If I Were King I'd....

[HRTV]

Bravo Howard, while I am no longer the current owner of HydroRacer.Net your current post regarding the state of the sport is the best one I have ever read here since I started the site back in December of 2002.

Thanks

[blueskyracer]

Very nice Howard. You are and always have been very pasionate about the sport of boat racing and we appreciate your help when we show up at an APBA event.

[Ron Hill]

Thank You, Howard....

APBA Board of Directors: 11/7/2010
Follow up Open letter to APBA Board

Another season has just concluded and the continued decline in membership (-12&#37 and loss of sanctioned events continues under the current leadership.
In my business world the loss of 12% of customers and decline of income from the product the business sells would be a guaranteed departure of the top management. I don’t know how long the Board thinks this can continue or if there is any hope of turning the ship around before it runs aground.
I ask just a few questions:
(1) The President has spent thousands of $$ on a driving school program the past couple years, purchasing boats and equipment and incurring overhead cost that could have better been spent supporting struggling races with reduced cost so the races would generate some income rather than $0.00 for APBA.

QUESTION:
How many new drivers have come from this effort?


(2) The deal cut to purchase tunnel boats from a west coast supplier is now in trouble. There are orders unfilled and questions about product quality issues.

QUESTION:
Who was responsible for reviewing the viability and long term ability of the boat company to ensure this investment of APBA funds were a good business venture? (Who’s budget is paying for this?)

(3) The 30% decline in membership last year added to the 12% this year adds up to 42% of APBA customer decline in 2 years. This, combined with the loss of sanction revenues for the past 2 years must have the APBA income balance sheet bleeding of red ink! (How long has it been since the financial records of APBA have been audited?)


QUESTION:

This week you have the chance to look in the mirror and ask yourself the question that many members of APBA are asking, “HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THE PERSON IN COMMAND CONTINUE and is NOW the time for a change?”

Below for your easy reference and for the new board members information is my letter of concern from last year. I hope this week is the time for action! Not more half- baked ideas that cost APBA $$ and have little to no return on investment.

Respectfully submitted,
Howard Shaw
APBA member #1487
Region 10
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APBA Board of Directors: 3/26/2010

Open letter to APBA Board

As a long time member and paid customer of the APBA organization I feel compelled to write you this letter of concern.
I have been a member since 1963 of APBA paying my dues each year as they escalated from $34.00 a year to today’s rate’s of over $190.00. I have been a race chairmen, commodore, region activity chairman, served on APBA category commission, an approved Referee in all divisions and volunteer for many duties to support boat racing when called upon.
All this comes, as you know with no monetary reward. In fact the 100’s of us that perform these same duties across the country actually pay APBA to have the pleasure to perform these volunteer duties.
APBA gets it income from members, “paying customers” every year as membership’s dues and also from our efforts finding race sites and putting on races that generate sanction income for the ABPA business model.
As a customer of APBA I ask you to please remind President Weber that in any business the customer is king if the business is to survive. Customer satisfaction is paramount for any business that hopes to grow and prosper.
President Weber has shown over the past years that under his leadership that customer satisfaction simply does not exist and the recent decline in business income bears out that fact. The 30% decline in membership, 20% decline in sanctions, along with President Weber’s personal agendas on reversals of agreements, and inability to see the big picture, have lead to lay offs in the office as your customers become disenchanted and go elsewhere to spend their time and monies.
I have been advised that President Weber, when questioned, about the insurance agreement that he did not realize his wife worked for that company awarded the contract. Are you kidding me? Does President Weber think we are all idiots, or is it just more of the issues at hand in the management of the A.P.B.A business.
Boat racing will exist with or without A.P.B.A., there are other options out there in spite of what some would lead you to believe.
I’m sure that if you ask President Weber he would have you believe that the economy has caused this down turn and you can’t lay this at his feet.
I keep coming back to a statement that President Weber made at the Detroit national meeting that “he hoped he was not going to be the last APBA president”. Was this premonition on his part or did he know what many members are now finding out that President Weber has no customer satisfaction skills or presence and his management style is simply “my way or the highway” dictatorship.
The future of APBA is truly in your hands as APBA board of directors. Due to the fact that the paying customers (members) no longer vote in the APBA president, you as the board now control that selection process and we the customers are out of the process.
I conclude this with the hope that you as the Board will take the needed steps to improve the customer satisfaction efforts of the APBA and let your paying customers, once again have a voice that is heard as well as the chance to provide a racing series or venue as a part of APBA without needless interference by a third party because he/she disagrees with the process they have designed to run the series/events. If you choose to do nothing and disregard this letter that’s fine, again, it is your choice to change the coarse APBA is on or let it run down the current track of extinction due to lack of customer service, high cost, diminishing sanctions and declining customer base.
There are some good people at your disposal who understand customer satisfaction and opening the door to all groups or racing series that will bring new members and fans to APBA. It simply will take a President willing to open his/her eyes and listen to all customers that wish to pay for the privilege of being part of the APBA family and support the growth of boat racing for everyone.

Respectfully Howard Shaw
Region 10 # 1487

Add to the "APBA BOAT", when I explained to Mark Wheeler and Chris Fairchild where I and my friends were, we were told "THEY" had a contract. Last I heard the boat company owed APBA the first boat free and clear becasue they were late on delivery.

This same boat company is two years behind on three paid for boats, totally $13,000 plus two boats to my Japanese customers totally $14,200. I also had a contract!


I'll repeat myself, APBA is not much different than the American government...There are too many Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelsoi's in Detroit...

I'd JOIN APBA and vote for Howard Shaw for President, but members don't elect their President...Personal Water Craft Racers can't vote at all and they are a grwoing part of APBA, though not a profitable part!

You know, with computers, and most members have several, each Chariman of each division could keep track of points. We not longer need a headquaters that costs us unknown amounts...

I can get insurance for half what APBA is charging us...I have three races planned in 2011, none with be APBA.

[B Walker]

Very well said Howard, I have never met you but would be honored to buy you a beverage of your choice if we ever do meet.

Brad Walker
Member #2861

[bill van steenwyk]

Amen!!!!

+1 Howard. We as well I do not believe have ever met, but you put it perfectly, and I wholeheartedly agree with your comments.

Based on past experience I doubt you will be listened to, and all who love this sport would probably be better off if APBA just goes ahead and implodes. At least there would be a clean slate to start from and lessons to be learned from the wreckage.

[csh12M]

Brian 10S

Brian, why do you have two rigs?

At Augusta we race CSH three times in two days. Imagine if we had a few less classes? You could get the same amount of water time, maybe more, out of one rig. Then you could afford two motors for one class, so that when you sent one in for rebuild you would not be out of commission.

If you had hit our three races you would of gotten your fifteen races in.

We ALL have to CHANGE our thinking if we want CHANGE.

I am not picking on you specifically Brian, just trying to look at the problem at a higher level.

We have to look at what we can "sell" to "new name" racers!

If I were King I think I would re-engineer all the stock classes around two motor manufacturers....

Imagine this, J classes race only Mercury's with restrictor, A classes race only Mercurys. B classes race only restricted 302's, and C classes race only unrestricted 302, and that's it! No four cylinders, four cylinders are all Mod classes.

Before the Sidewinder people shoot me imagine substituting the Mercury for the Sidewinder A and the 302 for the Sidewinder 20CI. I don't care what two motors we choose, just think how much the sport could grow if we could get to that point.

Stock would have only two motors in the whole category. Technical rule book is cut in half. Getting equipment is simplified. Selling equipment is simplified. A father and teenage son could buy one rig and race it in two classes. Kids J rigs would transition directly to A. Parity concerns goes away. The race day shortens dramatically, enough to run three times in two days and still go home by 3:00pm on Sunday. All classes become National classes.

The answer is so simple and obvious, how to get there is what prevents it from happening.

Just my bored, morning coffee thoughts.

12M

[Skoontz]

CSH take that a step further to any engine in a given size range. That way some kid could take in theroy his grandfathers yickifigion motor collecting dust, hook it up to a boat and run it. Yamatos are not sold at regular dealerships. Make it easy, affordable, and simplify the process by including all of them. Choice is a powerful thing.

[Brian10s]

Brian, why do you have two rigs?

At Augusta we race CSH three times in two days. Imagine if we had a few less classes? You could get the same amount of water time, maybe more, out of one rig. Then you could afford two motors for one class, so that when you sent one in for rebuild you would not be out of commission.

If you had hit our three races you would of gotten your fifteen races in.

We ALL have to CHANGE our thinking if we want CHANGE.

I am not picking on you specifically Brian, just trying to look at the problem at a higher level.

We have to look at what we can "sell" to "new name" racers!

If I were King I think I would re-engineer all the stock classes around two motor manufacturers....

Imagine this, J classes race only Mercury's with restrictor, A classes race only Mercurys. B classes race only restricted 302's, and C classes race only unrestricted 302, and that's it! No four cylinders, four cylinders are all Mod classes.

Before the Sidewinder people shoot me imagine substituting the Mercury for the Sidewinder A and the 302 for the Sidewinder 20CI. I don't care what two motors we choose, just think how much the sport could grow if we could get to that point.

Stock would have only two motors in the whole category. Technical rule book is cut in half. Getting equipment is simplified. Selling equipment is simplified. A father and teenage son could buy one rig and race it in two classes. Kids J rigs would transition directly to A. Parity concerns goes away. The race day shortens dramatically, enough to run three times in two days and still go home by 3:00pm on Sunday. All classes become National classes.

The answer is so simple and obvious, how to get there is what prevents it from happening.

Just my bored, morning coffee thoughts.

12M

Dean,
To answer your question - 2 rigs is twice the fun.

Didn't you used to have 2 rigs??? Only 1 race in CSH, with one of the fastest rigs around (Back to Back National Championship winning rig). You had 16 heats (8 races) in CSR, why the difference? Don't you think the clubs at those other 7 races missed your CSH entry?

Not picking back but . . .

10S

[reed28n]

Brian and Dean

We are all boat whores.....seeking water time. Truthfully if someone came down the beach and asked them to run their rig today you would.

The bottom line is Dean's theory is correct. Maybe my delivery hasn't been too good over the past two years, but I have been championing the same format. Fewer classes more heats or more races. More interest. More Marketable.

To begin you need the SORC to set the standard, not plan to our lowest common denominator (any boat with any motor ever made). Setting the National standard doesn't mean playing ploitics to keeep everyone happy or following other categories or sticking to a philoshophy grown in the past with out cultivating it for the future.

Fewer classes more water time for your single class investment. It is difficult at best to justify to someone to spend as much as a jet ski and ride it way less.....

Good luck in Detroit!

[csh12M]

10S reply

Brian, spot on, when I point a finger at you I am pointing three right back at me.

My reply to your question about my CSH is: TIME. I do not have the time to work on multiple rigs, be a race director/referee , host racer schools, mentor "new name" racers, and now find site sponsors. I just don't have the time for it all. This is just my hobby. It has now gotten to the point that the amount of time needed to race and participate in racing is not worth what I am getting out of it. If I am going to race, I feel that I must do my part to put the races on. We are now spreading more work around to less people. This is why I think racing has finally reached "real" trouble. When someone like me, who has grown up in the sport thinks it is not worth it, how do we get a "new name" racer to think it is.

I have looked at our sport/hobby through many sets of eyes through the years:

Teenage racer, that just cares about winning
Young adult racer, who is building his "own" (not dads) race program
Adult racer, bent on getting in HOC
Commissioner, going to change Stock Outboard into the best Category in APBA
Jaded Commissioner, can't believe we argue about the stupidest things
Club Commodore, that wants to build the strongest club in the U.S.
Burnt out Commodore, that cant believe the amount of increasing hours

I think I have looked at the sport through many sets of eyes in my life, except for the set that it really needs to be looked at. The "new name" guy off the street.

If you look at it through a new guys eyes, our "value proposition" to that new guy has to make sense. I do not think it does.

It takes to much TIME and MONEY to be involved with racing right now. If we consolidated classes and offered more water time we could directly cut cost. If we chose a motor that was "fast" from the factory we could cut out a lot of the time needed to be competitive.

Stock Outboard, IMHO, needs to offer more to new racers. We need to put the "fun" and "competition" back into the sport at the local level. 14 classes, of four boats, with winners running extreme blueprinted motors that have been out of production for 10 years is not going to get it done.

We can "post" to ourselves all we want. We can complain about APBA and who should run it and who shouldn't. We can cry that we need marketing and promotion money. We can point fingers at the website, but until we can undertake "real" change at the fundamental level we are just throwing darts.

How do we sell racing, and what change can we make for it to appeal to more people?

[Ron Hill]

Double Your Equipment, Square Your Troubles.

Mikey Hauenstein suggested three heats with 15 laps. This IS a great idea.

Two cylinder classes for Stock, four cylinder classes for MOD. This is a great idea.

Why did I used to race BSH, CSH, DSH, CU, DU, 36, CRR, CRH, DRR, DRH, FRR,FRH at one race.....??? Too big to race "A" and too old to race J...

But I liked to race. Why do I like 300 mile endruo's today....? We like to race.

45 has been good racing for us, 2 ten lap heats, plus two five lap long course, on Saturday. On Sunday, two five lap heats on the long course, and a 25 lap final.

One boat almost 75 laps on weekend...

[csh12M]

Right on Reed

Right on Scott, I missed your post. Unfortunately, I think our vision will have to be "reborn" out of necessity. I do not believe it can be reached under the current system.

Ron, I agree, more water time. I also have been pondering 45...I still want to boat race as a "life" hobby, and more and more I have been thinking 45. My reasons are exactly what you mentioned, a ton of water time, one rig to maintain and run. Also, big races, where I don't have to do anything but race (not a prime reason, but a benefit for sure) One thing that keeps holding me back is the motors. 45 has part of the equation solved, but no new motors is a problem. I know from friends experience (Ladd, Fox) that 45 is tough to get good power in. If I was "king" of APBA finding a new 45 motor would be very high on my list of things to do. I think it is one of the coolest, entry level rides to sell to "new names". I don't really understand why APBA is trying to reinvent the wheel with Formula 4, couldn't we just try to fix the 45 engine problem.

[14J]

Unfortunately, I think our vision will have to be "reborn" out of necessity. I do not believe it can be reached under the current system.

Unfortunately, some if not many of us will be long gone when this day comes.

[14J]

Good luck in Detroit!

Another 2 ½ days of tech talk and rule changes. Oh, don’t forget the 45 minutes allotted to promoting the sport.

[3rd Chance]

Another 2 ½ days of tech talk and rule changes. Oh, don’t forget the 45 minutes allotted to promoting the sport.

Go get 'em commish!!!