Thanksgiving Race

[Marty Davis]

The Tampa Model Boat Club is cancelling this Thanksgiving race for a lack of entries. There are only 15 people signed up and the largest class has 4 boats. Just not the way it should be.

I will be sending PayPal refunds this next week. Look for notification from PayPal that you have money.

Marty Davis

 

[Andy Brown]

I think most are planning for the two big January events at Brandon and Orlando. 421 boats total, so far, and still growing.

 

[Ron B.]

No the real problem is that the district let the next to last race be a double points race and that can kill the last race of the season. If there is a double points event it should be the last event!

 

[Mike Whitney]

Lack of leadership by our past director and taking away the double points race for Tampa was not fair. I was hoping things would change but, so far looks like more of the same thing..."nothing happening here, move on"

I would think the website would at least be updated....guess not.

It's a real shame that a club that wants to put on a race can't get enough entries. I was planning on going, but my mother is terminal and she comes first.

 

[Andy Brown]

Thanks for the explanation guys!

 

[Robert Pickard]

I totally agree with Ron about how the district is handled now it's just a different name but same people running the district maybe time for a big change

 

[HTV Boats]

Hard to say any one factor is responsible for low turnout or lack of people signing up. If we were not planning to run TT at Huntsville that weekend 4 of us from the south and at least 10 more boats would be entered.

One thing I see happening to smaller races that have a Pay/Pal only option is making it so people are waiting to the last minute to sign up. When your race is going to sell out like the Fall or Winter Nats a club can play hardball with entries. For smaller races having a mail in later option lets guys see who is coming and what classes may be run. Kind of promotes a he's going so I will too mentality. The HYPE builds some events. Now signing up early we all know events in life may come up and we can't make it. If your worried about no shows and having to take money on the day of the race just make a hard payup deadline a week or 10 days before the event. Or promote progressively lower fee's if you sign up and pay early. Anyone who has done this a while will remember the days we signed up on race day and figured out heats before we could run and we were just happy to see people show up. With todays technology you can press a button the night before the race and get everything printed. I feel the pay/pal only killed the Stewart race and may have contributed to this event going under. JMO

Mic

 

[Ron B.]

Last year this event had 150 entries as a double points race so with the event in PB being a double points race its likely that most of the Gas guys saw no advantage to attending this years event. Gas racers are really the only people chasing points anymore.

I really don't know why the Nitro guys didn't sign up and I thought it was interesting that only 1 person from the host club had signed up and that was only 1 boat. The host clubs members should all get signed up asap if they are able to be there.

I saw the light entries and decided to wait it out to see more nitro boats entered before I tied up more money in an event that didn't look as though it would happen. I had a long wait for my entry fee to be returned from a PayPal only event that cancelled and didn't want to go through that again.

 

[vision craft boats]

Same thing for me, just waiting to see if more people would sign up to make it worth while. Something is going on with model boating and it's not good. It has crossed my mind to sell everything. What's the point if there's only a hand full of races around here anymore. It seems people only get excited for big races.

 

[Robert Pickard]

I think if the race was a weekend after Thanksgiving might help to alot of people spend that time with there families jmo

 

[Andy Greene]

One thing I see happening to smaller races that have a Pay/Pal only option is making it so people are waiting to the last minute to sign up. When your race is going to sell out like the Fall or Winter Nats a club can play hardball with entries. For smaller races having a mail in later option lets guys see who is coming and what classes may be run. Kind of promotes a he's going so I will too mentality. The HYPE builds some events. Now signing up early we all know events in life may come up and we can't make it. If your worried about no shows and having to take money on the day of the race just make a hard payup deadline a week or 10 days before the event. Or promote progressively lower fee's if you sign up and pay early. Anyone who has done this a while will remember the days we signed up on race day and figured out heats before we could run and we were just happy to see people show up. With todays technology you can press a button the night before the race and get everything printed. I feel the pay/pal only killed the Stewart race and may have contributed to this event going under. JMO

Mic

BINGO ....

 

[Tom Foley]

Or ............simply just can't make it ! This happens you know .

 

[vision race boats]

I would have to say the same, the PayPal only thing, i am guilty of it my self, waiting to see if anybody is going to sign up to make it worth going, and the date of the race being the weekend after Thanksgiving, a lot of people may be off with family and just can't make it. It's a shame that we have races that are getting canceled due to turnout.

 

[Marty Davis]

Rich:

You are correct about one thing. You get a LOT more people entering the race if you don't use the PayPal option. Only problem with that is people sign up without commitment and near the deadline, they say to cancel their entry. Or worse, they don't even let the registrar know they aren't coming. The host club finds out that they didn't come at race checkin day of the race. Can you imagine the problems for the person doing the online registration process and the host club, printing the heat sheets, etc? Our club had this problem and decided that they didn't want to have to redo the heat sheets, etc day of the race. Not to mention trophies, etc. Just a bad deal to not have prepayment.

 

[dwilfong]

The thing is there not many Nitro boaters any more.............Gas has taken over the main stream of boater going to races.........

Most running Nitro only want to run at large events with nitro only boats for the main part.

The hobby has reached a splitting point as far as Gas and Nitro boaters.

May be it is time to realize this and plan races around this new trend.

High points for nitro is long gone on a dis level.

Just look at the attendance record from the last few years.

I think it is about time the Dis and the clubs address this and make changes accordingly as far as the racing venues offered.

Times have changed.........We need to change with them...................

 

[Robert Pickard]

Your saying not many nitro boaters when they have over 200 boats in Jan. i say nitro is alive and well what is needed is the district to be run properly this new guy wins who alot have no idea who he is and havent heard from him or what he and the people that have been running the district going to do. My opinion go to IMPBA we already have a director

 

[dwilfong]

Robert read my post again...........As I stated Nitro boaters only want to go to BIG races...............

Look at the attendance of the club races in the last few years for nitro boat attendance.....................................

114 total boats all nitro classes for this year in 8 races. 4 out of the 8 races not one nitro boat.

The numbers don't lie................................every one can ignore this all thy want it will not change the facts.....................

Going IMPA will not change that.................................It will just splinter what is already in place more.................................

 

[Ron B.]

Robert many people know David Horsley he is no stranger and has raced in District 3 for a while now. I am in hopes he will do good things for the District all we can do is offer our help and wait and see how it goes.

 

[Mike Whitney]

I think the point was...he has done nothing yet. I will wait and see what the new regimes ideas are.

 

[Matt Minassian]

Not for nothing and I don't really have much opinion on this but we the Brandon club have already received our date for our March race from the new district director among several other things. So to say he isn't doing anything is a lie and to expect the district to change over night is silly.

Instead of sitting on here complaining about what he isn't doing, why don't you man up and step forward and offer your help in whatever direction the new district director sees fit for your offered help. If you guys put half as much energy into helping out as you do bitching I think the district would be in a much better place.