Race With Michael Schumacher!

After 1 hectic month of preparation, the day has finally arrived; go-karting event. I have put a lot of effort in it as this is the first event I have to organise for the international students of The University of Western Australia (UWA). My first individual task for International Student Service (ISS).

On the way to Wanneroo Kart Hire.

Despite some misunderstandings, we managed to depart from the uni on time. Time was very limited since we were going in a large crowd and the track is only opened from 9a.m. to 12p.m. on Saturday.

Some go karts at the entrance to welcome us.

We reached Wanneroo Kart Hire after a 45 minutes bus ride. I was quite excited when I first saw the kart track.

Racing go-karts.

When I stepped into this small building with all the go karts lining side by side, I was greeted by the lady boss, Julia. She is the lady who has helped me with all the preparation for this event.

For safety reasons, helmet is a must.

After all the participants had signed up, we were told to wait for further instructions/briefing.

Wanneroo Kartway Track.

This is the 1025 metres long track where it was used for the 2005 National Karting Championships. Seriously, I couldn't wait to race. You know, the rush to become Michael Schumacher (the most successful Formula 1 driver). :P

Ready?

It was a competition based racing. Each person has 2 laps of practice followed by 3 heats of 3 laps each. The fastest driver wins the race.

Can you guess who's that driver ahead?

After a short briefing, the race started! It is a fun and challenging sports I would say. I could smell the burning tires while racing till my heart almost popped out!

Don't block me!

At first, everyone went slow and steady. After the practice, you could see there's no need for the drivers to press on the brake pedal. Everyone, including the girls, went as fast as the wind.

Not driving? Be the spectators.

Considering only 10 people could go for each laps, most of us had to stay aside to become the spectators. Some even became the cheerleader for their friends.

I couldn't go faster than you but my head is harder than yours!

Some were not interested either, to become spectators or cheerleaders. So, they had to find some entertainment for themselves. Competition outside the track; whose head is harder. :P

"Get lost!"

Poor doggy. Some of them were trying to "disturb" her. But, in a good way, of course.

Schumacher's pose.

The race ended after about 2 and a half hours of race. You can roughly tell, I was not the fastest driver overall but I did enjoy the race till the end. I came last for the first lap (I need to avoid someone crashing into me, that's why ended up last!), third for the second lap and fourth for the third lap.

The winners with Julia.

Came first is David, followed by Eric and Kai Xin. Only the first place winner claimed a trophy from the Wanneroo Kart Hire. How I wish I can get that trophy. Anyway, luck was not with me though.

An Easter egg for Julia.

To thanks Julia for all the help she has offered, I gave her an Easter egg. It's a courtesy afterall. :)

Engineering buddies.

Thanks to all my friends who have been so supportive. Without them, this event wouldn't be that successful.

Group photo.

I have done my best. I hope everyone enjoys the race. I strongly recommend go karting to everyone who has not tried it before. Once you have tried it, you'll want it more. :)

What I have done/Experience
Prior to the event:

• prepared briefing for the committee who were helping me with the sign up. Actually I didn't need to but then, I think it is essential to make sure everything goes smoothly.
• designed and printed out the posters and flyers before sending them to the person in charge for approval (without approval, the posters and flyers cannot be distributed in the uni).
• sent out emails to promote this event.
• called bus company and go kart company for bookings.
• determined a reasonable fee for the students so that the ISS won't lose any money and at the same time, the students can afford to pay it.
• planned additional stuff such as to buy some Easter eggs for the participants to attract them for the next trip/event, to buy a souvenir for the go kart company and so on.
• sent out email reminders to all the participants.
  
• deal with last minute sign up which is what I don't like. The students had two weeks to sign up for the event and I don't see any point why they wanted to sign up last minute.

On the day of the event:

• handled some leceh "customers".
• collected the fees which some of the students haven't paid.
• made sure everyone is happy with the event.

After the event:

• settled the payments with the bus company and also the go kart company.
• prepared an account for the event.
• have to write a report for the event as well.
  

It's not easy to organise an event. Nevertheless, I like the satisfaction when everything has been done well. I look forward for my next event. At the mean time, I have to catch up with my studies which has been left untouched for quite some time.