Gathering in Malaysia!

[krishtiano]

Im planning to organize a 131 gathering in Malaysia. Since i cant be able to attend the 3MA08, I want to have a local event. I need help and guidance from all of you guys. please tell me how to organize this event.

Thanks In advance guys!

-Krish-

[kev131]

Hi Krish

Apologies that we havn't responded before now.

So you are planning a 3MA in your home country? Great - I wish you every success.

PEOPLE & CARS : The number 1 ingredient in a successful event is a network of enthusiastic Mirafiori owners. It might sound obvious but unless you have the cars and a means of contacting the owners it may be quite difficult.

FORMAT : After that I would suggest engaging people on what they would like to see from such an event. You could keep this to a committed nucleus of the group or spread it wider. Our approach was to agree among 3 or 4 of the organisers what format it was going to take and then hope that it would appeal to others - Luckily that format for 2007 seemed to work well and we will probably work off that again for 2008.

ROADS : Select your location and routes with care - These are old RWD designs and are not at their best on M-ways when compared with modern cars - Pick challenging driving roads that engage twirling arms, constant gear-changing, all the pedals and in a spot where you can indulge in some harmless hooliganism! I would say that the highlight of 3MA07 was the driving - Everyone had big smiles on their faces at the end of each day with lots of stories to tell! You might like to drive the roads beforehand to prepare route maps. These were quite useful when we used them - And not when we strayed away from them!!?

OTHER ATTRACTIONS/HOTEL : Throw in some interesting scenery, comfortable and sociable accomadation, a rough plan for each day that can change if needs be without impacting on the rest of the event, etc and you have most of it done.

OTHER : Remember your camera, camcorder (and a camera car would be brilliant) sponsorship for some prizes if you can, large group dining arrangements, a guest speaker if possible and helpful hotel staff.

ADVERTISING : You also need publicity to spread the word and doing it alone is too much hard work. get some help and do it as a team and you should be well on your way. Use the classic car publications, enthusiast websites, free ads, etc. Keep in touch with everyone and let them know the dates and details as soon as possible. A dedicated website like this was invaluable for getting the credibility we needed to prove that we were serious.

Don't underestimate the work - Writing it all down now it seems like a lot and it is - It's all worth it in the end though!

Best of luck.

Theo/Simon - Would you add anythiong...?

[simon131]

I don't think that there's much more to add Kev - you seem to have covered all of the bases.

Never under estimate the power of advertising though and make sure that as many potential local participants are made aware of the details as is possible. I for one was extremely surprised at how many people knew who I was when I first visted Ireland for the do at Ratoath in March 2006. (A bit freightening really!). It was clear that although people hadn't contributed to the 'webchat' they were watching it and absorbing it!

The thing that I think made the first 3MA work was the fact that Kev spent lots of time talking to potential attendees - be it at car shows or on the phone. It was the 'personal' approach, that the Irish seem to do better than most other nations, that I'm sure contributed to the event. The results speak for themselves in the number of 131s we had turn out for the 2007 event.

As Kev has said, lots of hard work, but I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end

Best of luck Krish, let us know how things go for you.

Cheers

Simon

[Thotos]

Did we really do all that? I thought we just made it up as we went along 

What I would also say is don't underestimate the amount of work involved. I've heard stories of people who organise what sounds like very interesting events and then nobody turns up!  That's something that you certainly don't want to happen. So I'd say that the most important first step is to contact some 131 owners and gauge interest in your event. There was 3 of us who started organising the 3MA in 2007 and we were always prepared to have a meeting with just 3 cars if it came to it!

So contact all the owners of 131s you can and let them know what you are thinking of doing and see if they may be willing to join in. Also try to get some suggestions for dates  so you'll have a reasonable idea of when to have the event and how many are likely to attend. You then need to decide on the length of your event. Having just a single day event makes organisation much simpler as you don't have to arrange overnight stays, parking arrangements, meals etc. 

A dedicated website like this was invaluable for getting the credibility we needed to prove that we were serious.

You don't have to go as far as a dedicated website so feel free to use this website forum to advertise your meeting. Contact all your Malaysian 131 friends and owners and get them to log on here for updates. Let me know when (should  I say 'if'?) the organisation of the meeting gets going and we'll consider giving you your own "3MA-Malaysia" section.

[krishtiano]

Thanks kev,simon and theo!

Wow...it certainly is not a task for the faint of heart huh?  Till now there are 2 of us who are from Malaysia here in the forum( me and ame ), and both of us are students in our respective varsities. Is that right or did i miss out someone? 131's are hard to come by here. If i happen to see one, it most probably will be and old man doing 20km/p. I'll arrange for a meeting with ame. and see how things go. Maybe I'll take time. But I'll make it happen.

regards;

Krish

[Baja141]

Looks like I have to start painting my rust bucket 

[kevyim]

COunt me in as well.
I have another friend who driving Lancia Prisma, I believe he will join too.
Cheersssss...