As the council, we are seeking nominations for the WWSCC "special" awards for this year. The two we give out every year are Rookie of the Year, and Worker of the Year. Three awards occasionally given out are the Del Hines Sportsmanship Award, the Hard Luck Award, and the Craig Anderson/Heart of the Council Award. Brief descriptions follow:
Rookie of the Year
To be eligible for Rookie of the Year, WWSCC, a competitor must be in his or her first full year of autocrossing and a member of one of the WWSCC member clubs (SCCA qualifies). This person is not afraid to jump in and start learning about event administration right from the get-go, wants to help out, do extra work assignments or maybe just the "tough" ones. Maybe (s)he is just enthusiastic, the cheerleader type. This person may or may not be driving in the Novice class, but we already don't know what we'd do without having them around.
Worker of the Year
The Worker of the Year is pretty self-explanatory. Since SCCA has their own award, we primarily look for those who made special contribution to the WWSCC series. You see them chairing events, being rules steward, or working from registration to teardown. These people are sometimes a little harder to see at events that "their" club is not administrating, but the event chair always knows that in a crunch, this person can be counted on to do that extra bit that will make the event go smoothly. Sometimes, (s)he already is doing it without being asked.
Del Hines Sportsmanship
The Del Hines Sportsmanship award is the highest honor that WWSCC gives out, and as such, is not necessarily given out every year. This is the person who offers their car to a competitor, even when the points battle is tight. They tow someone else's car home, sometimes at inconvenience to their own plans. They are gracious in winning, and when they don't, they are the first to shake the hand of whoever does. You can usually count on seeing this person at the trophy presentation for their half of the day whether or not one is due them. They believe that the best aspect of this sport is the camaraderie of the participants, and it becomes more so for everyone else by their belief.
Hard Luck Award
The Hard Luck Award is not always given out each year either, but when it is, it goes to the person that seemed to have the deck stacked against them this year with car troubles. This award is not intended to point a finger and rub their nose in all the troubles they had, but is supposed to be a light-hearted way for the rest of us to acknowledge that we missed seeing them race more often. Did a transmission break on the way to an out of town event? Did the major engine rebuild get delayed by two months due to incompetent mechanics? (And no, simply driving a British car does not automatically nominate one for Hard Luck.)
Craig Anderson/Heart of the Council
The Craig Anderson/Heart of the Council award is not given out each year. There are awards for good driving, sportsmanship and hard work. WWSCC now has an award for bringing a smile to our faces. Autocross is more than the competition. If you just compete and don't take the time to get to know those around you, you are missing out on the best part of the sport. This award is for the fun and encouraging people - the folks who keep us coming back when we don't do well. It is for the person who gives you a smile you can't wipe off - the person who makes you look forward to seeing them at events. This person tells a good story. They are someone so special, that they make you feel special.
The Craig Anderson/Heart of the Council award is for the person who autocrosses for the joy, not the glory; for the people, not the trophy; for the fun, not the points; for the fastest smile, not the quickest time. It is for the person who gives more than they take, who shares knowledge freely and helps others, who make it a pleasure to come to an autocross. This person is the Heart of the Council.