Basingstoke_Scooter_Club

The fun part about the whole scooter scene, apart from the obvious interest in the machines themselves, is the ‘lifestyle’ choices that come with the genre. What could be better than beers and laughs with like-minded people in the local scooter club? Scooterist Scene will be running regular club background articles to give an insight into some of the many scooter clubs nationwide.

We start the series off with Basingstoke Scooter Club, one of the more active clubs in the south of England…..

History

Formed originally in 1982 during the Mod Revival years by a predominantly teenaged rally going crowd carried away by the heady vibes of the times, but – as age and responsibility took over - interest waned and the club lay dormant for some years. The latest incarnation of Basingstoke Scooter Club was kick started once more in 1996 by a core of three scooter fans – two from the original membership - with the intention of filling the needs locally of like-minded Vespa and Lambretta enthusiasts. From this mod-est (sic) beginning the club has grown to its current membership of over 50 members. For those who might write this sort of organisation off as just ‘boys and their toys’, Basingstoke SC has attracted a number of female members equally as committed as their male counterparts.

Activities

From a purely nuts, bolts and spanners talk shop; the club has developed into a regular social event organiser. Thus, gaining extra members just interested in the scooter scene and its eclectic mix of soul, ska and sixties rhythms. The big yearly event organised by the club is held in the autumn and sells out at a 500-ticket venue with little or no advertising, such is the interest locally. Last year’s effort headlined the classic ska legend Neville Staple and his band who were ‘blown away’ by their enthusiastic reception.

The club attracts the usual rally going crowd who are currently pushing the envelope to see just how far it is possible to travel on ten inch wheels and, of recent years, have taken to embracing continental rallies as well as northern events and the Isle of Man. The most popular rally remains the Isle of Wight International Rally, which could be viewed as a local event to this club and is attended by most of the members. Apart from the obvious pose value of this huge event, the BSC members have achieved notable successes in the custom show – not bad for ridden scooters!

Organisation

The club is run by small, enthusiastic, informal committee and a newsletter is produced to keep members up to date with the many activities open to them.

Interestingly, while some clubs boast of the feature of free membership, as a plus point, Basingstoke SC has retained a yearly £10 membership subscription. This has been kept for the simple reason that a hard core of the club feel that to pay a sub gives exclusivity and stops any Tom, Dick or Harry owning a scooter locally claiming to be a club member. The annual sub includes a free club logoed T-shirt and free entry into all the many Basingstoke SC sponsored events and is, therefore, a true bargain at the price.