Ron P

Unification is alive in Offshore Racing! Wow it felt great to finally say that.

For the first time in many years, the offshore racing organizations are talking and finding ways to work together rather than finding ways to harm each other. Maybe it will be different this time since the racers are in charge of the asylum and there's no promoter looking to line his pockets with their money. This time the racers hold the purse strings and will be making decisions with their own best interests and the interests of the fans and sponsors in mind.

OPA – headed up by Ed Smith (Smitty) has taken the lead on bringing the offshore troops back together. You know Smitty from Wazzup Racing and the Jersey Boyz. Last year, the first piece of the unifications puzzle fell into place when OPA and the Blue Water Offshore Racing Association (BWORA) came together and ran some joint races during the 2005 season. This year, OPA and BWORA came up with a formula that allowed for racers to race for free AND share in a $25,000 purse at almost every event. That alone has caused fifty-six race teams to register with OPA for the 2006 season.

The second piece of the puzzle recently fell into place when POPRA – (The Pacific Coast Powerboat Racing Association) signed on to use the OPA rulebook during the 2006 racing season. Kevin Cooper, the President of POPRA and Smitty came to an informal agreement that allows POPRA to use the OPA rulebook and for both groups to acknowledge registered OPA/POPRA boats at races on both coasts, should anyone want to take a drive. With an East Coast and West Coast circuit using the same rules, a showdown in November at the Worlds is something we can all look forward to watching.

Now that OPA, BWORA and POPRA have come together, they needed somewhere to hold their East vs. West Performance Class World Championship races. Key West was the first choice, but because of a rule that requires every boat to pay over $3000 in registration and entry fees, OPA, BWORA and POPRA decided to built upon the relationship that was forged last summer when OPA and BWORA shared the racecourse in St Clair with boats from the Offshore Super Series.

The final piece of the puzzle came into place when OPA and OSS came to an agreement that will have the two groups sharing the racecourse in St Clair again this summer and in Destin Florida for a joint World Championship event, November 5 – 12. At the Worlds, the Performance Class boats will run on Wednesday and Saturday while the OSS boats will race on Thursday and Sunday. A full week of racing is more than any fan could ask for. Plan on being in Destin to witness one hundred boats racing for the title of World Champion.

Everyone is welcome in Destin. If you're not an OPA or OSS racer and want to race in Destin, the rules are as follows. To race with OSS, you'll need to meet their rule requirements and have run in at least two races with any organization during the 2006 season. For OPA, it's a bit different, the rule is - bring it. No entry fees, and OPA won’t collect 2007 registrations fees until next January, so you won't pay a penny to race in Destin. And you'll run for a $25,000 purse. Who could ask for anything more?

The groundwork has been set and OPA is looking forward to a long a mutually rewarding relationship with OSS similar to Busch and NASCAR racing. Every sport needs a minor and a major league so this unity between the groups should help to bolster the racing fleets and begin to bring this sport back to it's former glory.

The simplicity of this deal is why it will work. No money is changing hands, no one is “in charge” just four separate racing organizations each with their own identity working together for the betterment of the sport. Each with their own series of races, yet coming together in November for one huge party. With harmony within the sport and solid platforms to build upon, the racing fleets will swell in 2006 and watch out 07.

Get ready folks, the best season of Offshore Racing in many, many years is about to get started. No matter where you live, there's a race in your backyard.

May 07 - OSS - Pickwick, TN
May 19 – OSS - Ft. Myers, FL
June 4 – OPA - Algonac, Michigan
June 11 – OSS - San Juan, PR
June 25 - OPA- Point Pleasant, NJ
July 9 – POPRA – Long Beach to Catalina, CA
July 9 – OPA - Mentor, Ohio
July 16 - OSS - Toronto, Canada
July 30 – OSS and BWORA/OPA - St. Clair, MI
August 13 – OPA - Fall River, Mass
August 20 – OSS - Orange Bch, AL
Sept 10 – OPA - Ocean City, MD
September 17 – OSS - Las Vegas, NV
Sept 24 – OPA - Cambridge, MD – Performance Class National Championships
November 05 – OSS and OPA - Worlds Destin, FL

For more details, visit these web sites.

www.pacificoffshore.com
www.offshoresuperseries.com
www.oparacing.com/
www.stclairrace.com

Thank you,

OPA

1HYPER1

Great job to all the parties involved,this is a MAJOR step in the right direction.Once again great news.Good luck to everyone and most of all have a safe season.

thedonz

well i just finish getting my popcorn and coke........... . But as always i support everything my bud Ron P says and believe it 100 %..never has let me down. Go gettem Boyz

Jr Mike

orss

great Job Guys

Semper Fi

I lost interest in racing like alot of people have because of the B.S. politics.....it ruined the sport

CigDaze

I commend the efforts, and continue to wish every day for true unification, but we're still only halfway there.

Fact of the matter is that there will be two world championships again this year.

How is that unification, or being in a state or quality of being one?

Nevertheless, I am happy to see many of the little pieces coming together.
The state of the sport is certainly becoming less and less fractioned.

Ange

Gentlemen, as usual it seems that there are those willing to rain on the parade. I don't see that Ron has claimed total unification anywhere in his post. He merely said that unification is alive and that the FIRST piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. I dare say that there are plenty of others besides me that are appreciative for all of the hard work Smitty and the others have put into making this happen. Who knows, a little POSITIVE reaction could show the powers that be that the racers and fans alike really do want to race as one group.

Thanks Ron for letting us know the good news and thanks to OPA, POPRA, BWORA and OSS for their efforts.

orss

i think you nailed, great post ange,rf

Phantom1

While I congratulate the people that worked so hard to put this together, I agree with Marc on one thing. To use the word "unification" is misleading. It's very definition implies "one" body.

unification - the act of making or becoming a single unit; "the union of opposing factions";

I personally think that Carbonell has pissed away any opportunity to capitalize on APBA's 100 year tradition, but to call the successful "strategic alliance" of OSS, OPA, POPRA and BWORA "unification" is rediculous. You know how most in the offshore community define unification, it's been a constant topic for years.

I don't say this as an SBI fan I assure you. In fact, I have no plans to attend any of their races this year - but the Destin event sounds pretty good.

Congratulations on the new Strategic Alliance, it makes sense for all parties involved.

Ron P

Phantom, get past the minor details. This is the best thing that's happened to this sport in many years.

United we race!