Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

[QUOTE=TYPHOON;1974863]Steve that's another way of looking at it. Unfortunately its not what most of the racers are willing to do! And we are back to Square one. All of the other organization are run as a non profit structure and even the racers pay to play at that. With so many people working so hard for free to promote the sport it just makes it so hard to see someone profit off all the hard working volunteers. It just doesn't seem to rub people the right way. I know of 50 other teams that think the same way I do and if you don't believe me wait till November again and find out again.
So knowing now how so many feel how can we possibly fix the problem of one mans domination of a place that should be the Worlds for all? Is there room for negotiation? How much would it cost to buy the site? Its obviously all about the money for JC and not the sport so what will it take?

MD:

If it was all about money for John C he would have choosen a different professison than "Powerboat Racing Promoter". I have very good intelligence about the economics of this, and trust me, few people would line up to do that job for what it pays. If you have ever seen him stand up in front of the Racers, you would know he actually likes it, he enjoys it, and it becomes cer clear in short order if you are paying attention. I believe that is why he is doing it.

I don't think that silencing intrested parties on these matters is the way to deal with it because I don't see other forums for proposed solutions. Are there meetings scheduled to suggest alternatives?, are we the only ones that care?.

For a few years this was looked at as a business opportunity by Allweiss and it grew to new levels of participation, so why is that thinking (taking him personally out of the picture) condemmed now, because you and 49 other teams think it didnlt work, or wonlt work when it obviously did. Are they dynamics so different.

I am also a Racer, have been since 1992 and have spent a fortune like a lot of people, donated lots of time, flew to many a TV Studio all over the county to do "for free" color commentary for years, and I have absolutely no problem participating in an event where the Promoter is tryig to make money from the event, as long as I get platform to do what I want to do (have fund and race) in return. If the Promoter is not for profit, that is also fine, I am doumfounded as to why it would make any difference at all as long as the Racer is getting what they bargained for.

Help me out on this if you can with some commentary.

Thanks,

Gregg Reichman

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

I make many suggestions.

We have more than enough cheerleaders. and that cheering has gotten the sport nowhere. Catering to racer's egos has been the common thread that has consistently brought this sport down. The buying public (The people who your sponsors want to attract) have repeatedly tuned out multi class racing....... deal with it..... or bury your heads in the sand.

What is needed is less rah rah...and more cold water.

I suggest, .......again, a critical self assessment be made, as in any failing business plan, new leadership, new goals, and a budget based cash management program. Couple this to a marketing plan focused solely on the premier class (and I don't care if that's Super Cat or SOB) to create some singular identity in the public's mind.

Unification is a must but it will only be accomplished by (and after) creating a successful series....not vice versa.

Now rave on with this circular conversation which is , at this writing, at least 30 years old and going stronger than the sport itself.


T2x

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Steve

This could be dangerous......

Happy New Year to you and yours........:drink: :drink:

T2x

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Congradulations to SBI/APBA and AMF for all their combined efforts to make this happen for next year. Round one is done and the rest should be easy. 2007 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years in Offshore history.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Rah Rah Sis Boom bah! lol Sorry T2x I was Cheerleading again. To expect JC to run his business and not turn a profit is wrong! Whats also wrong is the fact that Promoters in this case do not pay the performers, Boxers don't pay to fight, Musical entertainers don't pay to play. I could give a turd if JC makes a million on each race, in fact I wish he did, he works hard to make his races happen. Being fair thats the ticket. T , I don't care about what didn't happen in the past, that was then this is now, like Xtreme say's look foward to THE most exciting year in Offshore history.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Usually just an observer here since I quit racing, but I must make a quick point.

Do you think the France family got to be on the list of richest American's by running NASCAR as a non-profit?

I HATE the comparisons here to NASCAR, but thought in this case it was justified.

Back to my corner now.......

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Thanks For supporting the extreme Classes!




.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

wow mark, lets make it the best offshore year period. race here, race there. race your heart out. we will unify soon

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Candy,

nothing on the post above, but I keep reading your latest posts over and over again and I cant get over how eloquent you have become. You learned how to spell and all of your statements are clear. I must say I am very impressed with your grammatical skills improving so dramatically. Its almost as if someone else is using your screen name, but nah cant be, you would never break the TOS of Offshore Only.:doggy:

Whether people agree with your opinion or not it is a pleasure to have an intelligent conversation with you. This is how things move forward. Keep it up!!

Best to ya this year and be safe

Trent

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

LOL :D :D :D

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Trent, Just look at the last few days without spell check:D Thanks for reading and re-reading my post. Maybe there is something between my ears:eek:
MD

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

The stage is set , and the beginning of a new season is around the corner. With the Huge turn out that is expected at the Super Bowl race in a few weeks, this is just the beginning of whats to come.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Yes, I gave your posts a compliment, but dont push it:evilb:

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

[
Happy New YEAR everyone.

Thanks for supporting the Turbines Class!!

Marc

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

I went to a SBI and OSS race this year...you can do it!

I'd like to see the Super V's of OSS and SBI race together...some real proving would be taken care of, for sure!

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Bring On The Supercats(osscl ) Too. We Got Something To Prove!

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Nah........ I know too well where "nice guys" finish.

:p

T2x

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Damn right, that's exactly why people like me don't give a crap about this sport.

T2x...I don't think a critical self assessment like you suggested will do didly, it hasn't worked yet :rolleyes:

Want success? One organization, a couple of classes, more boats per class, longer races, tv contract and maybe some of us will get interested. Until there is change, this sport will go nowhere. These people in this sport seem to forget that the FAN has more and MUCH better sports/organizations to focus our little recreational time on. Why waste it on a sport that has NO identity :confused:

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Gosh, I think I'm gonna give up racing, dude call the suicide hot line and tell them all the negativity your feeling:( . When I'm not racing I go out in the ocean on the family Fountain all by my lonesome and hop waves wide open. It makes me feel good and helps me forget about how tough life can be. And frankly I don't give a crap about the fact that you don't give a crap about the sport. It's probably better your not there, you might be contageous!:eek:. Looking at pics of the old boats racing on Billy Martins post makes me realize that this sport of ours is worth it wether or not a few nay sayers want to drag us down. Indy, think happy thoughts we just started this year.:D

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

:drink: Nice post Louie

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

[QUOTE=Indy;1982254]Damn right, that's exactly why people like me don't give a crap about this sport.

Then why are you on this website and have over 2600 posts.
Just wondering :rolleyes:

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

[QUOTE=Pat D;1983693]I think he was refering to racing, not performance boating in general.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Cuda........
I understand that.
I was just curious why he commented so negatively on the racing part of the "sport" that he also participates in as a boater..............and before I posted, I took the time to read 3 pages of his other comments.
Now I fully understand.
Whatever........Have a happy boating year however you do it.
pd

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Cuda is right.

I do the same in my PowerPlay. I've been getting the same feeling you do for the 35 years I've been boating.

Boat racing is not a broad based and poplular sport for many reasons. In its pure form it's a wonderful sport but mix in all the classes, organizations, bickering, law suits, etc. and it is not easy to follow to say the least. T2x has it right. This is not a personal attack, just some feelings about the sport in general. Heck...look no further than this board in the racers section, there's OPA, GLOPRA, POPRA, BWORA, ORL, APBA, SBI and all the classes within each organization...confusing? It is to me.

I'm just frustrated that this sport can't get it's collective act together. I'm sure each organization and the racers who participate in them are great and those that attend usually have positive things to say about it, just think of the possibilities though.

And as far as thinking happy thoughts go, I can't...it's gonna be 65 degrees here this weekend and the boat's winterized :p :)

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Pat...yeah my first post comes off a bit strong, no harm intended. This is a passionate subject among you racers, fans, and potential fans (me).

Have fun on the water and be safe.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

I feel your pain, 65 here tomorrow too. Indy, were are all trying hard to make the best of things. I race with the OPA, its a perfect fit for our team and we are all friends to boot.
There has been a lot going on behind the scenes to get us all racing together, and the aproach thats being taken is a good one. If it works we will all race together at select races and the worlds, and no one looses there identity. Some sites can't support all the teams from all the organizations anyway, so it seems to be a good solution. Time will tell, in the mean time we're gonna give it all we got. If the weather stays like this any longer I'm goin swimming!!

Louie

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Everyone says they want the same thing. Its not that difficult ... so then lets do it. How about regional race series with one worlds. We pretty much already have the different series being regional so if we could get the worlds thing together we'd be done :D How about a rep from each series gettin together to do this thing? Maybe the theme for the meeting could be "For the Good of the Sport" :D

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Maybe someone older than me can comment but if I recall correctly, when everything was under APBA, it went like this.

There were four offshore divisions - NE, SE, Central, West. These divisions each ran a series of six or eight races in thier own geographic area.

Two of each of the divisional race sites would be deemed a "National" event and the boats that travelled on the "National" curcuit and chased National points would attend. In our area, Point Pleasant hosted the big National race while the APBA NE division would hold additional races in the bays and sound of NJ and Long Island.

Then everyone went to Key West in November.

I believe going back to that format is the best we can hope for. It's more comfortable for lower budget teams to stay close to home, allowing the big players to run the National events.

With OPA in the NE, OPA- Bluewater in the central region, POPRA out West and SBI in the South. It's just a matter of who wants to start driving.

No matter what, we all need to be in Key West each November, racing TOGETHER.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Ron how are we gonna find someone older then you? Unification is probably easier LOL. I also believe the regional system is the answer, it will surely build the amount of teams competing due to affordabilty and logistics, in the end it will make the worlds and other joint events humongous. Like RaceGirl say's lets do it! Uh that could be taken two ways, sorry about that.lol
Louie
PS Ron just kidding about the age thing, I still want our pics in Extreme, ok?

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Ron,
I remember those days as well.It was a pretty simple format.One sanctioning body.A national circut, supported by regional circuts in the southeast,northeast,central and the west.There was a national high points champion and a regional high points champion in each class.There were only four classes:Open1&2,Sport,
Modified and Production........ one big boat class(Open)supported by three small boat classes(Sport,Modified and Production).I can remember close to 30 boats in Production Class at the Benihana Grand Prix!The national events drew a ton of boats and the regional events did real well too.One World Championship event was held each November with all the boats competing together.It would be great to get back to that,and as you said;the foundation is already in place.

Re: The Future of Offshore Racing!!!
 

Mark I also agree with that and I hope that it gets there.But first some EGOs need to get checked at the door before it can happen and I believe that it can be done.