15 pages. Couldn't read it all. A friend suggested I go read it.
A few thoughts I'd like to share. Maybe you guys have already addressed some of them.
On the class numbers.................
Here's where we screwed up repeatedly with FE in the passed 15 years or so. Every time one of us had a cool idea or found something fun we wanted to add it to the rule book right away. Primary objective was to be able to run it at the nats. Just because electric scale unlimited was cool, fun, fast, high zoot......whatever, didn't mean it needed to be on the books. The reality that we ignored was that there was no demand. A pocket of guys in the great lakes region running scales didn't mean it needed to be a national rule set. Even then the NAMBA rule set is different than the IMPBA rule set for FE. Silly. We could have kept running it as exhibition in both organizations. This is but one example. NAMBA has an ECO class we got from Europe. I've never seen it run at a national event. Ever. So why did we vote it in? That's the "build it they will come mentality" that has produced way too many classes for multiple fuel types. So we collectively need to cut it out. We're spreading ourselves too thin.
Also, the BOD doesn't dictate classes down the memberships throat in either organization. Classes come from the membership. If you feel otherwise then stop whining, kick down the door to the smokey room where you think the rules are written, and make a difference. I did this and found out there was nobody behind the door. Then I proceeded to make the mistakes myself. DOE!
I think Grim mentioned local support. There's a lot too this. This is really the only way to expand our hobby in my opinion. Expand our ranks first. Then racing the way we all know and love it will follow.
Find a pond and set up both practice days and then monthly racing. We have open water twice per week. Choose a short list of classes that are easy to obtain boats for and easy to run. I'm totally bias towards FE but if you go in the local hobby shop, you're not going to find a competitive gas or nitro boat. If you run some sort of limited FE boats that a newbie could buy something off the shelf you have a shot. FE scares the poo out of some fuel guys but remember, car guys already know a thing or two about batteries. They already own chargers and power supplies and in some cases the batteries to hit the water. FE only turns into high level physics when you get into high power classes. Any idiot can do limited classes. No offense. Especially with some of the RTR's out there.
That short list of classes needs to be a given. Pick classes you know you have entries for. Every time you're going to get together the gang needs to know (know!) that these classes will run. Even if you're bored to tears by the classes, you need to support the classes. The experienced guys have to run right along side the newer guys. Teach them every trick you know to get that extra half mph. Heck, I've even built boats for guys free of charge. The fee was, come race with us. Help them with their setups. Trouble shoot. Pit for them. Teach them what they did wrong when they have a driving infraction. I used to give lectures before each race on what I saw driving wise from the previous race. Not sure everyone loved that but they listened. If they break something, give them your spare to keep them turning for their heats.
Try to remember you're planting the race seed. This sounds terrible.........we're making addicts one at a time. hahaha You're trying to get guys first passed their fear of "racing" and second to realize how much stink'n fun it is. We need to show them how to be just as fast as we are. Getting lapped by the veteran fast guy is a drag. Finishing pretty close to him...........addicted. Gimme more of that!
Those easy to run classes are to get guys interested and hopefully hooked but you also need something to keep those same veterans inspired too. What we did was slowly added classes based on popularity. We started with I think just 3 club classes locally. Up to 5 now. It's working. We see three flight of some of those classes. Each race we allowed one extra class. Those guys interested would discuss where or what they wanted to try. So we knew which classes guys were interested in and added those to the signups. The extra class with the most signups ran. If a class fielded heats for a whole summer we would vote to add it to our list. There's no point in offering classes that can't field heats. There is even less point in encouraging people to build boats that will not be able to field a heat. If you loop back around to the whole "too many classes in the book" thinking it applies locally to. If I encourage a guy to build an FE 1/8 scale, I've done him a disservice. Now he owns a really expensive boat that he can't race locally (cuz nobody races those) and he can't race nationally (cuz nobody races those). For what an FE scale costs he could have had a fleet of limited boats and race 4 or 5 classes at any event. 15 to 20 heats per event for him or 4 heats a year for a scale at maybe the MIchigan Cup? Which one is going to keep him interested? T mono, T cat, T rigger. All super cool. All super fast. Super never going to get to race the danged things. This has to happen in fuel too. Guy builds a nitro tunnel when there are none locally. He has to travel for a grand to race it one time per year. Good plan. Addicted? Not likely.
The other piece of the local puzzle that has taken me years to get a handle on is enthusiasm. I eluded to this above. I like to race, I like to win, but is that all this hobby is? Win win win win! These boats are a form of stress relief for most of us. Winning is a bonus but isn't getting together with like minded hobbyist looking to blow off some steam a much bigger deal? I used to get all nasty and pissy if I didn't win a heat. Some of you have seen my stupidity firsthand. It's taken me years to grow up. That's not going to make people want to come play with us. If you show people how much fun you're having..............that's totally infectious. We've had guys show up to just watch our racing that have later commented "you guys look like you're having so much fun". Yeah.........we are. Out members disagree on politics and all kinds of daily things. But on the pond..............just model boaters laughing, enjoying each others company, and having a great time.
This approach has produced club racers that now own 5 or 6 boats each. Most are way more addicted than that. Some of those club boats fit more than one class. Classes we don't even run. Those guys are now at the stage where their starting to wonder...............................how do you think we stack up against racers elsewhere? They're starting to travel with us. We went to Atlanta last spring and ran 14 entries out of one canopy. So fun. At this point a few of us are hitting 14 events this coming season. FE events, mixed events, time trials. Holy crap that's a lot of racing. It's December and I'm already chomping at the bit to go racing.
If any of us wants to know how to really save racing..............look in the mirror. I had to. We're slowly crawling out of the primordial ooz here in MI.
