Live From Seattle - APBA Meeting

[Kev43V]

Ed,

Perfect description. It is not a vacation. It is pay for your pain.

Perhaps this struggle could be reduced in cost at some point, label it as one of the barriers to enter boat racing. People are always calling for volunteers to help out with racing and what not. There are many calls to simplify the rules. If the clutter was reduced, the meetings would not last so long, and the hotel/food/beer bill would be reduced. Not to mention the antacid bill.

Just a thought.

Dave it seems to me your laying out quite the contradiction. If you shorten the meeting you will get less done. If the time had been spent "decluttering" the commissioners would still be there attending to business. This was the first one I have attended. It was rather educational to say the least.
Everyone should attend one or two. If for no other reason thean to have a better understanding of how our system works. We THINK we understand it. but that is just in an abstract manner. to see the proccess in action gives a much better understanding.

[brian]

I think it would be great if we could do a meeting at national races. Do them at night and or start a day early or stay a day late to get all of your Mod or Stock business done while racing is on your mind. Travel costs could be minimized and participation be maximized. It might help participation as well at these events. You could still have the annual meeting but think of the detailed work and discussion you could have before the national meeting. How great would it be to say do we need to change this and ask for a show of hands and have 20 drivers who participate vote.

Just some thoughts from a guy who can not take 3 days off on January to go to the national meeting.

[Kev43V]

Gee, is there a reason the rules have to be changed every year! Maybe that is why APBA membership has dropped by half. Why don't you all meet once evey two or three years. That would cut down on cost and maybe not catch the new folks with always out dated equipment.

Just my

Most of the rules are not changed every year. Of course the process we have does allow for any rule to be changed at any meeting. A substantial amount of the time spent this year at Stock meeting addressed the very issue of outdated equipment. It specifically addressed the need for new motors. Which we now will have for several classes. In several classes new people have a legal motor that they can purchase new. Soon they will be getting points with those motors. No longer will they have to rely on the benevolence of existing racers to sell them a decent engine, in classes that have not had a new motor manufactured for decades. (disclaimer! I do not BLAME anyone for not wanting to sell any of their Better motors.) Yet why should someone new to the sport have to purchase 4 or 5 or 6 or even more motors to finally get a decent one?
I just hope Eds parity committees are successful in dialing in them in so if you have for example a middle of the pack OMC. you will soon have a few more boats pulling you to the first turn. BUT it you have one of those REALLY good OMCs you can still win.

[Kev43V]

I think it would be great if we could do a meeting at national races. Do them at night and or start a day early or stay a day late to get all of your Mod or Stock business done while racing is on your mind. Travel costs could be minimized and participation be maximized. It might help participation as well at these events. You could still have the annual meeting but think of the detailed work and discussion you could have before the national meeting. How great would it be to say do we need to change this and ask for a show of hands and have 20 drivers who participate vote.

Just some thoughts from a guy who can not take 3 days off on January to go to the national meeting.

I think there is a substancial amount of merit to your sugestion.

[srunne]

Thank you

Thank you for everyone that took the time and money to attend the National Meeting. Your dedication to our sport is much appreciated. Sheri Runne

[Team 12R]

national meeting in a better place?

has the idea of having the meeting in las vegas every year ever been addressed? outside of the racing agenda i think the meeting would be a bigger draw from the general membership being held in vegas.

being originally from the detroit area and now portland, i think this time of year the last (2) meetings could not be held at more boring and (weather unfriendly) cities. not taking shots at the hydro musuem, henry ford museum/greenfield village or the maritime museum at all (great attractions). there is however a reason vegas is the biggest convention destination in the country. who knows? we might even attract some new membership with a small display of boats in a lobby area of a host hotel.

just throwing that idea out there.... i'm sure this idea isn't new to apba unlike me.

"what happens in vegas, stays in vegas" -- tiger woods

bill dingman
222r

[14-H]

Location

has ***

being originally from the detroit area and now portland, i think this time of year the last (2) meetings could not be held at more boring and (weather unfriendly) cities. *** there.... i'm sure this idea isn't new to apba unlike me.


222r

Actually, we have gotten the best participation at the meetings in the recent past when the meeting is in Seattle or Detroit.

[42M]

Actually, we have gotten the best participation at the meetings in the recent past when the meeting is in Seattle or Detroit.

I'm gonna guess its because those two cities are in high membership regions.

I can only imagine how much a banquet/meeting hall would cost for a weekend in Vegas.

[Team 12R]

just a suggestion...

Actually, we have gotten the best participation at the meetings in the recent past when the meeting is in Seattle or Detroit.

i'm not saying detroit or seattle are bad places at all. the fact that the 2 regions do have the highest membership is a factor to consider, yes....

i just think looking forward to a few days in vegas every january would be a bigger draw than 2" of rain an hour or an average temp of 12 degrees.

can you imagine how much fun we could have watching dave anderson loose in vegas????

thanks for your participation ed. you do a good job.....

[mercguy]

has the idea of having the meeting in las vegas every year ever been addressed? outside of the racing agenda i think the meeting would be a bigger draw from the general membership being held in vegas.

being originally from the detroit area and now portland, i think this time of year the last (2) meetings could not be held at more boring and (weather unfriendly) cities. not taking shots at the hydro musuem, henry ford museum/greenfield village or the maritime museum at all (great attractions). there is however a reason vegas is the biggest convention destination in the country. who knows? we might even attract some new membership with a small display of boats in a lobby area of a host hotel.

just throwing that idea out there.... i'm sure this idea isn't new to apba unlike me.

"what happens in vegas, stays in vegas" -- tiger woods

bill dingman
222r

I would say the weather in Seattle during the National Meeting was pretty **** good for this time of the year!!

[pro350hydro]

[QUOTE=Team 222R;150490]than 2" of rain an hour or an average temp of 12 degrees.
QUOTE]


Hey Dingman, over on this side of the state it doesn't rain 2" at 12 degrees

Just busting your balls man

Vegas is a good idea, but would anyone get anything done at the meetings?

[Kev43V]

I would say the weather is Seattle during the National Meeting was pretty **** good for this time of the year!!

LOL 2 days of sun, and light jacket weather. I was not complaining.

[ram95]

I don't need to spend 2500 bucks for a "working vacation" thank you. Anybody been to Las Vegas lately... I'll clue ya, it aint cheap like it used to be. The wx in Seattle was fine. Raleigh was fine. Detroit will be fine. I spent my time and my money in an effort to accomplish something for Region 1 and Stock Outboard in general. I'm going to color that "mission failure". In fact color my trip to Raleigh the same way. But, it was on my own dime and on my own time, so I'll sleep well.

Speaking of mission faiure. We were all shown slides where APBA membership has been on a virtual free-fall since 2001 or before. Surely everything hasn't been done badly, but not enough things have been done goodly for membership....errr ahh race entries.

It's doubly frustrating when the rulebook for 2009 and 2010 and the download data are out of sync.

Then we spend many minutes (hours according to "Ed" ) belaboring pistons rings, or reed-stops, either of which most of the seated commissioners know technically little about. And, with equally uninformed inputs from the audience, the commissioners are swayed in a direction even the late Ray Charles could see was wrong.

Then we have the J & A rubber bisquit of throttle linkage connection and piston ring use. Instead of meeting together and resolving things to a mutually acceptable conclusion... ie one which would possibly leat to more "race entries" we have quagmire, with messengers running back and forth and listening thru closed doors (minds).

Then we have the 750MH taking a real forward step by tossing the little 42.3 cube Tohatsu out due to (get this) lack of data. Never mind the fact that at several races there weren't enough DMod hydros to make a field and the Tohatsu D guys joined in. Now thanks to this diarretic move the Tohatsu won't be there this year when they could have gotten some points. Fugggedaboudthat!!

Yup... looks like another year and a few less entries. Good job.

Alex

[csh2z]

Alex,
It's far more important to deal with the parity issues between various motors in each class than the future/growth of APBA and Stock Outboard. As long as we continue to have multiple motors per class, that, is what will be on the agenda. Maybe we should have some sort of sub-committee that could make a plan to guide the SORC toward specific goals that would eventually help eliminate the "barriers to growth" that we are facing.

[snyder]

Did the "J" committee meet at all in Seattle? Or did they just party. After all the disscussion previous to the meeting, you would surly think that there would be some official results posted (meeting minutes).