by the Finish Line for purchase or Pre-order pickup.
Lead Truck Auction winners MUST check in at the BAA tent with a signed waiver at least 1 full heat before your designated race.
Awards Ceremony
4:30pm at the Midway Stage
After the dust has settled, it’s time to hand out the hardware. Head on over the the Midway stage by the tennis courts to cheer on your team as all buggy awards are announced for Design Competition, Chairmen’s awards, and of course the Races themselves.
Let’s Race! BAA Friday Carnival Events
Preliminary Races
7:30am – 12:30pm on the buggy course | Stream live on cmuTV or listen on wrct.org
By the time you read this, the races have likely already begun SO GET TO THE COURSE ALREADY, or if you’re not in pittsburgh, check out the live stream put on by cmuTV! We have 10 women’s heats and 12 men’s for this year’s races with 25 and 27 entries respectively. It may be a bit chilly, but these races will be hot.
Buggy Books will be available at the BAA tent by the Finish Line for purchase or Pre-order pickup.
Lead Truck Auction winners MUST check in at the BAA tent with a signed waiver at least 1 full heat before your designated race.
History of Buggy with focus on ’68 and ’93 with Tom Wood
1:30pm in Danforth Conference Room in the CUC
Our regular can’t miss event is back as Tom Wood shares a history of buggy focused on the class of ‘93 and ’68. There will be plenty of show and tell with buggies, slides, wheels, and photos of the days of old with insight into the changing landscape of the competition.
Buggy Meetup and Finals Lead Truck Auction
7:30pm at Hough’s Taproom in Greenfield – 563 Greenfield Ave.
For the first time ever, bid live on the finals heats’ lead truck rides after the heats have been decided, and stick around to share your Raceday experiences at Hough’s taproom, the original bar with a buggy! Light hors d’oeuvres provided courtesy of the BAA.
It Begins! – BAA Thursday Carnival Events
Buggy Showcase and Alumni Panel
Showcase: 12-2pm in Wiegand Gym | Panel begins at 12:30
Come on over to the UC gymnasium and check out all the buggies that will be competing on raceday up close and personal as well as vote on your favorite for Peoples choice! While you’re there, stick around for what will be a fantastic alumni panel where our group of panelists will recount their favorite Buggy Myths and Legends moderated by our own VP, Jeremy Tuttle. On stage we will have:
- Conrad Zapanta – CIA ’91
- Adam McCue – KDR ’07 & Sweepstakes
Hayley Dalzell – Robobuggy ’15 & Sweepstakes- Aiton Goldman – CIA ’98
- Connor Hayes – Apex ’19
Buggy books will be available at the sweepstakes Swag table for Purchase or pre-order Pickup.
Welcome Back Happy Hour
7:30pm at Fuel and Fuddle – 212 Oakland Ave
If you’ve made it back to Pittsburgh, join us at the second bar with a buggy to recount past years, share your predictions and just generally get ready for the Prelim races on Friday! We will be in the basement of the restaurant.
WRCT Broadcast Tonight at 7pm + Auction Closing at 11pm EST
WRCT BROADCAST
Tune in tonight at 7pm EST for a half hour of buggy talk and predictions with some local alums and students moderated by our long-time commentator Will Weiner! On the air we will have:
- Michelle Mirabella – Original driver of Malice for SDC and former course record holder, graduated 2010 and has returned to CMU as a staff member.
- Hunter Rideout – Current President and former Head Mechanic for Fringe.
- Ethan Gladding – Assisted with the transition from Pioneers to Apex, and current W3VC radio support for Rolls and regular Rolls Report contributor/writer.
You can find the broadcast on air at 88.3 FM or stream it online from www.wrct.org! We will also be answering questions from you live on air, so be sure to send us any questions via comments to this post, our Facebook page, or our Twitter.
After what will be a great conversation, there will only be 3.5 hours left in our Lead Truck Auction, so get your bids in while you can!
Check your Membership Status + CompuBookie 2018
BAA Membership Roster
The preview is getting it’s final polish and we’re about ready to send it out, BUT before we do, here’s your chance to check and make sure that you’ve made your donation to the BAA and should be expecting the preview in the first round of distributions. We’re working on fixing up the site and the roster section is on the list, but for now use the link below.
If you’re not on the list and want think you should be, or want to fix your mistake of not donating, send your receipt email from CMU showing your donation and designation to join@cmubuggy.org and we’ll get you added. After you’ve got your membership sorted out, take a gander at this year’s auction where we’ve nearly passed the 50% mark with more than a day remaining!
2018 Preliminary Lead Truck Auction is LIVE + Finals Auction Information
WELCOME TO RACEDAY WEEK KICKOFF
The BAA is once again holding our lead truck auction this year, and the auction for the Preliminary Heats is now LIVE, and closes at 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 18! You can start bidding here. It’s the one chance you (or a buggy fanatic in your life) have of being right in the middle of the action on Raceday. You’ll sit in the back of the lead truck for whatever race(s) you can win!
Carnival 2018 Buggy Information
It’s that time of year again folks, we’re only a few weeks out from the start of our 98th Raceday and Carnival weekend, and we couldn’t be more excited!
Many of you likely received our mailing with most of our events for carnival this year, Here is the full list (aside from the races themselves):