Entry Fee's going up

[rossdbos]

Bad news, entry fee's look like they are going up as there is an almost 20% increase across the board from 2011 to 2012 as APBA has gone back to ASIS (no choice as it looks like K & K basically dropped us).

http://www.apba-racing.com/newsletters/EAlert01112DEC.html

[AZOutlaw]

Bad news, entry fee's look like they are going up as there is an almost 20% increase across the board from 2011 to 2012 as APBA has gone back to ASIS (no choice as it looks like K & K basically dropped us).

http://www.apba-racing.com/newsletters/EAlert01112DEC.html

That, and we all help to gain event sponsors to help off set costs. :cool:

[rossdbos]

I would love to see some more advertisers/sponsors get involved, it would help the sport out overall but I fear this 20% increase across the board is going to further hurt the racer(s). Most clubs can't afford to raise entry fee's as it will further dwindle their already shrinking numbers (due to the economy, etc.) so this hurts boat racing on all levels. Not good news for 2012 I fear. :(

[russhill]

Ross, we'd all like to help address this problem. Higher entry fees mean fewer entries. Can you provide a pro-forma cost breakdown so we can see costs and income to help us see where we might help. Just throwing money at a problem is never a solution.

[rossdbos]

Here's a "bare bones" snap shot of expenses for a typical Bakersfield Race:

Sanction:$400
Insurance:$4,026
Kern County Park Fee $2,000 ($1,000 rental + $1,000 deposit or 10% of gross entries, whichever is higher)
Ambulance- $1,800 (2 days 8 hrs/day BLS, ALS=$2,200 so you choose)
Trash- $250
PA- $1,250
Trophies-$700
Rescue Reimbursement-$700 (fuel for Team Rescue)
Gas (for Rescue Boats, and Misc. $500)
Hotel Rooms for SCSC Staff/Rescue/Volunteers- $2,150
Lunches for staff-$300

Grand Total: $14,076

Divided by 70 race teams (we had 65 on Sat. and 48 on Sunday so I am being generous)= $201/boat/team or $100 per day, which we know doesn't happen as Stocks pay $80, $50, $30 (1st, 2nd & 3rd class respectively) and AXH pays $50/day so factor that in and the costs go up across the board which leads me back to my original statement that unfortunately due to this insurance increase entry fee's, all entry fee's have to go up. SCSC lost $2,300 at the September race and would lose over $3,000 with the increased insurance premium.

Last, this isn't going to be a discussion on SCSC/RPM's part on how to cut expenses even more than I have (above). I realize everyone may have an opinion on what they think will work or maybe cut this or cut that but this isn't the old days, I wish it was, this is reality. What you see is a "bare bones" race, and the expenses have been cut to the bone, for all other clubs that can do it cheaper, good luck and G-d Bless, we've tried but it doesn't work so this is the model we use for success. Also, above doesn't take into consideration different expenses that come into play; ie: buoys (replacement when destroyed), flares, work on rescue boats, etc., etc.

So Russ, all, a 20% increase across the board in expenses hurts everyone- the club but most affected are the racers as the only way to make up the shortfall is through a.) sponsor/advertisers and they seem to be in short supply nowadays and 2.) increase the entry fee to make up the difference.

I hope this explains one clubs dilemma. I am open to constructive suggestions on how to raise revenue without raising entry fee's but am at a loss.

Sincerely,

Ross Wallach, Race Director SCSC/RPM Racing Ent.

[AZOutlaw]

Here's a "bare bones" snap shot of expenses for a typical Bakersfield Race:

Thanks Ross. SCOA's expenses are not much different. Higher fixed costs always creates wakes. Right now, the racers will feel the burden to compensate the additional insurance costs. Hopefully clubs can adapt and overcome. Beats racing without it.

[russhill]

Ross,

Thanks so much for providing that information. It was certainly an eye opener--at least for me. I knew there'd be no corners to cut on costs, you've been working that for years.

I hoped and still do hope that somebody could come up with some new revenue sources. Of course I've hoped for that all my life. It's kind of a negative vicious circle--higher entry fees, fewer boats. Fewer boats, higher entry fees necessary.

I'll now address the several hundred or thousand readers of this site in hope there are some new ideas. Please post them here for all to consider.

Thanks again, Ross.

Russ Hill

[rossdbos]

We're all in this together. It's not a Mgmt. vs. labor deal, we need to work with each other to figure something out. We can't live without insurance even though I know of a few promoters (not in Circle boat racing in PWC racing) that only have coverage for themselves, not the racers and that isn't acceptable to me. APBA's insurance while being secondary is still important. My post was exactly how I feel, bad news in an already bad economy, this sucks but when your insurer sends notice that they are no longer providing coverage for you, you take what you can get and in this case the expenses are going up, this was unexpected and a big jump (20%) as expenses usually rise at at a rate of between 5% to 8% /year.
Ross Wallach, SCSC/RPM Racing Ent.

[Bruce Washburn]

I had the pleasure to attend my first race in Region 12 on Thanksgiving in Parker. I was really impressed with the way all the categories worked together to put on the race. Ross and crew did a great job. Being a race director/promoter can be a thankless job at times. We should be happy that we have folks willing to do it.

Insurance and increased sanction fees have been the undoing of many clubs and races. You have to make some money or at the very least break even at each race or you will not be around long. No one is happy about increased entry fees but it is part of reality if we are not able to all work together and make some positive things happen quickly.

To follow are a couple thoughts:

Race Sponsors and venues: If you know of a venue that will help pay the cost or wants to sponsor a race, work with your race promoter/club and give them the introduction. If you have acess to a TDC in a community where there could be a good venue contact them and work with your club to help get in the door. The club/promoter can then find out if they have any $'s for sports marketing and tourism in that area. Sponsors are hard to come by but every little bit can help. If there is a race in or near the town you live get involved and help get businesses involved that will by ads, tables, sponsorships etc.

Boats: Boat Counts have to go back up. The race will cost the same if we have 30 boats or 100 boats. The more boats we have the greater the overall entry pot is. The more boats we have the happier any sponsor or TDC will be. With more boats, the show we put on will also be alot better and eventually draw bigger crowds. Sponsors want to reach people. Get on the phones and be a class advocate. Get the drivers in the class to show up to and race. If you are in the position to do so help them get their boat ready to race if they have problems.

PR: Be an ambassador for the sport. Talk to the people you meet in town and invite them to the race. If you are staying at a Hotel make sure that they know you are there for the race. The same thing with every business you go to. The smaller the town the more important this will be. If businesses know we bring money to town they will support having us back. Remember those TDC $'s. The chances of us getting them will be much better if business owners know that we bring money to their community.

As boat racers we are going to have to get more involved and help the clubs/promoters where possible. The APBA does not put on a race. They are a sanctioning body, provide rules and are an insurance provider. The Clubs/Promoters are the groups that make the races happen and drivers are part of the clubs :)

[Original Looper 1]

As always,

Follow the Money....

$400,000 for a facebook campaign?



Regards,

Paul

[SUPERGLUE EXPRESS]

one possibility to get revenue to lower the cost of racing : charge a "small" gate fee or a parking fee to spectators, (i do not think any body would object to paying $5.00 to watch a good race ! )

[rossdbos]

Pat:

The Blue Water won't allow us to charge a gate. If we charge a gate at Lake Ming it changes the costs to rent the lake significantly (more costs) and unfortunately there haven't been a ton of spectators that come to watch the races even when I send out press releases. Long Beach is the only venue we can/have to charge a gate to offset costs.

I believe the group that puts on Puddinstone charges a gate and the county takes a fee as well.

Thanks for your response but we've been there done that with this topic, in Region 12 that is.

Ross

[FlatRacer]

For what it's worth, I was talking to a guy who road races an SCCA Spec Racer (their most popular class) and he floored me when he told me he spends upward of $1,000 in entry fees for a race weekend!

Eric

[rossdbos]

Add tires to anything and the cost skyrocket but boat racing has mainly been a "grass roots" level organization where the "every man" could get into into relatively inexpensively and have cheap entry fee's. Many a boat racer that left for cars, etc. came back quietly when the costs were found to be way more expensive than boat racing. No one said racing was cheap and compared to cars, trucks, etc. we still have the lowest entry fee's for a motorized sport. Thanks Eric.

Ross Wallach, SCSC/RPM Racing Ent.

[ePerformanceMarine]

As far as the rescue boats go for any of the clubs, I can throw my labor and used parts for free if it will help.
But I do feel we have to go after sponsors aggresively. Take ten small sponsors instead of holding out for the big one.
Jim