What's working well in Stock??

[pav225]

Recently there has been a lot of good discussion about making improvements to the Stock Category. Obviously people are very passionate about it and want to see the sport grow. To help facilitate a positive discussion, let's look at some of the areas in the country and see what they are doing well.

3 Regions/People come to mind. Hopefully they don't mind me pointing them out and they can share with everyone some of the factors contributing to their success:

1) MHRA. 10-12 drivers at the fall Grass Lake Driving School. Awesome job by their club!! Dean, Mark, Brian and a lot of other folks all put in work to make this happen. Elek seems to have taken the lead and has done a tremendous job. Elek, can you share some thoughts on how to have a successful school?

2) Bunker, Ron, and Marlee Hill have gotten many new folks started out in California...where its often very difficult to get lake access! Can you share some thoughts/ideas on getting new drivers??

3) Seattle Outboard. I'm not sure the exact boat count at Yelm, but it must have been close to 200. I know 20ssH and CSH had 18+ boats each day! SOA members, can you share your insights to how/why your region is so strong?

Let the fun begin!

- Mike

[Jeff Brewster 59s]

Great post Mike!

I have to add Steve Noury and the South Shore Outboard group in Region 1.
That entire region has grown over the past ten years and an awesome group to race with.
Steve rarely runs out of a choice of words (even though he talks with a funny Boston accent) and possibly he can explain his format expecially for the Kingston, NH race where everybody is heading home at 4 pm after a great weekend of racing.

[Wild Bill 96D]

Jeff thanks for saying what I was thinking. WILD BILL

[pav225]

Keep em coming...

Jeff,
Thanks for adding to the list! There are a lot of good folks doing a ton of work, so it's nice to see it recognized.

I was originally going to include Marine Racing Club. We had a LOT of members help get equipment together and put on driving schools. I think we could use some help in getting folks signed up.

Mike

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

10

What's working in region 10? It appears to be a multi sided attack,

The H.A.R.M. "J" project brought together new people interested the project aspect of the sport and combined them with the experience of some of the greats to guarantee success. This gave the region a pool of up and coming drivers to fill boats now and in the future. As a by-product it also provided some very supportive families to help operations both on and off the course.

Secondly the New Folks in Boats program. Through directly marketing at boating events they have been able to target people that have enough interest in boating and the water to get up and go to the lake. When they arrived they found a very professional presentation of beautiful and affordable boats with representatives inviting them to come try it out for a reasonable cost in a controlled environment.

New guy = Yamato, A new to you boat motor and prop for under $2000.00 that can be raced in CSH, 20SSH, CMH, OSY400 and if that wasn't enough to make it worth while you get to race Novice C with a chance to win. Novice C alone has more than doubled retention in region 10 (Thanks Tony).

With the strong pool of young drivers looking to move up into some of the premier classes and the robust competition in the Yamato classes I feel Region 10 has built a strong foundation for the future. 50-R

[Racerkyle20]

Adding to Dale's post on reg 10

I think region 10 prospers for the simple fact that you bring it, we'll race it. 1100ccr? Sure! bring the class and it's on the schedule.

We are not like some clubs and race only stock or only mod or only pro or only OPC. We race everything. Our geography demands it. If we didn't race everything, Zach Malhiot would literally have to race 2000 miles away in the mid west all the time. Or he would be racing stock i guess. We don't race out of region much during the season, besides when region 11 or 12 have a divisonal/winternational and yearly nationals. So SOA must be strong otherwise we have zero APBA racing (yes a few wildcat clubs and NBRA's presence in Spokane area as well).

Another point of order on why boat racing is popular in Washington state alone is its history. For a long time Seattle did not have professional sports. Literally in the 50s and 60s there was no football, baseball, or basketball (like 67' is when Sonics started). Unlimited hydroplane racing WAS the professional sport to follow in those days. Some of our newer members in the club were kids during this period and are now finding our club, buying equipment, and racing like it's their childhood again. But that only goes so far as folks grow older.

SOA has made it's main priority with kids. The J project at the unlimited hydro museum is a prime example. Getting kids and their parents together to build a boat (with help). This correlates the family aspect with boat racing. JW Myers went around elementry schools doing a unlimited campain, educating kids on boat racing and even selling SOA as a place where they could do it. The Seattle yacht club the past two years has donated money to the club to help kids get into boat racing. SOA has taken that money and bought 3 full sets of safety gear (cut pants/sleeves, lifejacket, helmet) for kids. Those sets of safety gear help with kids in the New folks in boats event and new kids that are just starting, but the parents don't have the cash up front to buy the gear. Pretty cool actually (thank pat gleason).

My guess is if Stock changes things with it's class structure SOA will see a little drop off in funds, but not much. Those 18-19 entries at Yelm for 20ssh and CSH were mostly the same boat/driver combination. But some were not. Those people wont go anywhere if 20ssh is disolved as we know it, we will just have more elimination heats of CSH (which a lot of our mod and pro only guys wouldn't mind).

Our biggest club issue right now is TOO MANY classes. You bring it the class and we'll put you on the water is great, but lots of our members that don't run yamato/omc/merc classes get tired of watching everyone else race. Now granted that's a race directors choice to have all those classes, but I think SOA's race day would become more manageble with less stock classes. My two cents.

Kyle
SOA board member

[Hutch06]

Keys to Driving School Success

Great post Mike!

I was actually writing something for Propeller along these lines, I'll just copy over what I've got!

"First order of business is choosing a date, time, and location of your school. Our recommendation is to pick a site that your club visits frequently or doesn’t change dates drastically from year to year – this way promotion and setup of the school is much easier if you decide to make it an ongoing event. A school on Friday, the day before a race weekend, between mid-June to late-August is often preferred (kids are out of school, and adults would much rather take a Friday afternoon off), this way with the Single Event APBA Membership the participants receive, will make them eligible to race the weekend if your instructors deem graduates “race material”. A school on Friday is much easier on club members and the race committee as opposed to a Saturday morning.

Promotion for your Driving School is key to getting quality participants. Start marketing your school early for best results. Attend local parades with a driver school boat. Go to boat or hot rod shows with material that has information on the school that passersby can take home with them. Write a few press releases for media in the area to promote. Announce it at all of your races. Put it all over the internet – this was MHRA’s first major source of participants, from www.michiganhydroplane.com . There are not a lack of people who have an interest in an activity such as this, there is, however, a lack of exposure in getting the message to those people. Market it and they will come.

Set a reasonable cut off for how many people you can handle. Don’t overdo it. MHRA feels that anything over 10 people and the quality of our school suffers because we don’t have enough instructors to students to give them a full experience. We make sure each participant gets at least 6 laps on a shortened, ½ mile (approx.) course in addition to a “race the instructor” portion – a simulated racing experience where the participant and a veteran racer drive side by side to get a feel for racing action. If 25 people go through your school and 1 person ends up actively racing, you are helping your club. But if 8 people go through your school and 5 end up actively racing, it helps even more.

The largest factor in having a successful driving school is the following: HAVE RELIABLE EQUIPMENT. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get a motor to run or get on plane when there’s a line of people waiting to get on the course. Your equipment does not have to go fast (in fact, it shouldn’t), but it does have to run consistently. Driving School motors are put through a lot of stress – they are constantly starting and being stopped, having a backup motor or two is never a bad idea either.

The process of selecting driving school boats is not an easy one. Elements to keep in mind are:
- Is the boat easy to drive?
- Is the boat going to fit a wide variety of people? (i.e. no narrow cockpit sides, laydown-style, etc.)
- Is the boat the right size to use in multiple classes? (i.e. J/AX/A, 20SSH/CSH/302SSH)
When MHRA first started our school, we had a J Hydro with an OMC and a CSH with a 102. The J Hydro was for kids and could be used for small adults by pulling the restrictor. The CSH was large enough for a 220-230 lb. person but could also be restricted for the 165-170+ lb. person as well.

The last element in terms of equipment would be safety gear. There’s nothing wrong with using borrowed gear – as long as it’s still safe. Don’t suit someone up with anything you wouldn’t want to be wearing to race in. If you have the budget, some safety providers offer discounts or even donations to those hosting programs such as this – check in with some manufacturers, you never know what you can come up with!"

[Hutch06]

Follow Up

After we have a person go through Racer School who looks comfortable in the boat, and is interested in furthering their interest, we get them out to race at least (1) heat that weekend.

The key has been to follow up and stay in contact with Racer School graduates who have an interest in racing. We find out what their budget is, how many people in their family want to race, size limitations, etc. And then we fit them as best we can to equipment.

We ONLY promote the J classes, 302SSH, 20SSH, and the C classes. These classes are solidified, and have affordable equipment that holds its value. Finding boats to race against outside of the state of Michigan isn't hard to do either in these classes. We also hold 3 in 2 racing for these classes with MHRA to further promote them.

[pav225]

Great Input!

Merry Christmas!!

Great input Jeff, Dale, Kyle, and Elek.

Please keep it coming!!

Elek, I'll need to read through your replies a few more times and reply back. You truly have done a great job!!

Back to the kid's toys....

Mike

[Kip69w]

Yippeee

Mike... GREAT thread to get started. Hope we'll see more!

I'll need to read through your replies a few more times and reply back. You truly have done a great job!!
Mike

[pav225]

Promotion for your Driving School is key to getting quality participants. Start marketing your school early for best results. Attend local parades with a driver school boat. Go to boat or hot rod shows with material that has information on the school that passersby can take home with them. Write a few press releases for media in the area to promote. Announce it at all of your races. Put it all over the internet – this was MHRA’s first major source of participants, from www.michiganhydroplane.com . There are not a lack of people who have an interest in an activity such as this, there is, however, a lack of exposure in getting the message to those people. Market it and they will come.

Elek,
Great stuff!

We've had folks interested as they bike by and watch us test on a river near our house. We need to do a better job being ready to hand them something with more information....and a date for our Driving School.

I really like the idea of car/hot rod shows as well. I'll talk to Kip to see how we can promote on the website.

Can you share some of the information that you hand out?

Thanks,
Mike

[Ron Hill]

We Have Work To Do!

Recently there has been a lot of good discussion about making improvements to the Stock Category. Obviously people are very passionate about it and want to see the sport grow. To help facilitate a positive discussion, let's look at some of the areas in the country and see what they are doing well.

3 Regions/People come to mind. Hopefully they don't mind me pointing them out and they can share with everyone some of the factors contributing to their success:

1) MHRA. 10-12 drivers at the fall Grass Lake Driving School. Awesome job by their club!! Dean, Mark, Brian and a lot of other folks all put in work to make this happen. Elek seems to have taken the lead and has done a tremendous job. Elek, can you share some thoughts on how to have a successful school?

2) Bunker, Ron, and Marlee Hill have gotten many new folks started out in California...where its often very difficult to get lake access! Can you share some thoughts/ideas on getting new drivers??

3) Seattle Outboard. I'm not sure the exact boat count at Yelm, but it must have been close to 200. I know 20ssH and CSH had 18+ boats each day! SOA members, can you share your insights to how/why your region is so strong?

Let the fun begin!

- Mike

I'm the Ron of Bunker and Marlee Hill. Those who really know me, know I'm a boat racer 24-7, 365 days a year. In SoCal we have a bunch of new AXS and A Hydro drivers. To steal a term related to "Retirement" our growth is no sustainable. How e got where we are now:

MANY FACTORS HAVE COME TOGETHER:

1. Young Gordon Jennings III: Started AXS and ASH (Third generation driver.)

2. Gordon Jennings, Jr. talked a Super Stock Racer/friend into buying his son and daughter a boat to split for AXS and ASH.

3. Ernie Dawe build bare hulls for $1,400.

4. Tim Herman, second generation racer from Michigan, has decide to return to racing.

5. Britnay Schwarzenbach was/is sponsored by Ron Hill...........

6. Marlee Hill started her Sherapin month paper, and has been a "BIG CHEERLEADER" for the sport...4th Generation Racer.

7. Ron Hill has had a bunch of OMC motors and a few Mercury motors for sale, with amazing payment plans.

8. Kenny Knudsen's Family and second or third generation Inboard Family, has been a huge supporter of AXS and AXS.

9. Ross Wallach, the main promoter of races in Region 12, son Jared races AXS and ASH.

10. Kevin Curtis, WFLS Series winner for 2012, races AXS and ASH...

11. The Wright Brothers from Huntington Beach are true new racers.

12. Dave Hale is also a true new racer...

Before I go on, try and digest what I've written.

[DtwSailor]

If you want to see first hand what goes into a MHRA racer school, here is a video of the classroom instruction. This is raw footage only, shot 2 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySerTVnwd48

[Dennis Crews]

Kudos to all

I loved watching the racer school video. The passion that each of you has for the sport is quite evident in the way that you all conducted yourselves. Kudos to you and your club.

[Racerkyle20]

SOA slough race

SOA for years had a marathon race on the Snohomish, WA River sloughs running through the towns of Everett, Kenmore, and Bothell. This race went on for years ending sometime in the 70s. Would have been very cool to attend....

Now why to I bring this up? We have a woman that has come to our club who is an old racers daughter. She is an artist and is looking to promote the slough race at various parks, etc with boat racing mirrels (SP?). She in the process of creating the mirrels with help in the form of a city or county grant. She also has come to SOA for a donation in helping to preserve boat racing at this site and tell the story of the old time boat races.

In April she will be conducting a "origami boat" race with the community to kick off her creation. We will also be having an antique boat show with the help of David Williams from the Boat racing Museum in Kent, WA. This antique boat show will have a few old unlimiteds, outboards, and ALSO current racing boats from SOA.

It's Just another great way to promote our club and boat racing.