OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
01-27-2006, 09:11 PM
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OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Hello Race Fans,
The 2006 OPA racing season starts now!
After the spending the last few months on the phone with racers and race sites, it looks like OPA will have its best season yet. It's a new OPA for 2006, with an alliance with the Great Lakes teams and the full support of AMF Racing, we are looking forward to elevating Performance Class offshore racing to a new level.
From the feedback we are getting, we'll see large fleets of boats at each race taking advantage of the new "no race fee" policy and dicing it out on the racecourse for a share of the prize purse.
Here is the 2006 OPA Racing Schedule
June 3 - 4 Algonac, Michigan - Purse $25,000
June 24-25 Point Pleasant, NJ - None as of today
July 7-8 TBA
July 29-30 St Clair, Michigan - Purse - $25,000
August 12-13 Fall River, Mass - Purse - $25,000
August 26-27 TBA
Sept 9-10 Ocean City, MD - Purse - $25,000
Sept 23-24 Cambridge, MD - National Championships - Purse - $25,000
Nov 05 - 12 World Championships-TBA
Now that money is on the line and the teams will be traveling some distance to get to the races, we need to institute some new rules regarding speeds and how they are checked. We all know Performance class racing isn't perfect. We all understand the speed brackets; it's just a matter of how to monitor the speeds so that the racing is as fair as possible.
Choices are:
1. OPA will run your boat with you before the race and adjust its top speed so that breaking out is impossible. This means no GPS or any other type of speed tracking equipment is needed. If this method is chosen, then it's balls to the wall racing. No breakouts at all.
OPA did this in Camden in the P5 class and it produced incredible racing with 4 or 5 lead changes. Boat speeds are adjusted by changing rev limiter chips and prop size.
2. We have found a GPS tracking system designed for trucking companies. It can trace your boat's path on a computer screen and show the boats speed for every five-second interval. If a break out speed is shown, we can see if it happened as a spike in just one of the five-second intervals or if the speed maintained for more than a few seconds. If we use this method, no dash mounted GPS units will be allowed and teams will be responsible for making their boat conform to the limits of the class. If we us this method, the computer will be the final judge and there will be NO ROOM FOR INTURPITATION. It will also show missed turn buoys.
We want the rules to be locked in place for at least three years so think about the two choices carefully. OPA firmly believes that this sport needs some consistency to prosper. For too many years rules have changed driving racers away and numbering systems have changed confusing spectators. What we have today may not be perfect but we don't want to change it. Sometime lack of change is good. Our primary goal is to level the playing field as much as possible and offer every boat a chance to win on any given day. Combine that with no entry fees, what more could a racer want?
Winter Meeting - 2/25/06
You will have a chance to voice your opinion and vote for either method of speed monitoring at the OPA winter meeting and awards party. Mark your calendar for Saturday February 25th from 5 to 9 pm at the Sawmill Bar and Restaurant on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. It's the last building on the south end of the boardwalk. Maps to follow.
We'll have a meeting to discuss the rules and more from 5 to 6:30, then we'll go into a party and awards ceremony from 6:30 to 9pm. Everyone is welcome to the party portion of the evening. Info will be forthcoming about the cost of tickets and how to sign up.
Who said racing is free?
Well, the race entry fees are free but registration is not. OPA will need some money to get through the season and get some new items like turn pillows. So it's time to pay the 2006 equipment registration fees. In fact, the 5pm meeting is ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS. We'll have registration set up in the downstairs bar starting at 3:30 so everyone can get registered prior to the meeting. The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
Donations will be warmly accepted
And the winner is!
We look forward to seeing you all again on the 25th of Feb for an eventful evening when we'll present the perpetual Stuggots Cup to the 2005 OPA High Points Champion - Papa Dukes. We are really proud of these young guys. They beat the best and are more than worth of this title.
See ya in Seaside,
OPA
The 2006 OPA racing season starts now!
After the spending the last few months on the phone with racers and race sites, it looks like OPA will have its best season yet. It's a new OPA for 2006, with an alliance with the Great Lakes teams and the full support of AMF Racing, we are looking forward to elevating Performance Class offshore racing to a new level.
From the feedback we are getting, we'll see large fleets of boats at each race taking advantage of the new "no race fee" policy and dicing it out on the racecourse for a share of the prize purse.
Here is the 2006 OPA Racing Schedule
June 3 - 4 Algonac, Michigan - Purse $25,000
June 24-25 Point Pleasant, NJ - None as of today
July 7-8 TBA
July 29-30 St Clair, Michigan - Purse - $25,000
August 12-13 Fall River, Mass - Purse - $25,000
August 26-27 TBA
Sept 9-10 Ocean City, MD - Purse - $25,000
Sept 23-24 Cambridge, MD - National Championships - Purse - $25,000
Nov 05 - 12 World Championships-TBA
Now that money is on the line and the teams will be traveling some distance to get to the races, we need to institute some new rules regarding speeds and how they are checked. We all know Performance class racing isn't perfect. We all understand the speed brackets; it's just a matter of how to monitor the speeds so that the racing is as fair as possible.
Choices are:
1. OPA will run your boat with you before the race and adjust its top speed so that breaking out is impossible. This means no GPS or any other type of speed tracking equipment is needed. If this method is chosen, then it's balls to the wall racing. No breakouts at all.
OPA did this in Camden in the P5 class and it produced incredible racing with 4 or 5 lead changes. Boat speeds are adjusted by changing rev limiter chips and prop size.
2. We have found a GPS tracking system designed for trucking companies. It can trace your boat's path on a computer screen and show the boats speed for every five-second interval. If a break out speed is shown, we can see if it happened as a spike in just one of the five-second intervals or if the speed maintained for more than a few seconds. If we use this method, no dash mounted GPS units will be allowed and teams will be responsible for making their boat conform to the limits of the class. If we us this method, the computer will be the final judge and there will be NO ROOM FOR INTURPITATION. It will also show missed turn buoys.
We want the rules to be locked in place for at least three years so think about the two choices carefully. OPA firmly believes that this sport needs some consistency to prosper. For too many years rules have changed driving racers away and numbering systems have changed confusing spectators. What we have today may not be perfect but we don't want to change it. Sometime lack of change is good. Our primary goal is to level the playing field as much as possible and offer every boat a chance to win on any given day. Combine that with no entry fees, what more could a racer want?
Winter Meeting - 2/25/06
You will have a chance to voice your opinion and vote for either method of speed monitoring at the OPA winter meeting and awards party. Mark your calendar for Saturday February 25th from 5 to 9 pm at the Sawmill Bar and Restaurant on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. It's the last building on the south end of the boardwalk. Maps to follow.
We'll have a meeting to discuss the rules and more from 5 to 6:30, then we'll go into a party and awards ceremony from 6:30 to 9pm. Everyone is welcome to the party portion of the evening. Info will be forthcoming about the cost of tickets and how to sign up.
Who said racing is free?
Well, the race entry fees are free but registration is not. OPA will need some money to get through the season and get some new items like turn pillows. So it's time to pay the 2006 equipment registration fees. In fact, the 5pm meeting is ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS. We'll have registration set up in the downstairs bar starting at 3:30 so everyone can get registered prior to the meeting. The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
Donations will be warmly accepted
And the winner is!
We look forward to seeing you all again on the 25th of Feb for an eventful evening when we'll present the perpetual Stuggots Cup to the 2005 OPA High Points Champion - Papa Dukes. We are really proud of these young guys. They beat the best and are more than worth of this title.
See ya in Seaside,
OPA
Charter Member
01-29-2006, 08:31 AM
#3
Driver-441
Racer
Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Originally Posted by Ron P
Hello Race Fans,
The 2006 OPA racing season starts now!
After the spending the last few months on the phone with racers and race sites, it looks like OPA will have its best season yet. It's a new OPA for 2006, with an alliance with the Great Lakes teams and the full support of AMF Racing, we are looking forward to elevating Performance Class offshore racing to a new level.
From the feedback we are getting, we'll see large fleets of boats at each race taking advantage of the new "no race fee" policy and dicing it out on the racecourse for a share of the prize purse.
Here is the 2006 OPA Racing Schedule
June 3 - 4 Algonac, Michigan - Purse $25,000
June 24-25 Point Pleasant, NJ - None as of today
July 7-8 TBA
July 29-30 St Clair, Michigan - Purse - $25,000
August 12-13 Fall River, Mass - Purse - $25,000
August 26-27 TBA
Sept 9-10 Ocean City, MD - Purse - $25,000
Sept 23-24 Cambridge, MD - National Championships - Purse - $25,000
Nov 05 - 12 World Championships-TBA
Now that money is on the line and the teams will be traveling some distance to get to the races, we need to institute some new rules regarding speeds and how they are checked. We all know Performance class racing isn't perfect. We all understand the speed brackets; it's just a matter of how to monitor the speeds so that the racing is as fair as possible.
Choices are:
1. OPA will run your boat with you before the race and adjust its top speed so that breaking out is impossible. This means no GPS or any other type of speed tracking equipment is needed. If this method is chosen, then it's balls to the wall racing. No breakouts at all.
OPA did this in Camden in the P5 class and it produced incredible racing with 4 or 5 lead changes. Boat speeds are adjusted by changing rev limiter chips and prop size.
2. We have found a GPS tracking system designed for trucking companies. It can trace your boat's path on a computer screen and show the boats speed for every five-second interval. If a break out speed is shown, we can see if it happened as a spike in just one of the five-second intervals or if the speed maintained for more than a few seconds. If we use this method, no dash mounted GPS units will be allowed and teams will be responsible for making their boat conform to the limits of the class. If we us this method, the computer will be the final judge and there will be NO ROOM FOR INTURPITATION. It will also show missed turn buoys.
We want the rules to be locked in place for at least three years so think about the two choices carefully. OPA firmly believes that this sport needs some consistency to prosper. For too many years rules have changed driving racers away and numbering systems have changed confusing spectators. What we have today may not be perfect but we don't want to change it. Sometime lack of change is good. Our primary goal is to level the playing field as much as possible and offer every boat a chance to win on any given day. Combine that with no entry fees, what more could a racer want?
Winter Meeting - 2/25/06
You will have a chance to voice your opinion and vote for either method of speed monitoring at the OPA winter meeting and awards party. Mark your calendar for Saturday February 25th from 5 to 9 pm at the Sawmill Bar and Restaurant on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. It's the last building on the south end of the boardwalk. Maps to follow.
We'll have a meeting to discuss the rules and more from 5 to 6:30, then we'll go into a party and awards ceremony from 6:30 to 9pm. Everyone is welcome to the party portion of the evening. Info will be forthcoming about the cost of tickets and how to sign up.
Who said racing is free?
Well, the race entry fees are free but registration is not. OPA will need some money to get through the season and get some new items like turn pillows. So it's time to pay the 2006 equipment registration fees. In fact, the 5pm meeting is ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS. We'll have registration set up in the downstairs bar starting at 3:30 so everyone can get registered prior to the meeting. The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
Donations will be warmly accepted
And the winner is!
We look forward to seeing you all again on the 25th of Feb for an eventful evening when we'll present the perpetual Stuggots Cup to the 2005 OPA High Points Champion - Papa Dukes. We are really proud of these young guys. They beat the best and are more than worth of this title.
See ya in Seaside,
OPA
The 2006 OPA racing season starts now!
After the spending the last few months on the phone with racers and race sites, it looks like OPA will have its best season yet. It's a new OPA for 2006, with an alliance with the Great Lakes teams and the full support of AMF Racing, we are looking forward to elevating Performance Class offshore racing to a new level.
From the feedback we are getting, we'll see large fleets of boats at each race taking advantage of the new "no race fee" policy and dicing it out on the racecourse for a share of the prize purse.
Here is the 2006 OPA Racing Schedule
June 3 - 4 Algonac, Michigan - Purse $25,000
June 24-25 Point Pleasant, NJ - None as of today
July 7-8 TBA
July 29-30 St Clair, Michigan - Purse - $25,000
August 12-13 Fall River, Mass - Purse - $25,000
August 26-27 TBA
Sept 9-10 Ocean City, MD - Purse - $25,000
Sept 23-24 Cambridge, MD - National Championships - Purse - $25,000
Nov 05 - 12 World Championships-TBA
Now that money is on the line and the teams will be traveling some distance to get to the races, we need to institute some new rules regarding speeds and how they are checked. We all know Performance class racing isn't perfect. We all understand the speed brackets; it's just a matter of how to monitor the speeds so that the racing is as fair as possible.
Choices are:
1. OPA will run your boat with you before the race and adjust its top speed so that breaking out is impossible. This means no GPS or any other type of speed tracking equipment is needed. If this method is chosen, then it's balls to the wall racing. No breakouts at all.
OPA did this in Camden in the P5 class and it produced incredible racing with 4 or 5 lead changes. Boat speeds are adjusted by changing rev limiter chips and prop size.
2. We have found a GPS tracking system designed for trucking companies. It can trace your boat's path on a computer screen and show the boats speed for every five-second interval. If a break out speed is shown, we can see if it happened as a spike in just one of the five-second intervals or if the speed maintained for more than a few seconds. If we use this method, no dash mounted GPS units will be allowed and teams will be responsible for making their boat conform to the limits of the class. If we us this method, the computer will be the final judge and there will be NO ROOM FOR INTURPITATION. It will also show missed turn buoys.
We want the rules to be locked in place for at least three years so think about the two choices carefully. OPA firmly believes that this sport needs some consistency to prosper. For too many years rules have changed driving racers away and numbering systems have changed confusing spectators. What we have today may not be perfect but we don't want to change it. Sometime lack of change is good. Our primary goal is to level the playing field as much as possible and offer every boat a chance to win on any given day. Combine that with no entry fees, what more could a racer want?
Winter Meeting - 2/25/06
You will have a chance to voice your opinion and vote for either method of speed monitoring at the OPA winter meeting and awards party. Mark your calendar for Saturday February 25th from 5 to 9 pm at the Sawmill Bar and Restaurant on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. It's the last building on the south end of the boardwalk. Maps to follow.
We'll have a meeting to discuss the rules and more from 5 to 6:30, then we'll go into a party and awards ceremony from 6:30 to 9pm. Everyone is welcome to the party portion of the evening. Info will be forthcoming about the cost of tickets and how to sign up.
Who said racing is free?
Well, the race entry fees are free but registration is not. OPA will need some money to get through the season and get some new items like turn pillows. So it's time to pay the 2006 equipment registration fees. In fact, the 5pm meeting is ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS. We'll have registration set up in the downstairs bar starting at 3:30 so everyone can get registered prior to the meeting. The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
Donations will be warmly accepted
And the winner is!
We look forward to seeing you all again on the 25th of Feb for an eventful evening when we'll present the perpetual Stuggots Cup to the 2005 OPA High Points Champion - Papa Dukes. We are really proud of these young guys. They beat the best and are more than worth of this title.
See ya in Seaside,
OPA
Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
01-29-2006, 11:48 AM
#5
OSO Content Provider
Commercial Member
Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Originally Posted by Ron P
the 5pm meeting is
ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS.
The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
ONLY OPEN TO REGISTERED RIDING CREW MEMBERS.
The cost of registration is:
$500 per boat
$100 per riding crewmember
I agree that you need to be registered in order to place a vote on rule changes, but to ask people to layout $700.00 per team without having all the facts to make a honest decision whether or not to race just isn't right..
Limiting this meeting to Riding Members only also seems to exclude anyone's mechanics and riggers who seem to be the main people that need to know how to set up the boats...
The only other option left open for the undecided racers is to voice their thoughts here on the open forum in hopes that a registered racer will bring their opinions to the meeting for them.
I don't mean for this to come across negative, I just feel it is something you should consider...
Good luck with your 2006 Season!
01-29-2006, 12:48 PM
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Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
I agree with Tim. I would like to attend the meeting but need some more info before I pay my fees. Plus I don't even have a wheel man yet
01-29-2006, 01:05 PM
#7
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Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Sorry guys, the meeting is only for registered racers with a vested interest. It's the only way to keep the group as small as possible so that we can get something accomplished in an hour and a half. The idea is to give racers a chance to have their voice heard while keeping non racers silent.
We need to focus on options one and two. That's whats on the table and what needs to be hashed out so it won't be changed for three years. If we have time after that vote, we can talk about other things. I'm sure the outcome of the meeting will be posted here.
As noted in the original letter, OPA wants to make one or two small adjustments, not sweeping changes. Lets keep it consistent for a few years and try to grow the sport.
MM - You don't need a wheelman to register the boat and yourself.
We need to focus on options one and two. That's whats on the table and what needs to be hashed out so it won't be changed for three years. If we have time after that vote, we can talk about other things. I'm sure the outcome of the meeting will be posted here.
As noted in the original letter, OPA wants to make one or two small adjustments, not sweeping changes. Lets keep it consistent for a few years and try to grow the sport.
MM - You don't need a wheelman to register the boat and yourself.
01-29-2006, 02:29 PM
#8
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Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Are those 2 options the only things that are up for a vote? Are the rest of the rules the same as last year?
MD
MD
01-29-2006, 02:34 PM
#9
Driver-441
Racer
Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
It should be avarage lap speed. That way if you have to slow down for some reason, you can get back on it without worrying about breaking out to catch up.
01-29-2006, 03:01 PM
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Re: OPA Winter Meeting and Awards Party
Ron I understand your intention but Auggie will have the BAT as master at arms.
First this was promoted as NO FEES now there are some fees, well I guess $700 is no real big deal as It does go to running the club. I can support that. I had planned to attend. but it seems only reasonable to me to be able to assess what is happing before committing to race
But is is your ball and bat so have it your way I would think an open door policy would promote the OPA much better then a secret meeting I am sure there are a few guys on the fence trying what they should do, but that's just me I could be wrong
First this was promoted as NO FEES now there are some fees, well I guess $700 is no real big deal as It does go to running the club. I can support that. I had planned to attend. but it seems only reasonable to me to be able to assess what is happing before committing to race
But is is your ball and bat so have it your way I would think an open door policy would promote the OPA much better then a secret meeting I am sure there are a few guys on the fence trying what they should do, but that's just me I could be wrong
