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Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Lake Havasu City AZ Age: 62
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| World Finals Update
From the IJSBA Website:
IJSBA Second Pre World Finals Update (2 of 5)
September 19, 2009
Greetings from the IJSBA. This is your second update to let you know of how things are shaping up as we go into the 2009 quakysense World Finals. We had projected only four updates, but the IJSBA is always willing to deliver everything we can. So, we managed to squeeze in scheduling for one more which will bring the total updates to five. Please share the following information with your colleagues in the Personal Watercraft community:
Thank You’s
This year’s quakysense World Finals has really seen a lot of people go beyond the call of duty to make sure that things are flowing well when the event goes live on October 10th. A lot of hard work goes into each and every World Finals and this year has been no exception.
However, everyone involved has had their own plate’s full in keeping their heads above water in this economy. Everyone has pitched in to help reduce expenses so that there is no sacrifice to quality. Blake and Jacque are working overtime on getting the sample course finalized. Jim Russell of Desert Steel has been tirelessly finding us the best deals on infrastructure. Dominic Clark, our publicist, has been hitting up every media outlet to make sure the World Finals is up to date in the minds of every conceivable journal, magazine, and newspaper. Josh Blum has been overcome by numerous schedule requests and continues to revise the schedule to best suit everyone’s needs. Extraordinarily big thanks to quakysense for emailing frequently on how they can make the event look bigger and better. Simply put, they are the best title sponsors anyone could ask for.
Of course, the biggest thank you goes to you, the competitor’s. We know this is a tight year and will continue to acknowledge it. So many people are showing that this event is a priority even in a rough economy and we appreciate your dedication. We very much appreciate those of you who get your entries in early. Last year, more than 30% of the overall participants entered on site. While the reason for doing this is surely that you want to support IJSBA and pay the highest entry fee possible, just about all of the on site increase goes towards the additional staff and time it takes to enter and prepare the data at the last minute.
Also, late entries send’s your managing director’s blood pressure to a height only viewable with the aid of the Hubble Telescope. Thank you very much, early entering participants. Also, thank you in advance to those of you who are so moved by this paragraph that you are sending in your entry immediately after reading this update.
Log Jump
Masters will not be doing the log jump at the World Finals this year. The log jump will only be used for Pro, GP, and possibly some Pro Am classes. Expect a final decision on the Pro Am classes shortly.
Rider Representative Election
In just a few days, we will be posting the nomination procedure for the Rider Representatives to the IJSBA Board of Directors. There will be about three weeks of campaigning and nominating and the elections will take place both online and at the World Finals. For those of you who want to make the difference and have a hand in maintaining and shaping the future of your sport, we hope you will submit your name for candidacy.
The position requires a real commitment of time and responsibility as well as a willingness to communicate and work well with others. A strong sense of patience and thick skin is a plus. The IJSBA Board of Directors will be larger for 2010 so that we can get as many viewpoints as possible as PWC racing hits the next phase of evolution. We will also start contacting Affiliates, Aftermarkets, and OEM’s to prepare them for their selection processes. Riders, we cannot stress enough how important your participation is and how serious you must be about this position if you decide to do it.
Negligence and Safety Seminar for Promoters
All IJSBA sanctioned promoters are invited to attend a seminar on Negligence and Safety. This seminar will take place at the start of the World Finals (tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 10) and will be a presentation and discussion of the concepts of negligence, waivers, assumptions of risk, and what we can do to best present our racing to the general public. K-38 will provide a discussion about safety. We invite anyone currently putting on a PWC race or thinking about putting on a race in the future to attend this informal seminar.
Rotating Technical Inspectors and Log Book
The IJSBA will have a full time technical team ensuring compliance with the IJSBA Rule Book. Top finishers in all classes will be inspected for compliance. In addition to our standing technical team, we have been in contact with many other qualified technical inspectors who we will rotate in and out of the technical inspection area in order to minimize any perceptions of conflicts of interest. The IJSBA is dedicated to providing the utmost standards of fairness in our technical inspection process.
Any disqualifications will be entered into the Technical Inspection Log Book. This will allow the entire PWC community to keep an ongoing record of what did (and did not) happen during technical inspections.
Rotating Race Directors and Appeals Jury
As always, the IJSBA will have dedicated race directors. Blake Corning is the lead race director for the 2009 quakysense World Finals. The IJSBA is working with other qualified race directors to rotate in and out of the race director position in order to minimize perceptions of favoritism or conflicts of interest. Rotating race directors will be experienced race directors from different parts of the world in order to ensure a balanced approach to quality control.
In addition to a balance race director staff, the IJSBA has assembled an international appeals jury for the 2009 quakysense World Finals. Previously, any appeal of a race director or technical director’s decision was sent to the Managing Director. For 2009, any appeal will first be sent to the Appeals Jury for a decision. Any appeal from the jury will go to the Managing Director. Any appeal from the Managing Director’s ruling shall be submitted to the IJSBA Board of Directors who, at quorum, will decide whether to hear the appeal. If the appeal is heard then any decision of the IJSBA Board of Directors shall be final and non appealable. Each appeal requires a fee of $100.00 as stated in the IJSBA Rule Book.
Entries Update
Entries continue to come in. It is very exciting to see not only some new names but the return of some veteran competitors who have made headlines in years past. The IJSBA was prepared for the 2009 quakysense World Finals to be in line with other motorsports (and everything else for that matter) which have sustained participation drops of up to 30%.
We are now comfortable is stating that we have entries that have elevated us out of that range and we expect to beat our internal projections of participation rates. Returning participants are very strong. We will continue to keep you posted regarding the entries but we are definitely in the zone where we hoped we would be and all indications point to surpassing it.
New Lodging Partners
Our economy host hotel, The Fairway Inn, has sold out. We have released our partners for luxury and convenience accommodations as well as a replacement for the economy accommodations. For those looking to save the most money, the Travel Lodge of Lake Havasu (1-(928)-680-9202) has $53.00 rooms with free internet and daily breakfast
If you are the type who really benefits from that extra few minutes of sleep in the morning, or if your support crew is frequently in no condition to drive after the post race festivities, the Island Inn (1-(928)-680-0606) has rooms right across the road from Crazy Horse Campgrounds and is the closest hotel to the race site (by some distance no less).
Finally, for some people only the best will do. The London Bridge Resort and convention center has the most upscale lodging in town. In addition to such top amenities as fine dining, room service, shopping and entertainment, the London Bridge Resort also hosts the awards ceremonies, Hall of Fame ceremony, and parade of nations.
Most importantly, perhaps, is that the city’s hottest spot and traditional evening party location, Kokomo’s, is front and center at London Bridge Resort. Your chances of finding your way home after a couple of Tremor’s are greatly enhanced when you only have to take an elevator.
(Managing Director’s comment: I have made a few light hearted cracks about being inebriated. Please do remember that any level of alcohol consumption in the pits or by active participants before their racing has completed will not be tolerated. If you drink, please be responsible.)
Social Networking Website
We are a little behind in getting the IJSBA social networking webpage up but it is not abandoned. We are hoping to debut the alpha version at the World Finals and let beta testers sign up. The manpower to go through the logistics has been consumed by keeping the World Finals on budget. Expect an announcement on this soon.
__________________  CROCKETT IS THE MAN!! |
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