I'm not sure people equate "professionalism" with big boats, a fleet of bat boats with support semis would do more for the sport than 1 "extreme" boat.

You can be "small" and still look professional, right? Seems the only thing people like about the "big" boats is the pit show and presents.

Agreed!
Team 611 is one of the most professional looking teams there is. Thats a 26 foot boat with Sponsors, a clean pit box, the whole deal.

Every Team should be Professional, they represent the OPA and reflect upon the other teams. I don't think you could say that people only want stuff from the big boats. The Bud, Qatar, and Geico Teams are/were a show in themselves. Big names, exotic power, leading edge technology, 180mph capabilities, Private Jets, soverign backing. Plus the simple fact they people do want stuff from these teams means they are doing exactly what the Promoters and their sponsors want. Drawing a crowd.

If having 10/15 SuperV was so great and such a great show why are they not around today? You keep saying this is what the sport needs to step to the next level yet they had it and it did not work, did it?

Don't get me wrong Dean, A Race Fleet (15 plus boats) of any size would draw a crowd. But whats easier to build, a fleet of 50k boats or a fleet of Million dollar boats? You can build to that goal of 15 Million dollar boats but to do that you need a core base of racers and that takes time and getting involved in racing (and staying in it)

A good race goes a long way, the people in Tawas talk about two things from that weekend; The race in Class 6 and Ed roosting the pier. :evilb:

You can build a race series around most anything - its not always the "size"

[YOUTUBE]qw1l9TD0wnU[/YOUTUBE]

Wahoo's coments are not without merit. The question for OPA as an organization and its teams is how to improve the show, not so much on the water but in the pits. How do we engage the fans in our sport? Does autograph sessions help by connecting fans with specific teams on a boat? Does a carnival atmosphere such as St. Clair make it more of an "event". Would stricter dress codes for teams make the organization look more professional, therefore more attractive to a promoter or event sponsor? Does a party atmosphere with loud music in the pits help or hinder the perception? All things to consider, plus many more. Our sport is one where the fans can interact directly all day long with the teams. We need to use this fan contact to our benefit. We need to draw them in and make them fans.

Agreed as well!! Maybe we should give beer out for free all day and have a car wash!!:whistle:

You gonna wear your bikini for the car wash?

I've done worse!!:eekdrop::whistle:

With the caveat that I really don't know anything about racing...........

In my opinion, it is far less about racing as it is about giving spectators a good time, which in turn will sell more beer/food/popcorn, which will in turn become a success (those vendors will make so much $$$ that they will PAY you to come back).

In my town, we have an asphalt 1/2 and 1/4 mile circle race track. Every Friday night, the "real" racers show up with rigs and cars costing 10's of thousands if not well over $100k. The stand are bare, and you can sit where you want. Not much beer or dogs sold. With that, the car count is low, and after about 3 laps it is "follow the leader". Frankly, the largest class, and the most fun to watch are the little "Hornets" which are front wheel drive/4 cylinders. There are more of them than any other class, and it is a real hoot to watch. It is less about the cars, as it is about the "experience".

On the other hand, twice a year there is an event that includes School Bus races and trailer races. At those events, they pack folks in at 15 buck a pop and the stands are full! Huge lines are at the concessions constantly so they sell tons!

Here is a YouTube clip of my son (the same one that raced our boat at St Clair last year).. In the first part, he is driving a school bus and got tired of the guy cutting him off, and in the second part, he is driving a camo'ed out Suburban with an Iowa Hawkeye flag. After the races, the fans treated him like a rock star. They do it twice a year and the promoter makes "bank".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmtRu4-U1vw

I agree (once again, I know nothing) with those that believe that a large entry level fleet will bring out spectators, especially if there are alot of them in a given class. Leaving the speed bracket will somewhat keep them bunched up. Unfortunately, there is not a huge fleet available right now to race in the upper brackets, so it makes sense to go after what is available. It seems like the most logical is to have a very, very strong entry level fleet (didn't Scott B. start there). A few will become larger teams that would hopefully fill the larger classes with enough boats to compete. Many will stay put and enjoy "entry level" racing for several years. Attracting those racers seems to be critical.

With that, our largest obstacle is not the boat itself as much as the time and the expense of race weekend. Instead of purses, it seems that tow money handed out AT the conclusion of the race for every entry level team would get more interested. If a team can know that if they race 6 races, they have an "automatic" $6k budget to work with, I think that we would see more. If we can "sell" enough beer and hot dogs, at some point communities will want the races and will pay the freight for them to be held there.

Once again, wtf do I know. That said, sometimes dumb people have the best ideas because they are not so attached to the "old ways". OPA is an awesome organization and will be successful however they choose to move forward.

After reading 11 pages of stuff i feel i need to toss in my opinion.
As a spectator of the St.Clair river race for the last 6 years and a power boat fan. The Big guys are cool but love class 5 and 6 boats and are way more fun to watch.The big boys are sweet but i would rather hang out with Bad News guys that are just racing to have a good time(even if they broke two years in a row). And his pit truck IMO is way better than a semi....

Having a SOB class would be great. I have one parked in my garage right now. I would toss in some racing seats and try my luck. I would not even try to race it in the ocean. But I would go to all 3 MI races.