Region 5 Class Structure Thoughts??

[YankeeRacing]

Dan,
You and I think alike. There have been a few times over the years that some of my adult children did not have insurance: college, changing jobs, etc. If they wanted to stay in my family they listened to me and did not race during that time. I wasn't going to have that on my conscience and I would not let them ruin their futures over going to a boat race and gambling on getting hurt and not being able to pay for it.
If a racer can't afford insurance he/she should be getting a second job to while away their extra time. Not boat racing. This is a hobby sport. None of us make our living racing. We do it for fun, or at least we better.
There is a solution presented for helping our sport-it is to run some of your races AOF. That is an out of the box solultion, but no one wants to hear something that might work. We all just want to continue to whine and die slowly. Hey, and I have nothing to do with AOF anymore. I am just wanting the sport that I love to be around for my grandchildren. It is a great way of life with some really nice people.
Connie Payn

[G Stillwill]

Almost all personal health insureance has a clause in the small print somewhere that its nul and void if you get hurt in any kind of motor sport accident. Mine got canceled many years ago when they found out I had a drag car and raced it at the track and I didnt get hurt or even turned in a claim but that was their policy and it took awhile to get other insurance so your insurance might not be worth the paper its printed on if you race any kind of motor sports.

[HRTV]

Almost all personal health insureance has a clause in the small print somewhere that its nul and void if you get hurt in any kind of motor sport accident. Mine got canceled many years ago when they found out I had a drag car and raced it at the track and I didnt get hurt or even turned in a claim but that was their policy and it took awhile to get other insurance so your insurance might not be worth the paper its printed on if you race any kind of motor sports.

Hey George,

With all due respect I think you miss my point so let me clarify. My point was without any type of medical insurance hospitals in some states can actually turn you away from the emergency room and refuse treatment unless you are able to pay with cash or credit. If you don't have insurance you have no business racing plan and simple! I know this is a personal subject and one many folks might see as invasion of there privacy and refuse to discuss here on HR but I still feel its pretty serious topic that should be brought up.

[YankeeRacing]

I am just curious. What is the deductable on APBA insurance? Last year a friend was hurt and told me it was $7500 before APBA's kicked in which was secondary to his own policy anyway. I guess I could read my membership info, but it is easier to ask.
Connie

[Big Don]

You'd be surprised at how many boat racers DON'T have insurance.

In fact, APBA's premium went up for 2007 because of so many claims made in 2006.

Dana is right on...I don't know the correct numbers but maybe Ed Hearn does as to how many racers don't have medical coverage. I seem to remember something like 40% don't have medical insurance????????

[HRTV]

Dana is right on...I don't know the correct numbers but maybe Ed Hearn does as to how many racers don't have medical coverage. I seem to remember something like 40% don't have medical insurance????????

40% !!! this is mind blowing I never knew this, how can you afford a motor home and brand new $3000 boat plus new motor props etc. yet you cannot afford heath coverage ? I know this is personal but my God these numbers are mind blowing this is all new to me sorry. 40% !!!

[YankeeRacing]

That blows my mind also.
It is personal, but for every driver out there who does not have medical coverage and expects APBA to cover, even if APBA is secondary, just raises the cost for the rest of us who pay the health insurance premiums every month.
One suggestion: If you are ever sent to a hospital from a boat race, never mention "racing accident." Make sure you say, "boating accident."
This can make a difference.
However, for medical, I have found over the years that health insurance does cover medical boat racing accidents. Now life insurance is a whole 'nother story. Most do not cover. Unfortunately, I found that out the hard way when we lost our Dennis in a boat race.
GET MEDICAL INSURANCE OR DON"T RACE> This is coming from a mom and grandmother of racers!!!
Connie

[HRTV]

That blows my mind also.
It is personal, but for every driver out there who does not have medical coverage and expects APBA to cover, even if APBA is secondary, just raises the cost for the rest of us who pay the health insurance premiums every month.
One suggestion: If you are ever sent to a hospital from a boat race, never mention "racing accident." Make sure you say, "boating accident."
This can make a difference.
However, for medical, I have found over the years that health insurance does cover medical boat racing accidents. Now life insurance is a whole 'nother story. Most do not cover. Unfortunately, I found that out the hard way when we lost our Dennis in a boat race.
GET MEDICAL INSURANCE OR DON"T RACE> This is coming from a mom and grandmother of racers!!!
Connie

Good post Connie I know several folks will read this and say there goes Connie and Dan again just starting trouble but please folks don't think of this as complaining or starting trouble but a wake up call and food for thought. This is a very serious topic that should not be over looked, we talk about everything else here on HR why not a discussion about our health and well being.

[nicf14]

If you race without health coverage you are nuts! In 2004 I Flipped my 250 hydro testing and broke my neck, I was in the hospital over 12 weeks. My insurance company paid over $1,000,000. The doctors said with no insurance I would have been gone in three weeks. If you race with no coverage you can loose everything. I have private coverage for less than $100 a month. If you can't afford that, you can't afford to race.

[Lights]

If you race without health coverage you are nuts! In 2004 I Flipped my 250 hydro testing and broke my neck, I was in the hospital over 12 weeks. My insurance company paid over $1,000,000. The doctors said with no insurance I would have been gone in three weeks. If you race with no coverage you can loose everything. I have private coverage for less than $100 a month. If you can't afford that, you can't afford to race.

I agree with Dan, Connie and Nic. Everyone that races can at least afford major medical coverage. It is the cheapest form of medical coverage out there. It will not pay for the little things but it will cover your @ss when your in the hospital. If you can't afford it DON'T RACE!


Mark

[DougMc]

If you race without health coverage you are nuts! In 2004 I Flipped my 250 hydro testing and broke my neck, I was in the hospital over 12 weeks. My insurance company paid over $1,000,000. The doctors said with no insurance I would have been gone in three weeks. If you race with no coverage you can loose everything. I have private coverage for less than $100 a month. If you can't afford that, you can't afford to race.

Nic - The nurse at the hospital when I broke my leg at Lakeland said she was your aunt or cousin. She took good care of me.

All - Here is how the APBA insurance worked for me. They paid 100% of my health insurance deductible. My health insurance picked up the rest. The APBA's K&K, Howie Nichols and Lou from South Florida were awsome! From reading the APBA paper work it seemed that if one had no health insurance the APBA insurance would pay up to $25,000 and one would pay the first $250. The insurance and way I was treated by all is top notch. I'd gladly pay more for an entry fee to know they are there for me.

[Composite Specialties]

Insurance

When I had my wreck in lakeland in 1992, APBA insurance paid everything that my primary did not pay. I had no issues at all.

Now, can we get back to more opinions on the Region 5 class restructuring, the more opinions the better info they have to make changes.

[greybeard]

Insurance question...

This topic also surfaced a couple years ago. There was a post in that thread that a racer had private coverage that was specific to participation in and the travel to and from a race at a reasonable cost. I do not recall the carrier name or any other specific being in the thread. Does anyone else recall this?

[Dave M]

Yes

This topic also surfaced a couple years ago. There was a post in that thread that a racer had private coverage that was specific to participation in and the travel to and from a race at a reasonable cost. I do not recall the carrier name or any other specific being in the thread. Does anyone else recall this?

Sorry, off topic, but Shaun O'leary here in MI has medical coverage specific to Boat Racing. It cost him less than $50.00 a month for his entire family to be covered. It is just the ticket for those not insured. You would have to ask him the provider. He actually made them send him a ligned letter form the company indicating they WOULD cover boat racing accidents.

[washburn]

The cost of putting on a race has increased over the years. I think 6K is a very realistic figure for a no-frills race. Sanction and insurance 2500. Ambulance 2000, divers/trained rescue crew ???, rooms / expenses for officials??, Portta Potties at race site, etc. Safety should be a major consideration for our drivers. Racing with out a trained rescue team on the water is insane for any category. If there is a bad accident that initial care can make a major difference in how things turn out. I also put questions after rooms /expenses for officals. These folks work hard for us and should at least have their expenses paid for. I would also ad advertising into the race budget if you want more boats from other areas and ever hope of getting sponsors and keeping them.
We have three sources of revenue to pay for the event, sponsors, spectators and racers. To pay for an event with entry fee alone it would take 60 + entry at 100 per entry. No prize money.
If we want spectators and sponsors we need to put on a show that people are interested in watching and understand. We need to make sure that there is a mix of Fast boats that get the spectators' attention mixed with the slower classes in each flight. Like it or not spectators do not understand the clock start unless it is explained to them several times. Good announcers help. While most of us can appreciate the skill it takes to do a good clock start or the competition of some of the smaller classes, The average spectator did not come to see boats that he could carry in his bass boat faster than they can go. The announcers need to sell this and build the excitement. As drivers we need to make sure that we furnish bios when we enter.
If we decide to go the spectator and sponsor route we need to advertise the event locally and promote it. If we do not we will not get a crowd and we can most likely not plan for the sponsor to return in future years. Sponsors buy eyes on their product, or logo. If we plan to make the money off of the spectators the venue needs to be one where we can control the entry of the crowd. Many of the sites we race at are wide open for anyone to walk up and watch with no hope of a gate. Some of the venues we race at even charge us to race there. If we can develop races that have sponsors or a gate there is hope that we may be able to at least get our entry fee returned or more in prize money.
As far as classes go: I think that this is something that is ultimately up to the promoter/club putting on the event. I can make a valid arguement for many of the classes not included in Howie's list and an arguement against some of the classes included. This last weekend we had 8 Mod u's on the course and only 4 SST 60. Should we drop 60? NO! We need every boat we can get but to make the race work for everyone we need to race at locations that are appropriate for the categories involved. Do not expect a bunch of OPC's to launch on a one lane washed out ramp, inboards to crane in over a swamp, or pros to launch from 6 ft. sea wall.

This is one of my favorite quotes from this thread and one that I agree with.
"I do believe that their are at least 6 or 7 Pro capsules down there, are they not thought of as a viable class in your plan?
RLR"
There are a bunch of boats in the garage. We need to get them out and at the races. As drivers we need to beg, threaten or help these people get their boats on the water or sold to someone that will run them. The drivers in each class need to call each other to drum up support for the upcoming race. Why not a Pro capsule catch all class? Call it Top fuel or Pro U. 500's 700's 1100's This is the type of class that spectators would would run to the water to watch if you could get 5 to 6 boats. This would be similar to OPC's MOD U. Legit MOD U's, Mod 120's, Carbed motors whatever you want to run.

Let's get the boats out and go racing!!!