Well... things are great so long as no problems occur.

Whether its a "fun" race... or a serious race... doesn't really matter when the @#%@ hits the fan does it?

If it's organized... somebody did it and they are now on the hook.

Should you flip your boat and drown it's highly probably that your wife and heirs are going to look for money under every rock and the poor PRO/organizer looks like a good rock.

USSA provides that individual with insurance coverage so that their spouse does not have a heart attack at the prospect of losing their house because they volunteered their time and service.

The paper club has no assets but all of the volunteers they recruit are also sources of cash... USSA started the regatta liability programs that cover your paper club and it's volunteers. Now you have at least two companies that compete to offer this coverage... both because of USSA. So... for that fun race that you want...if your buddy with a powerboat helping out has an accident ... who's insurance get's tapped?

It does not matter if the organizer or race personal have no responsibility... Are they going to walk into court or a deposition without a lawyer? It's just not worth the aggravation in the end..

IMO, its the responsibility of the club to protect it's volunteers and spread the cost among the members and the racers.

It's the racer's responsibility to pay for this and support the activities if you want them to continue.

So… when you cut to the chase… How do you want to pay for the services needed?

IMO USSA is essential for providing the structure of support that makes a sailboat regatta happen. Is it a benefit that you immediately see ...clearly not.

If you don't want to pay for the service that the organization is using... I would say you are a freeloader.

What to do…
You would like to race once or twice a year . Since mandatory membership will not be the solution. Where does that leave you?

My solution is for the regatta to charge you 1/3 of the membership dues for your Club OD Class and USSA for the event. So..assuming that you belong to a club …that would be 60 bucks for USSA and 30 for your OD class dues or 90 bucks. Would you object to a surcharge of 30 bucks on top of the regatta fees? Remember, the money stays with the host club.

Hobie events no longer give you a one time weekend pass…. If you want to race… you have to be a class member…. So for these events… you would have to pay 20 bucks more if you refused to join USSA.

Obviously if you were going to race more then three times a year it would be to your benefit to join USSA and your class.