What Are The Barriers to Entry? The Simple Truth: Exposure.

[thetrailergod]

Last weekend at Garnett Ks. We had our pitt area roped off and charged to get into the pitts. guess what all the specators bought pitt passes, we all spoke to potential racers and even saw some old ones that raced in the 50s, to help keep them safe thats simple, the NBRA made it a manditory safty rule that props must be covered, simple things like this take alot of the risk management out of the equasion

[jtower3941]

Pit area safety

The hot pits is a safety issue. Must have signed insurance form and get a band. Not enough racers to volenteer. Why don't we have a roped off area for a couple boats and persons to answer questions. This limits insurance conserns and gets the message to spectators. Have a TV with permotional playing all the time. Persons answering questions don't have to be drivers or pit crews getting ready to race. This could be a consession. Sell race jackets, autographed pictures, days race schedule and boat numbers. Start out small and build on what the specators are interested. Just an idea.

[DiGia54D]

Thats how they did the US Title series in Hartford last weekend.. Sold Pit passes for $5.00 and had tents with posters, shirts, hats on both ends of the pits. They ropped of sections for the public to watch with out pit passes. Very well organized

[Kev43V]

The hot pits is a safety issue. Must have signed insurance form and get a band. Not enough racers to volenteer. Why don't we have a roped off area for a couple boats and persons to answer questions. This limits insurance conserns and gets the message to spectators. Have a TV with permotional playing all the time. Persons answering questions don't have to be drivers or pit crews getting ready to race. This could be a consession. Sell race jackets, autographed pictures, days race schedule and boat numbers. Start out small and build on what the specators are interested. Just an idea.

For the most part that is exactly what we have been doing for the last couple of years here in R7

[propnuts]

Not in R10 for the most part

A couple years ago our inboard group was charging for pit passes when a local resident got upset. His beef was that not only were we closing down his boat ramp and lake, now we were trying to charge him to get into a public park. The resultant @#$% storm, coupled with some other screw ups has lead to racing becoming almost impossible, based on all the increased costs we now have, on one of our best pieces of race water (Lake Lawrence). I believe we still charge a token pit pass fee at Silver Lake in Everett, but nowhere else. I'm not saying the same situation could happen anywhere else, just throwing this out there as a cautionary tale.

[raceright]

A couple years ago our inboard group was charging for pit passes when a local resident got upset. His beef was that not only were we closing down his boat ramp and lake, now we were trying to charge him to get into a public park. The resultant @#$% storm, coupled with some other screw ups has lead to racing becoming almost impossible, based on all the increased costs we now have, on one of our best pieces of race water (Lake Lawrence). I believe we still charge a token pit pass fee at Silver Lake in Everett, but nowhere else. I'm not saying the same situation could happen anywhere else, just throwing this out there as a cautionary tale.

Need to put things in order here--If you have permits for water and park (and you should) Pits should be defined with some type of fencing and caution tape, the resident can not complain as he can use the rest of the park..
In hartfords case it is believed that paying for a pit pass and signing a release makes things legal. The 5 dollars that hartford charged went to the Riverfront orginization to offset there expenses--they did not give the USTS any funds. If you still have a person with a beef and the park is on you side as they should be (again permits) then he can go pound salt the selfish creep lololool. Would love to call him sometg=hing else.
Find the money or raise the entry fee about all there is left(entry fee has been to low for to long)

Pat Wright

[raceright]

The hot pits is a safety issue. Must have signed insurance form and get a band. Not enough racers to volenteer. Why don't we have a roped off area for a couple boats and persons to answer questions. This limits insurance conserns and gets the message to spectators. Have a TV with permotional playing all the time. Persons answering questions don't have to be drivers or pit crews getting ready to race. This could be a consession. Sell race jackets, autographed pictures, days race schedule and boat numbers. Start out small and build on what the specators are interested. Just an idea.

Great Ideas YOU should make it happen.

[Raymond]

There are many different things we are going to need to do to fix the problems plaguing SO racing and there appears to be lots of good work going on to put us on the inside lane to a future where we all still have a place to race. Thank you everyone for your hard work!

While I haven’t spoke to my passion of ‘exposure’ lately I would like to ask all of you to consider a simple action everyone can take to expose our sport and your individual team efforts and accomplishments. Crate a ‘Team’ Facebook page that you can use to promote the sport and local club while also keeping current with your extended network of friends and family.

A ‘team page’ works for people like me that are not otherwise interested in the ‘online social networking thing’ or otherwise sharing personal information on line because it gives me (us) some access to the system so I (we) can support the sport and local club by generating traffic on the club page while not divulging intimate personal information; rather it focuses on the ‘teams’ information. It also allows me (us) to expose the sport to those that have no idea this sport even exists. For every boat racing friend I have I have 20+ others that have (or had) no idea of our existence.

Through a Facebook page you can advertise your local races which could drum up a few spectators. You can also advertise your clubs recruitment efforts like Racer School to your non racer friends and family in hopes of….well you know. Ok, so you’re asking; did your Facebook efforts put anybody in a boat last year? Well no, not directly that I know of…but posting our schedule and sending invites did draw better than a handful of visiting spectators to events last year. While that did not generate race fee revenue they did patronize the local concessions and such which helped to maximize the impact of the clubs race site footprint.

Ok, so this does not seem all that significant but think about this on a grand scale. How many people does a car salesman talk to before he/she finds one that buys a car? I am the kind of person that subscribes to the school of thought that ‘every penny counts’. That’s why I ‘AM’ a fan of raffles, T-shirt sales and other ancillary revenue and exposure generating tactics.

It’s a package deal that will get it done, not just…racer schools, class combinations or accelerated race day schedules. The challenges, solutions and opportunities before us do not exist in a static environment. Our path to prosperous and sustainable health will not occur thought a singular tactic or effort; it will require a strategy of wide ranging actions that will require all of us to partake in.

We would love to see you become a friend and fan of the MHRA Facebook page but you have to have a Facebook page to do so. This singular tactic will help to show your Team Spirit and Support for the Sport this winter (this long cold winter) with very little effort.

Thanks for reading.