APBA Board of Directors

[ricochet112]

Maybe, just maybe...being a member run organization is not the best way to move forward if we want to grow
APBA. I have been to around 20 meetings, both as a member of the stock commission and as an interested observer that cares deeply about boat racing. The one thing I see that is killing the sport? People have a "trailer box mentality" You can't mess with the 44XS I have been racing since 1986....how could we POSSIBLY bring in a new motor....that will make mine obsolete! Take a look at how many classes we run in outboards ....stock mod and pro combined. I can't even count that high. Are we trying to get sponsorship? What long term goals to we have? None that I can see. Instead of tackling these issues at national meetings, we spend time talking about how Dylan Runne should be thrown out in BSH at Lake Who cares...really. Maybe it's time for APBA to cut the number of outboard classes down to 10 total. And I mean ten total across the board...stock, mod, and pro. Maybe we could use a new format to attract sponsors. Maybe. Who knows. I suspect we will lurch along like we have been...people taking up time at meetings talking about items that in the long run do NOTHING to help the sport. Maybe it's time to take a hard look at things.......

Yes! The inmates are running the asylum....I remember the proposal to have APBA professionally run, I think it was at the Red Lion in Kelso WA (early 1990's?). Didn't the Hearn's file a law suit to stop it? And the Hearn's were involved in the Crown failure that cost it's members tens of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it....not placing blame, just stating facts...(as I remember them, please correct me if I'm wrong).

[csh-2z]

Dan, I would be 100% behind you taking charge of the APBA Social Media project. Your work and most importantly your results are of the highest quality and professionalism. Your passion for boat racing has been a blessing for the sport. Thank you

[csh-2z]

Yes! The inmates are running the asylum....I remember the proposal to have APBA professionally run, I think it was at the Red Lion in Kelso WA (early 1990's?). Didn't the Hearn's file a law suit to stop it? And the Hearn's were involved in the Crown failure that cost it's members tens of thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it....not placing blame, just stating facts...(as I remember them, please correct me if I'm wrong).

That proposal (2000-2001) at the time, may not have worked out as well for the membership as they tried to make it look. It would have been great for Offshore and Unlimited categories but not so much the rest of us. It was a power play by a salesman of questionable character. However, the concept and some of the structure could possibly be adapted to our current situation.

Often times we hear that APBA should be run more like a business. There are pros & cons to that mindset. Two major issues are: A business of this size is basically run by a dictator, the owner makes the final decision on all matters. All of the underlings may have opinions but not the power to decide. Secondly, about 70% of business ventures fail. Without the right leader, a solid business plan and the willingness to take risk, things may not turn out as hoped. We have among us some of the brightest business minds available, yet somehow we are in this dilemma of stagnation for nearly a quarter of a century. The only reason for that is maintenance of the status quo and unwillingness to face our issues head on. Not to insult anybody that has served on the Board in the past, but we need to change this trend now. We must vote in forward thinking candidates to the BOD.

We've been flying down this straightaway for many years.........IT'S TIME TO TURN!

[DeanFHobart]

That proposal (2000-2001) at the time, may not have worked out as well for the membership as they tried to make it look. It would have been great for Offshore and Unlimited categories but not so much the rest of us. It was a power play by a salesman of questionable character. However, the concept and some of the structure could possibly be adapted to our current situation.

Often times we hear that APBA should be run more like a business. There are pros & cons to that mindset. Two major issues are: A business of this size is basically run by a dictator, the owner makes the final decision on all matters. All of the underlings may have opinions but not the power to decide. Secondly, about 70% of business ventures fail. Without the right leader, a solid business plan and the willingness to take risk, things may not turn out as hoped. We have among us some of the brightest business minds available, yet somehow we are in this dilemma of stagnation for nearly a quarter of a century. The only reason for that is maintenance of the status quo and unwillingness to face our issues head on. Not to insult anybody that has served on the Board in the past, but we need to change this trend now. We must vote in forward thinking candidates to the BOD.

We've been flying down this straightaway for many years.........IT'S TIME TO TURN!

John,

You tell it like it is.

[Big Don]

Just to clarify the lawsuit comment...I don't believe any of APBA monies were used nor was it the Hearn's. I believe several APBA members own monies were used not any of APBA's. Don Sr was one of them and I know he contributed and was part of the lawsuit. (If I'm wrong please feel free to correct me) That lawsuit was to make sure that the members of APBA had a say in who controlled APBA at that time per our bylaws. But enough of that.

As for the Crown failure comment. I'll let a BOD member at the time or maybe one of the Hearn's comment on that, which in my opinion is inaccurate. Because I seem to recall something totally different as to why that project failed. But then if I say what I recall and am wrong, I would just be adding to inaccuracy's.

[daveracerdsh]

We go back to A, B, C, and D and 300ssh in stock, mod: combine 750 and 850, also have A, B, and C classes.... A, B, C and D in pro.....either combine the three commissions so that we can work together and not against each other as we do now....or mandate a maximum of 4 commissioners from around the country for each catagory, along with a chairperson heading each group. If that's the case, meet seperately day one, together as a group days 2 and 3. Do we really need 40 some odd people with a vote in three seperate catagories when the total membership is somewhere around 750 people? And that is not counting crossovers? Just a thought. 13 US

[Ram4x4]

First thing that needs done is to decide what the #1 priority is. Is it growth (and that needs to be defined as well), is it reworking all the categories, etc? What? We're all throwing our opinions around (me included) and it's splattering all over the place like a shotgun blast.

It seems most agree that the sport is dying. OK, problem has been identified. What are the factors involved? Not enough new drivers coming in as opposed to old, or worn out ones going out? Let's define the problem, let's map out the gotchas in that respect and formulate a plan to fix it. If the class reductions are that important, ok, a second problem to take into consideration, map it out, formulate, execute.

Another question, does anyone keep any sort of stats on this stuff? Do we have graphs or trends being tracked on memberships, # of boats, new drivers, exiting drivers? Has anyone done a survey of prior members who don't renew their annual memberships to find out why?

"Pit talk" is one thing, rumors abound, people talk smack...all useless baloney most of the time.

So, back to the shotgun...
I've been checking out the HRTV stuff from Dan...I agree, that guy needs to be Marketing Director or something at APBA.

I'm a newb, I have lots to learn, but I want to, 'cuz dag nabit, I like driving my hydro, it's fun and I don't want it to go away.

In that respect, I challenge all the other new drivers to get involved and do something besides drive your boat. I'll start off...in the near future, if everything goes right, I may have a new lake for us to race at in western PA. It's privately owned, but does allow power boats (they hold ski events there). It is open to the public too. It's more than big enough (over a mile long and plenty wide), has a nice beach, etc. I'm doing the initial leg work right now and trying to get the owner(s) to let us put on a small demo, or maybe do a Driver School there? Speaking of that, for the clubs who have the capability to do one, I know they have to be scheduled around race events and people aren't always available to teach, etc because of an event...but not everyone goes to all the races...like me. I'm a local weekend warrior, so there is no reason those in that category can't go put on school locally while the "big boys" are far off in some other state racing. Scheduling driver's school seems to be a difficult process considering how it is done now.

I was serious about doing raffles and such. I'm looking at the current state of my club's school...and it needs a couple school boats and engines..which means it needs money. I need to find out if anyone in my club is a builder and might be willing to build us a couple school boats for material cost, or some other discount :-)

[Ram4x4]

Oh yeah, I did want to throw my 0.02 in about the classes as well. I'm still learning things there, but that had to be one of the more confusing things to learn and my immediate thoughts after somewhat grasping it was "why the hell do we have so many?" If they were all filled and had plenty of drivers, then no argument, but many have pointed out (and I've seen it) where not enough show up to make a legal race, or it just barely does with 3-4 boats. Hell, we see messages right here on this board of people begging others to bring their (insert class here) so they'll have enough to race. Sorry, that can't be fun for the drivers. Much work needed concerning this in my opinion.

BUT! from the perspective of new drivers, more than likely they're going to come into racing in a single category, maybe two at the most. 300SSH is very popular, but I personally have concerns running in that class. Someone pointed out previously about it being open to everyone and having some seasoned drivers in it being really aggressive. I don't favor the idea of limiting that class at all, but I do like the idea one of our brother clubs out west has with their "Novice C" class. The way I see it, if we had fewer classes, then that could equate to more heats in a weekend (i.e. more driving time) without having to have three boats and six engines to span across whatever classes. Take whatever entry level class we're selling and create a novice sub class. Give the newbies a chance to race with each other and they can still go race in the full-on class as well if they want to. Limit the Novice class to 6 boats at a time instead of 12. The scariest part of any race for us new guys is the first time you bang a decent start with a bunch of other boats and you get to that first turn. Franklin this year was the first time I managed a few decent starts and it scared the living crap out of me when we all hit that first turn.

[daveracerdsh]

I don't want to hijack johns thread.....but as it seems to be pretty popular I wanted to address Rams concerns about the 300 ssh class. When I first proposed the class and it was accepted into stock out boarding,,I did not anticipate that seasoned veteran drivers would be interested....with Jeff Brewsters help, we aimed the class at younger drivers that we're getting out of the ax classes etc and did not want to fight the big guns in 20 and csh, as well as dri version on the other wend of the spectrum.....guys and gals that have been at it a while and wanted somethI got else to run where they had a chance to win. Neither Jeff of myself anticipated that some of the best drivers in the country would purchase rigs and race. We are looking at ways to keep the class safe and fun....more to come on that in the future.

[Racerkyle20]

I think our #1 problem is exposure. We are a very small group (inboard/outboard/opc/unlimited/etc) and trying to explain what I do for fun is a challenge, thank goodness for IPHONES with pictures now. Still exposure to me is the biggest issue. If people don't know we exist how will we get new people to join. I think the SORC has done a good job in the last two years with getting Stock outboard booths at all unlimited races, because I believe just like John Runne has said, stock outboarding is the gateway to more categories adding racers. Take our least expensive but fun category and place them at the professional races. Looks like H1 will be adding more races next year and we should be making sure this continues at newer race sites. People are already there to watch boat racing so it seems to be a natural fit. There are other ways to get more exposure, more media should be in the thought process because that brings in marketing money.

Our #2 issue is retention. And there are two kinds 1) losing members that are leaving racing altogether and 2) losing members/clubs to race independently. There 's too many reasons why certain groups leave, but APBA right now needs to give a reason for these people to come back. There are some behind the scenes work going on with Patrick Mell currently for this purpose. APBA is very diverse, with lots of categories of boats and the only connection with UIM within the United States. This should be a solid draw for people, but it seems that some groups don't find that appealing anymore. We need to find ways to make APBA racing appealing - What do people want? Lower insurance premiums? Yes. Lower race entries? Yes. Tow Money? Maybe.More race sites? Yes. Help with marketing races/race sites? Yes. I'm sure there are other things these groups or individuals want that i didn't name, but APBA should be looking to help resolve those issues to bring back more members.

My hope is these issues can be resolved in the next few years so we can actually start talking about growth. Vote for who you think can help APBA grow and become again a place that people want to race with.

[Harold8]

I think one of the things that has to be looked at , are the reasons that these groups have left APBA and what they have done to be successful outside of APBA before you can entice them to come back.

[John Schubert]

Kyle,

What about Sanction fees? USTS members don't have to pay a sanction fee nor does the F1 group that pulled out of APBA. Nice chunk of change that reverts back to drivers by way of tow money.

[Racerkyle20]

John- The sanction fees in APBA are only $400/race when you submit it through the APBA site. That fee is fairly small compared to what the insurance premium is per race. I think USTS has 6 races this year? That's only $2400 for the race season they're saving on sanction fees they could pay with APBA. From what I see on the web USTS dishes out roughly at $7000 per race (?) in tow money,. Maybe not all races are that high... Yeah it helps not having that smaller fee, but not necessarily a huge piece of that pie. I couldn't imagine $400 a sanction being that big of an issue? Maybe i'm wrong though....

[Matt Dagostino]

...............having a APBA owned race site would go a long way to help promote and provide a home base for driving schools and major national and regional events. Lucas Oil Stadium is a good example of a 'boat racing' facility that is a staple of boat racing. Over the past 25 years perhaps in lieu of 'experiments' in various directions which have resulted in money down the drain, APBA (US) could have bought a facility East of the Mississippi to develop boat racers and have a home. Dayton comes to mind as a perfect location and facility. APBA could also relocate it's offices to that facility to be 'hands on",. How about that for a BOD proposal to discuss.......

[Racerkyle20]

I've spoken about something similar before with BOD members in recent months. I think the biggest thing is sponsorship to make the facility a reality. Lucas Oil is a multi billion dollar company that invested in drag racing, APBA would need something similar in my opinion. I'm sure we could do something on a smaller scale in conjunction with local car tracks. Does anyone still race at the lake in Daytona?

[HRTV]

The lack of a permanent powerboat racing facility has always been one of the biggest downsides of powerboat racing in the US. There is no track where kids can go hang out, look through the fence and daydream of one day becoming a professional powerboat racer. No garage to hang out in etc. Ask any up and coming or professional race car driver and they will tell you the same story of how they spent their youth hanging out at the “track” looking through the fence and daydreaming of one day becoming a professional race car driver.

I’ve always said that without a facility centrally located in the US where kids could go and hang out, learn and watch the sport there will never be much of a future for the sport since as its stands the current model is akin to a traveling circus that’s in town for a few days then gone with nothing to show for it.

Since the very beginning of the APBA its main goal should have always been to acquire a property where it could build its own racing facility which would also house the main HQ office along with a powerboat racing museum, hall of fame etc. This location would be the mecca of powerboat racing in the United States and a place where people from all over the country and around world could come to participate and learn about the American Power Boat Association. This should have been the number one goal and objective of the founding fathers. A facility where classes could be held and items could be purchased. A place where families could go and learn the history of the sport etc.

The current model being used in most powerboat racing series is more in line with a weekend carnival or band of traveling gypsy's which sadly will never produce much in the way of new interest given the fact the locals have very limited access to the sport for two days’ tops before the teams pack up and drive away. It also doesn't help that new insurance regulations keep the fans so far back it's nearly impossible to even interact with the drivers. Race track's on the other hand, are a constant source of information and contact point that fans can reach out to on a daily basis, call, contact, or stop by, book tickets, buy souvenir’s and find out information all year round. Most track offices are open year round even if it’s just a small staff to help answer calls etc.

Personally, I know the track at Lucas Oil Wheatland facility is said to be a bit tight for powerboat racing that being the case I’d still be all over those folks to book every open weekend they had available to put some sort of boat racing on the weekend line up.

Just food for thought since this is a very exciting and popular topic.

[Racerkyle20]

Dan- I know this wasn't the major point in your post, but plenty of people can get into the hot pits in our current insurance regulations to watch racing and/or interact with drivers. Sign the waiver and you're in. Some places have you pay $10 or so. Not hard by any means. I've never seen it as a difficult issue besides Seafair, and that's mainly an issue with Seafair itself not the insurance.

[Ram4x4]

Does APBA have the kind of money it would take to buy and set up a permanent lake/course? That's some serious $$$.

Would Lucas Oil be interested in sponsoring/promoting SO/MO/PRO? Has anyone asked? I know they handle a lot of higher dollar race stuff, but if you're a fan of their shows on TV, they also televise freakin demo derby's...that's certainly NOT "high-end" stuff. Surely they'd be interested in sanctioned racing events???

I'm definitely with several here, exposure, exposure, exposure. No new people, no growth of any kind, period. Like I said, I'm here only because TRORA did a show at a local mall. Had I not seen that, I'd not be here. I grew up in Daytona Beach, FL and my dad and I used to go watch the unlimiteds every year...but I never in my life even knew about SO/MO, no clue it existed...I wish I had known about this 30 years ago.

I think the idea of a purpose designed race park is very cool (and the wife and I daydream that if we ever hit the lotto we would build one), but realistically, how many people in SO/MO would travel half way across the country for it? I do think the varied race sites and different rivers and lakes are a good thing. This is not high-end classes of racing where big $$$ is involved. Most people can't afford the time and cost for long distance travel since this is all for fun. I think we need to keep it in perspective for what it is, and capitalize on that...it's one of the top selling points!

The idea someone can participate in sanctioned racing on their terms and still have enough racing within reasonable distance to keep it fun is a key factor. That should be emphasized to potential new blood. It's not outrageously expensive like anything with wheels on it, and you don't have to travel all over the country if you don't want to, yet you can still race a lot and have loads of fun. The ability to choose how casual, or how serious you want to be makes it attractive to more people.

Now, for a subject change: I appreciate daveracerdsh's response to my post about concerns with 300SSH, but his post (and others here) from time to time mention that "it's in discussion", or "things are in the works". There seems to be a secretive undercurrent when certain topics are broached. Why the secrecy? Why can't it be put out for all to hear? I do understand that not everything can just be flung into the masses as it is hard to work on a plan if you have every member chewing your ears off about it, but give us something, give us an outline, or some sort of info on just what it is that's being worked on or discussed?

As for 300SSH, more than likely I'll buy a 321 next year and run the class. I'm too much of a bullhead not to, besides putting that **** restrictor in my 102 is a joke. For me, and this is just "my" personal likes, is to run two classes at an event. That's enough racing to suit me without killing myself doing engine changes or needing to have 2-3 boats, etc. It gives me enough time to help out in other areas, or to help other drivers and still get a little relaxed time to enjoy the whole event. My personal optimum would be CSH and 300SSH as I feel I'd have the best chance to at least be somewhat competitive (once I can afford a few new wheels and start getting more serious about making my boat faster). Maybe in another few years I might add a boat or another class. My grandson is only 4 right now, and I am planning to bring him into J's when he's old enough.

[HRTV]

We all know that the prospects of a permanent facility in today's world would never be a reality. I was merely pointing out that this should have been the number one goal of the association 10, 15, 20 years ago when land could be bought for cheap and this would now be a reality. My point is its been a lack of vision and determination from the organization that's been its main Achilles heel.

Lake X for example, when Mercury Racing moved out and shut down its operation APBA officials and board members should have been all over that like white on rice. Again in today's world we all know its not obtainable but why have there have been so many missed opportunities?

[Howie Nichols]

John,
You mentioned the minutes of the BoD on the APBA website, just so you and everyone understands the monthly "think tank" meetings we have are not really meetings, they are just a time where we can get together every month and discuss issues and brainstorm. No roll call is taken and no minutes are recorded so anything we discuss can not be voted on and action taken. This would need a formal meeting with the proper notices sent to all so those who so choose to participate can do so. Hope that helps, many of the topics we discuss do get details hammered out and then put on the agenda for the next meeting. We have spent as little as 45 minutes on some calls to more than 3 hours with issues ranging all over the spectrum.

I appreciate all the input people have offered here, some things discussed above are more commission level issues (class structure) though. I made a proposal to the BoD probably 8 years ago about merging the SO / MO category and some of the class structure and **** near got strung up before I was even done.

Commission Issue - Many like the idea of A,B,C,D but a big fear is (EXAMPLE) lets get rid of the 25SSH class - ok we have 20 or so drivers across the country, it really only races in 2-3 regions, but it is approximately 20 drivers do we want to lose any of these guys? If we just up and said 25 is done then that will happen as it has in the past (even though they could still race in the Stock Classic Division). For this reason we don't eliminate it, we feel like leave it alone, when R1 or R6 or whoever has those 5 or 6 entries it could be the difference of breaking even or not, it also keeps those drivers coming, spending $ in the towns (to keep the race site) and bringing other family members that race other classes. I have seen it myself is once 1 driver stops racing for whatever reason the other drivers in the family tend to follow within a short time frame then it hurts the clubs on an even bigger level.

I do hope that folks take the time to vote next month when the ballots come out, APBA history shows lots of people don't bother to take the time and send in the ballot, with #'s dwindling within APBA every vote could make the difference on who you want to be elected and who would best serve you and the organization on the BoD.

[csh-2z]

Thanks for the clarification, Howie. It's good to have a BOD member and commissioners active on this forum to dispel rumors and misstatements that typically occur both in the pits and on the internet. There was a thread last week "nationals results?" that opened the conversation about communicating information and race results to the social media.
John Peeters (Guido499) started a thread the other day "Live results" that you should read and participate in if you have any experience to share. It's fascinating what can be done with technology nowadays.
But the point I really want to make is, within our membership I believe we have the knowledge and talent to solve all of APBA's major problems. I also believe the reason we have not addressed many of these issues is because the leadership in APBA has not reached out to the members and asked for help. I've always wondered how can so many highly intelligent, business oriented, successful people collectively let this stagnation happen without acting?
I have great respect for the men and women that have built and sustained this great organization throughout many years. However, we have assets and resources that are still untapped. Those resources are our membership. I believe, anybody within this membership will step up to help if asked. It is in the best interest of APBA, the Board of Directors, Council members and Commissions to reach out to all APBA members to help re-establish this association as the best in the world. The BoD should create Ad-hoc committees to address each major issue we are facing, made up of volunteer members with expertize in each field, to create a plan to resolve each challenge. It's not too late to turn this thing around. Together we can do it. VOTE!

John Runne

[raceright]

I Am not a member of APBA and have not been for several years. My allegiance is with USTS. But I know John and believe he will try his best to do what he can to improve and repair APBA. Good Luck John you would have my vote if I was a APBA member.