Nothings perfect, you know that.. OPA, SBI or OSS.. but if you want SBI to increase boat count (more boats = more fun) you need to have SBI re-adjust there fee's; bottom line.
I would love to do a couple SBI events, I even have one a couple hours from the house. But I'm not paying a couple grand per race for the privilege to race 1 boat and win, what? 700 bucks?
It is what it is, obviously OPA works for you, thats great. I have said time and time again that Smitty has done wonderful things. I have also said that "All Associations have fleas" and come to think of it I have said for years, "race where it is best for your team".
SBI works for John Carbonell, and really thats all that counts. Do I have issues with the way he runs it, yes w/o a doubt, do you have issues with it, by your posts it looks as though you do. That all doesnt matter as it is John Carbonell's business and he will do what he feels is best for his business, just as we do for ours everyday. As far as fees are concerned, I am honestly surprised that he hasnt gone up on them. ie the price of fuel went up and I had to charge my customers more on their bills every month, but when it went down I lowered my prices again. My business, my choice. In his case the price of the bleachers in KW went up to 22,000 this year from approx 16,000 last year. Who pays for this? With him being in business to make money, he has a few choices, eliminate them all together, raise fees, find a sponsor to fill the void. Now a sponsor would be the perfect way, but as the way the economy is, sponsors arent just cutting checks anymore on a whim, look at the fallout from Nascar and the 4-5 major pullouts already and their season isnt even over yet. side note:bleachers is just an example, everything has gone up
Smitty is able to run OPA and yes I am sure he has it setup as an LLC or some sort of corp, but what is his overhead and payroll for the staff? I dont profess to know, but I am pretty sure its next to nothing. He has his dry storage, and service shop which pays his personal bills, JC has SBI.
Now to the topic at hand, SBI amended their rules to match up speed wise with OPA. No they didnt add Class 6 as there was no participation or boats requesting it down here. 1 team(Simmons) came down and raced. So now SBI feels that it is time to re-evaluate and I have been told that they are trying to eliminate 2 P-classes and add the 4000 purse from those to the 3 remaining classes. Do I see it happening?, I dont know, they eliminated F1 and SVL and still announced a 75,000 purse and showed a payout to those classes that didnt exist. As I said above, his business, his choice, whether we like it or not. The meeting essentially is just a waste of time(basically takes time away from Duval) as SBI is going to do what they want to do. As proven by my direct situation in Clearwater, racer input was not taken into account and they did what they felt was best for their business. I inturn had to make a decision for the best of my team(business) and after discussions with the sponsor it was decided to go, which turned out to be the best thing I could have done with what we have working for the future overall.
Rick, I know the fees suck, I wish I could go to Applebee's and eat for free as well, but unfortunately I have to pay. Enjoy the ride and privledge that Smitty has created for you guys up there, in this economy it might not last for long and then he will have to start charging entries. When I raced full time in OPA the entry was 500 per race and only had Atlantic City and Cambridge with a purse. enjoy it while it lasts and most importantly BE SAFE!!