Boat count or Fan Count
 

All Organizations have their strong points, all have some classes that the competeition is top notch, all have classes that dont field a lot of boats. Is boat count that important??
Or would it be safe to say for a successful event a good fan count is more important??

we obviously can say what a great time we have at a race,
but are we missing the point as to what the fans think??

You dont patronize the races, But you patronize the race site online ? why ? Just wondering :rolleyes:

I think if you have a good boat count than the fan count will be good also. I think the race site has to be some place where the rest of the family will enjoy themselves the whole weekend. But even the best race site isn't worth going to if the boat count is weak.

I always think that this is such a mess

It is about the promotion, the TV, the boats, and the fans! Oh buy the way a race

Why is it Skateboarders get more coverage than boat racing ?? Why more coverage for or Tour De France ? Why is it that the Kentucky Derby is Hyped for a week straight on TV only to have a three minute race

People come for the event, but they also come for all the hype and activities leading up to it and the coverage as a result is awsome

Obviously it is about boat racing but it does not need to be more fan friendly (Close to shore roundy round ) it needs to be EVENT friendly

Example
Dakar Race, Tour DE France, Baja Racing, Idideraod dog sled race, even Grand Prix racing- None of these are fan friendly as far as watching them

Dour De France Ididarod, and Dakar just blow buy the fans ONE TIME but look at the coverage and fan base

Until we recognized that it is about the event in general, not just the race, it will never become mainstream

To answer this thread, it is not just boat count or fan count
IT IS ABOUT THE EVENT as a whole

Boat Count and Fan count will increase with better exposure

John Haggin AMF has done a great job of making the public aware. As well as David Scott and Bud Select
The question is how do we help them since they are doing it all alone.

The 1 hour show on the Lizard boat (Geico, Scotty B and Mark G) on discovery channel was simply AWSOME The momentum needs to stay up at a high exposure pitch

My question is how can we help keep up the exposure ? It has to be championed by more than one or two groups

My hat is off to John Haggin and David Scott and there staffs for there efforts

Ok i am done rambling it is early :)

Tell somone new about performance boating EVERY DAY

Boatme,

It is about the event, this weekend in LOTO! I have never been there, I look forward to seeing the area! As for the races, I would like to see some good competitive races, but as long as the area has quality food and quality entertainment,
it means my money will be well spent, and that is what the producers are looking for!

I agree with you guys, it is all about the event,but, that was not the question asked. I will go with boat count, the larger the boat count the more people show up, and that is just with the boats alone. More people tell more people and like the shampoo commercial the event gets larger. Team Gieco is an awesome presence in Racing and kick every event they attend up to a higher level. The problem I see is that everyone expects Team Gieco to carry all the weight. As a Racer and Race Promoter I've come to realize this is everyones job, from the smallest teams to the big boys we all need to help.
Good news is, that is what I have been seeing, my fellow racers are putting on a great show at every Race and following an example from Team Gieco, the Teams are looking great and fans are building and the sites want us back.
Mark, you put its all about you? Don't patronize events because
you don't like the product? Shame on you my friend, you don't know what your missing. Louie

So what happens "IF" they went away?? hypothetical but none the less!

It would be a HUGE loss, but we would still be racing.

Like Dean said it would be a huge loss and a huge "IF". Getting to know John, Scotty, Marc, Jerry and the whole crew, well I think they love Racing too much to leave us. That is why I say it is all of our responsibility to help with the business of Racing, A) Not to overload the premier team and B) to keep us going if any team departs. Pete how about asking questions like what happens if 10 more teams like Gieco step into the arena? hypothetical but none the less!
Louie

They still set an example for the rest to follow. Team Gieco has raised the bar even in their own camp. Very professional. I for one am proud to be a part of what they do. Smitty

I have been to LOTO!!! It is a GREAT Place for a race and Osage Beach is a great town for supporting a race


I helped my Wife (Cherie) put on races here a few years ago (She was Risk manager for the APBA Silver Cup Series) and we talk about putting on a different kind of offshore race possibly in the future

Cherie, Bob L, and Myself have put on a successful poker run here (SOTW) to great success so I know a little about putting on events

We billed the events in our area as a Mini Key West and it is with all the cool things needed to attract people to the area as well as the events

We had Good Food, Good venue, good staff, Ect... still we lost a bit of money in producing races.

Worse no one saw the race but the 100,000 fans that were here that day

After everyone left the event it was only a memory that was saved by a low budget film maker and never really dispersed to the public. Shown on some obscure network and moderated poorly and incorrectly and then never seen again

I probably own 1/2 of the video tapes produced from those events :) (I think I have 6 tapes LOL)


As far as the "IF" factor
There has always seemed to be one or two groups holding up the offshore racing experience more than anyone else

We need it to get to the point that when one big supporter (David Scott, John Haggin ect..) leaves that the impact to the sport wont be so large

We need MANY groups supporting in that fashion. We also need many sponsors and organizations helping out so these guys don’t have to foot all the bills to get the exposure

Enter in to the mix (weather you like it or not ) mainstream TV

Until more exposure is given to the event site, the process, the characters involved, and all the peripheral things that go along with boat racing (not just the race) we will never get it into mainstream

I still think there are a lot of racers on shoe string budgets that deserve an opportunity for there moment in the sun

These guys and girls are great professionals and we need to somehow help them get the exposure they all deserve buy having an entry level race circuit (Like home town dirt track racing ) followed by semi pro (Bush series) then Pro (NASCAR) so that those interested can work there way up to the top of the sport. Again this will provide many new challenges but also more exposure

I am done with my rant
I LOVE THIS SPORT I WANT EVERYONE ELSE TO LOVE IT TO :)

I think we know what the answer would be!

Boatme -

You, Cherie and Bob do put on an awesome event! Smoke on the Water grew to be a benchmark in poker runs. I have always brought up that OPA should have an event in Grand Haven. I could just imagine that city when the crew rolls into town!!! :cool-smiley-027:Would be a huge event and the potential for BIG water is there. Boatme....smitty....what'd ya say...Grand Haven in '08????

Oh and to answer the questions...boat count. It wasn't until I started having family and friends coming to the races that I realized just how boring a race can be with low boat count.

If you build it they will come...racers and fans alike!!!

[QUOTE=fantastixvoyage;2286995]Boatme -

You, Cherie and Bob do put on an awesome event! Smoke on the Water grew to be a benchmark in poker runs. I have always brought up that OPA should have an event in Grand Haven. I could just imagine that city when the crew rolls into town!!! :cool-smiley-027:Would be a huge event and the potential for BIG water is there. Boatme....smitty....what'd ya say...Grand Haven in '08???? QUOTE]

How about 2009 ? It is going to take over a year to do what we are thinking of doing

I will scan a couple of the articles from the last race that i helped Cherie put on here

You will be amazed by the articles

Everyone has good points and I think you definitely need a good boat count and that will get you a good fan count. As a race fan I want to see the boats racing as close to me as possible and on a short course of about 4-5 miles so that the fans and the racers can see and have continuous race action. Television coverage seems to be what is lacking. It has to be the same day or one week after the race, not 2-3 months later. Everyone is a buzz about the Discovery Channel Show ( Built Bigger ), why because things like that are seldom seen on TV and viewers get to see something different for a change instead of the same old thing. I want to see everyone racing together as a fan and not divided because it hurts the sport in a big way. This year I have seen racers and race organizations racing together and it made for some great race action for us race fans. Boat Count and Fan Count go hand and hand. I can't wait for next year and I sense a big change for the better coming to Offshore Powerboat Racing.

I'm leaving in 4 hours Pete!
With last minute plans, I will be there ! :ernaehrung004:

Also, I will be armed with a brand new EOS 1D ....

I just couldn't think of doing another event without having a back up camera..... :ernaehrung004:

Our group, Sea Quest Kids "the little league of boating" has been trying to make race venues more family friendly. We have established Sea Quest Kids leagues in city's around the country and have tried MANY times to get sanctioning bodies to include us as part of the package that comes to towns along with the Main Event. We get kids from the local venue to build our Sea Quest 100, kids age 5 and up build the entire project along with learning boater safety and teamwork. We have had several race teams jump in and race the boats with the kids and ALL involved have a great time.
To make race venues more family friendly and promote the sanctioning body by leaving a legacy in that town, Sea Quest Kids is an affordable but long lasting impression

M.M.
My comment to you was made when it looked and sounded like you were a basher, that is obviously not accurate and I apologize for jumping on you. I invite you to come by our pits and say hey. It would be cool to put faces with names on this site, we will also have plenty of beer, so until Key West take care !!! Mike S-13 BOBKAT / STIHL racing