Tweet
There were some good points bought up regarding the APBA, and how it's struggling, but I wanted to take a look at other points that are hurting boat racing.
Let's take a look at expenses of going to, and racing at a single event...
I picked 2 points in my region - though perhaps the two farthest, they are still both in my region.
1000 miles of driving (each direction) - IF you drive a hybrid tow vehicle, and keep your load very light, you MIGHT get 20mpg - so figure 50 gallons of fuel each way, 100 gallons total - cost for gas to drive to / from a race; $365.00 (at $3.65 a gallon)
Hotel - again, unless you bring camping gear, and can camp at the race site, I allotted $240.00 - again, I'm figuring 2 rooms at $60.00 a night each, and if you've booked a hotel lately, that $60.00 figure is a little low, but if you find the cheapest place, don't mind a little bit of a drive each day / etc.
Entry Fee - most are more, but I'm figuring $100.00
Food - $20.00 a day, figuring 4 people and 2 days - $160.00
So, you're at $865.00, and haven't gotten your race fuel, or incurred any incidentals yet.
So, another thing to take a look at, is how expensive it is to race - not including equipment, repairs / etc., vs tow money. I know at some races, tow money is less than $500.00 - so you're still incurring a cost of almost $400.00.
There are a lot of guys that just love to race, so eat this expense - consider it an expensive hobby, but with the economy still being crap, fewer and fewer racers are willing to do this, thus smaller boat counts, and fewer races.
Next, throw in (what is my opinion) WAY too many race classes. If you want to get people involved, show them "paths" in each class; example, a young kid can start out in J-Hydro, then A, B, C, D - then Mod, etc., with so many classes, it seems that you are limiting the class boat counts - instead of having say 20 B, you end up with 7 A, 7 B, and 7 C boats, or guys racing in classes that their equipment is under / over powered for, just to keep boat count up.
If you want to draw a comparison against say NASCAR, a driver would likely start at a dirt oval track / etc, sprints or something, then (if he was successful enough), move to the Truck Series, Busch Series, then Winston Cup (sorry if my series terminologies / names are wrong, I'm not a big NASCAR fan any more) - so there is 4 classes from start to peak...
What would I propose?
Well, being a side-line guy, with no money invested in equipment, and just helping series out with promotions, pictures, web and social media stuff, my ideal would be this;
More support from each region; someone who is accountable for all things boat racing in that region, assisting in promoting the sport, finding race sites, finding sponsors for races, etc.
More cross class and cross category support; we all love boat racing, don't be the type to criticize others of their success or failures, we need to support each other.
Unity - In each category, decisions need to be made regarding classes, it's going to tick some people off, but it's gotta happen, or the floundering will continue, and no forward progress will be made.
As racers, seek out, and get potential racers involved; don't garage race rigs, offer them at a reasonable price to entry level racers, be the guy going to scout meetings / etc. and talking about your sport, get involved with the city counsels, etc., find potential race sites.
If we all sit back and complain, nothing good will happen. Again, I am a non-racer, but have dedicated (donated) probably 200 hours this year alone in to promoting the sport, it's racers, and it's races.
I would like to hear other ideas and opinions. Though the APBA has certainly driven off some members, it's not the only thing driving people out of the sport.
Wayne
Let's take a look at expenses of going to, and racing at a single event...
I picked 2 points in my region - though perhaps the two farthest, they are still both in my region.
1000 miles of driving (each direction) - IF you drive a hybrid tow vehicle, and keep your load very light, you MIGHT get 20mpg - so figure 50 gallons of fuel each way, 100 gallons total - cost for gas to drive to / from a race; $365.00 (at $3.65 a gallon)
Hotel - again, unless you bring camping gear, and can camp at the race site, I allotted $240.00 - again, I'm figuring 2 rooms at $60.00 a night each, and if you've booked a hotel lately, that $60.00 figure is a little low, but if you find the cheapest place, don't mind a little bit of a drive each day / etc.
Entry Fee - most are more, but I'm figuring $100.00
Food - $20.00 a day, figuring 4 people and 2 days - $160.00
So, you're at $865.00, and haven't gotten your race fuel, or incurred any incidentals yet.
So, another thing to take a look at, is how expensive it is to race - not including equipment, repairs / etc., vs tow money. I know at some races, tow money is less than $500.00 - so you're still incurring a cost of almost $400.00.
There are a lot of guys that just love to race, so eat this expense - consider it an expensive hobby, but with the economy still being crap, fewer and fewer racers are willing to do this, thus smaller boat counts, and fewer races.
Next, throw in (what is my opinion) WAY too many race classes. If you want to get people involved, show them "paths" in each class; example, a young kid can start out in J-Hydro, then A, B, C, D - then Mod, etc., with so many classes, it seems that you are limiting the class boat counts - instead of having say 20 B, you end up with 7 A, 7 B, and 7 C boats, or guys racing in classes that their equipment is under / over powered for, just to keep boat count up.
If you want to draw a comparison against say NASCAR, a driver would likely start at a dirt oval track / etc, sprints or something, then (if he was successful enough), move to the Truck Series, Busch Series, then Winston Cup (sorry if my series terminologies / names are wrong, I'm not a big NASCAR fan any more) - so there is 4 classes from start to peak...
What would I propose?
Well, being a side-line guy, with no money invested in equipment, and just helping series out with promotions, pictures, web and social media stuff, my ideal would be this;
More support from each region; someone who is accountable for all things boat racing in that region, assisting in promoting the sport, finding race sites, finding sponsors for races, etc.
More cross class and cross category support; we all love boat racing, don't be the type to criticize others of their success or failures, we need to support each other.
Unity - In each category, decisions need to be made regarding classes, it's going to tick some people off, but it's gotta happen, or the floundering will continue, and no forward progress will be made.
As racers, seek out, and get potential racers involved; don't garage race rigs, offer them at a reasonable price to entry level racers, be the guy going to scout meetings / etc. and talking about your sport, get involved with the city counsels, etc., find potential race sites.
If we all sit back and complain, nothing good will happen. Again, I am a non-racer, but have dedicated (donated) probably 200 hours this year alone in to promoting the sport, it's racers, and it's races.
I would like to hear other ideas and opinions. Though the APBA has certainly driven off some members, it's not the only thing driving people out of the sport.
Wayne