Building on the success of the first virtual Convention in 2021, the 2022 SCCA National Convention broke records in audience engagement and community interaction. This was the second Convention to be held entirely virtual, and by all practical measures – and a few subjective measures as well - this was the best one ever. The feeling of unity and connectedness was felt in every session and with every interaction.
SCCA CONNECT 2022 was organized to fulfill its purpose of connecting auto enthusiasts through memorable shared experiences, and the event lived up to the hype. Beginning on Friday, January 21, the Annual Meeting and Hall of Fame Award Ceremony bookended the day. Each of our Competition Programs had a “Program Direction” session on Saturday and a “Town Hall” on Sunday. Each day of the week had a spotlight shined on a specific Program – i.e. Autocross Monday, Road Racing Tuesday, etc. – and were connected by other presentations offered across the week, including sessions on Marketing, Sanctions, Risk Management, Stewards, the SCCA Foundation, and Member & Region Services. Finally, Program and Department “Office Hours” were provided for Members to ask specific questions and get helpful answers from the experts.
The 2022 event was planned from the beginning to be condensed and more focused, while still allowing Convention organizers to offer 66 sessions with no overlap, unlike typical face-to-face Conventions of the past. But similar to previous live Conventions, sessions began as early as 7:00 AM and ran as late as 7:00 PM Central. And with rare exception, all sessions were recorded and posted within 24 hours so those at work or still asleep during the live session could watch at their convenience. In fact, those who registered for the Convention – even those who didn’t attend a single session – can still go to the Whova App today and watch any session that piques their interest.
“This was the best Convention out of the 30-plus I’ve attended,” long-time Member and former Chairman of the SCCA Board of Directors Lee Hill said. Feedback gleaned from the event sessions supports Lee’s opinion, showing positive increases in favorable scores for speakers and topics alike.
SCCA also played host to three well-known names from our industry, who all shared their excitement with SCCA Members during “Keynote” podcasts, including McKeel Hagerty of Hagerty Motorsports, John Doonan of IMSA, and Randy Pobst, a name synonymous with SCCA National Championships and Pro Racing wins. To a person, they expressed their enthusiasm for connecting with like-minded people.
Comparing the numbers from the two virtual Conventions, the 2022 event lasted one week instead of a full month in 2021 but offered only slightly fewer sessions (66 in 2022 vs. 78 in 2021). There were also slightly fewer registered Attendees (899 in 2022 vs. 1108 in 2021), possibly because Members were still registering for the 2021 event throughout the first two weeks, and this year Members trusted the sessions would be recorded. Still, this year’s Convention saw increases in the number of attendee-watched sessions and in-app views, including double the number of profile views, and almost triple the number of individual agenda views (36,899 in 2022 vs. 13,608 in 2021). There were also substantial increases in “Meet Up” and “Community Message” participation, and a whopping 3000% increase in “Live Poll” participation. OK, to be fair, organizers asked more Live Poll questions this year. But despite the abbreviated duration in 2022, all other participation numbers were on par with or better than 2021.
As in 2021, the session videos will soon be available via the Member Account Portal on the “My Learning” tab for SCCA members, where the 2021 Convention recordings can still be found. In the meantime, attendees can find the session recordings in the Convention’s Whova platform.
