APBA decal rule

[raceright]

And you ask why are there so few boat racers DUHHHH

[Big Don]

If a person quits racing because he was warned about a rule and still does not comply they were just looking for a reason to quit.

Seeing the officials that were at that race...there has to be more to the story.

[fbref5269]

I'm confused...... we have rules in the by-laws and the rule book? the sticker thing is in the by-laws only, not the rule book. what am I missing.

frank

[Dave M]

Big Don,

It is the experiences that casue people to quit, not the incident. In an already unstable enviroment that makes up boat racing, can boat racing really afford to continue with providing a bad experience ? Not saying this particular incident will result in this, but think about it, you have a young impressionable kid, and this is what he will remember about his experinece for the rest of his life. If he ever is on the edge of a decision, this would tilt it the wrong way for boat racers.

All I am saying is that sometimes folks need to step back and think about the sport from another angle. What possible benefit will be gained from this DQ ? How will this help grow th sport ? You can say rules are rules all day long, but at the end of the day facts will trump rules each time. If there was to be a DQ, perhaps the father of the kid should have received a DQ instead as he admits he forgot about it. Might have made a much better impression on the kid.

Like it or not, admit or not, fact is, nobody likes the detail of the rule book and how it reads. Sometimes it would be best to simply let it go. Once people realize this is a hobby and not a professional sport, maybe it will change. Who knows.

[modracer7b]

Big Don, It appears to me that Fastjack made an effort to comply in that he had several boats in compliance and only had one at 50% compliance. Seems to me the inspector could have worked with him and had him rectify the apparent oversite at that point and all would have been good and we would not be looking at this BS now. Common sense needs to be added where appropriate. Most people get upset when you take out there mistake on their kid. The decal did not change the actual finish of the race until the DQ, so there was no competition advantage. Sometimes even good people, such as the people on that list, make bad decisions. Why try to say there is more to it than there actually is??????

[Big Don]

More to it than there is???? Because none of us know if there is more to it than there actually is. You nor I, nor anyone else that have an opinion on here was there. As a matter of fact, I did talk to someone to see if they knew if there was more to it yesterday, I was told there is. I'm not going to share everything that I was told but what I was told this has been going on for over a year, but until one of those officials choose to come on here maybe everyone needs to take a deep breath and stop bashing when you don't have facts. I'm not taking sides I'm just saying get facts before you pass judgment. Hate APBA all you want...they are a horrible organization...run by a bunch of idiots. But if I understand correctly Billy Allen or Bill Giles had to have thrown them out and do we really think they just did what they did without some history. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until we hear otherwise.

[Dave M]

Don, I think you missed my point. Its Ok, and never ONCE in my post did I criticize or mention an organizations name, I am looking at the big picture, Boat Racing, in particular Mod Outboard. I think a stupid rule that I HAVE to display a decal of an organization that I PAY to join, and handsomley the last I joined the same one you belong too. I am paying for that kind of B.S. ? If they want me to put a sticker on my boat, pay me, incent me somehow. Make me want to put your sticker on my boat.

Anyways, not trying to argue, just wanted to make a point this silly **** needs to stop, it is hurting all of us. This is a hobby, go have some fun.

[Smitty]

I happened to be in the pits at an Unlimited race in the late Sixties and noticed boat owner and sometimes driver Bob Fendler, a professional attorney, reading through the APBA rule book, which of course was created in a piecemeal, haphazard fashion by non-lawyers. Fendler was shaking his head as he noted the redundancies, lack of clarity, grammatical clashes, and logical holes, and two or three times said, "This is a joke!" So, while I don't know that a lawyer is needed (although old racer Mark Demaray comes to mind), possibly it might be worthwhile to get some well-qualified members from each division to review the rulebook and recommend clean-up and clarification alterations as appropriate.

[26V]

the issue with having a Professional attorney writing a rule book is you will now need an attorney to interpret it. just sayin

[Racerkyle20]

The 60s? That was a half a century ago. What's the relevance? That the APBA rule book 50 years ago sucked? The rule book has been cleaned up since (probably multiple times) and is in the process of being cleaned up again.

[Smitty]

Well, Kyle, it seems relevant because then as now the rules were compiled by ordinary folk and then repeatedly altered in various ways on an unsystematic basis sometimes resulting in confusion, which then might call for an appeal to "the spirit of the rules." THIS IS NOT CRITICISM. THIS IS NOT A WHOLESALE CONDEMNATION OF THE RULEBOOK, THE APBA, OR ANYTHING ELSE. It was just an idea. Maybe a worthless idea, but anyway, not criticism.

[mike ross]

It would have been nice if the referee would have handed the driver the sticker he needed. Gave a warning and moved on. That sets a poor feeling for a younger driver who may not have not understood the rule. At the nationals we have stickers available and remind drivers of this rule. Lets use some common sense on non speed advantage issues. That driver could have been warned and told he had flag duty or something rather than a DQ . Just my 2 cents worth!

[Big Don]

Once again an assumption. How do you know he didn't do that? Mike or anyone else, call Billy or Bill have them tell you why they DQ'ed him.

[Racerkyle20]

^^^^^^Bingo Don! Let's be honest, the race officials at this race have more experience with APBA rules than most do in a lifetime. They know when to use discretion, and when they have to clamp down. The facts have only been brought into this forum from one point of view. My guess is there waaay more to this story than from the point of view of the actual person who was DQ'd.

Heck when most of us get DQ'd their point of view will always be skewed toward their own argument, whether right or wrong. It's human nature. "I didn't cut him off he slid out!"

This is almost the same as going into court and letting a jury hear the argument of the accused without other facts, evidence, or opinions.

[Lee Sutter]

IMO. The Bylaw needs to fixed. How does anyone know what "APBA logo was approved by the APBA Board of Directors? The reason I ask is that I think the logo has changed 3 times in the last 3 or 4 years. And, does the word "Shall" mean "Must" in the rule. Don't get me wrong, I like having APBA or American Powerboat Association on my boat, but give us a few options on design and size and don't make us use your decals as some people might want make their own. This is crazy.

[Original Looper 1]

Always Pushing Boaters Around ! Why?

[JWarren]

Get back to work on your stuff ! Wakefield is around the corner and I'm tired of hearing about the bitxxing! It's done move on.

[tcf284]

ok jeeeemmy

[pops67g]

This is getting to be a longer running soap opera than Days of Our Lives!!

[Big Don]

Let's talk about something that really matters. I get a call/email almost weekly asking me if I know when the Yamato engines are going to hit the states. Or when SIdewinder engines are going to be shipped. How about an update on that stuff from someone in the know? My response is always the same, they need to call Ed Runne or Rick Montoya. then I get, I've tried and get no answer. I then say well most of us do have day jobs and can't just drop what we are doing for every call.

How about an update from both parties to stop all the rumors? I'm guessing people are not going to have engines by Wakefield that need them at this point from either supplier?

[raceright]

A big DUHHHH. WOW WAY TO MUCH CHEST POUNDING FOR ME.(some things never change)

[jeff55v]

Just an FYI to those who are interested. I've heard complaints about the quality and delivered condition of the provided APBA decals. A few years back, I bought some die cut decals from the APBA website. They are better quality than the freebie decals provided. My motivation to buy the die cut decals was that they also spelled out AMERICAN POWER BOAT ASSOCIATION under the letters. I got tired of spectators and passerby trying to pronounce the acronym. Or else they'd think it had something to do with the 1970's band ABBA.

[jeff55v]

I just went to the APBA site, and can't find the nice die cut decals offered there anymore. They may still be there, but since the website was redesigned, I have a very hard time navigating my way around there.

[ricochet112]

I've seen racers DQ'd for not have a collard shirt on...lots of non speed ways to get DQ'd, footwear, helmet color, pickle tips, boat numbers....(and they're shoved in by the "safety rule").
A couple of years after I started racing APBA I ran the Mercury Challenge series, if you didn't have Mercury and APBA stickers you wouldn't get paid, yeah, I know money was involved, but it's about brand recognition.

If you race any major motor sport, most require more than APBA for brand recognition. WKA, NHRA, NASCAR, AMA.

If we want people to know who we are not only should APBA stickers be a requirement on the boat but also on our trailers.

The folks complaining about this are the ones always bagging on APBA anyway.

[22W]

Let's talk about something that really matters. I get a call/email almost weekly asking me if I know when the Yamato engines are going to hit the states. Or when Sidewinder engines are going to be shipped. How about an update on that stuff from someone in the know? My response is always the same, they need to call Ed Runne or Rick Montoya. then I get, I've tried and get no answer. I then say well most of us do have day jobs and can't just drop what we are doing for every call.

How about an update from both parties to stop all the rumors? I'm guessing people are not going to have engines by Wakefield that need them at this point from either supplier?

I would like to hammer this point home. I know that silly things like stickers can get our panties in a wad, but I want to make sure that the future of APBA is actually here and available to those that might actually be interested. I think that the particular problem that Don brings up should cut a bit closer to home than stickers. Of course, the sticker thread is the one that is four pages long. Perhaps we should look inward when we wonder why participation is dwindling. Now that we have a response to the "why" question, lets do what we can to make the question sound a bit more like "why not?" Why the hell are we worried about stickers when we need to double-down our efforts to build the sport? Get it together people, we cannot afford to let this thing that we want to fight for to fail.

Where are our future engines? We put our eggs in the Yamato/Sidewinder basket so I expect them to produce. Although many of us are no doubt friends with the people involved in those projects, we need to know where we stand. If you are unable to make this work out, you have a duty to let us all know. We will hold no grudge if you are honest. Just don't pull punches. We deserve and should know the realistic status of the charted future of our sport.

Respectfully written,
Ryan Burdick
22W