OK, before anyone else pulls the martyr card; as evidenced on this site, lots of us spend inordinate amounts of time volunteering for the sport. We may heartily disagree at times, but we all put a lot into this.

I agree that lots of effort needs to be spent on growing the sport in many regions, but that is a totally different discussion than managing this event. Indeed, the USSA Championships aren’t known for having large turnouts, that’s totally not the point.

Obviously, having a larger event helps keep the costs down. I do not think having this as a stand-alone event is a good idea. The best format that I’ve seen is to tie in with an existing, non-cat regatta (such as Lipton Cup at Quincy in Area A). This way, all the cats that show up are there to race the elims, and you avoid the issues of people wanting to not join and sail the “fun event,” etc. As a bonus, we get exposure to the mono world.

I couldn't agree more with Jake. Ding took part of my conversation from the other thread, but left out this exact discussion (overall fairness to those that DO comply, and the notion that this is meant to be a PREMIER event).

My other question still stands. Jake, do you know if USSA membership is required for all crew members for the other USSA Champs elims?

If not, let’s change the rule. Having rules without compliance causes more nightmares and bad PR than you can imagine.

Mike

Personally I won't combine the Qualifier with a preexisting multihull event again, it just over complicates the regatta and causes confusion with the sailors and the organizers.

As for hanging the multihull qualifier off a exiting monohull event, that could work.

I don't see any relaxation of the membership requirement for the qualifiers in the future. It is a USSailing qualifier after all.

Well Said. This has been my philosophy in past years....

IMO, It is a HUGE MISTAKE for US Sailing to USE the qualifiers as a tool.... (read hammer) to get people to join US Sailing.

Gary Jobson said the following when he officially took over at US Sailing

... Jobson asks sailors to join US Sailing if

1) any aspect of US sailing helped your sailing... OR

2) US Sailing inspired someone.

if one of the following applies to you.. Join!


IMO... this invitation and reminder is the most powerful reason ever given for why you should Join US Sailing.

Why the qualifier... Well...

I ask everyone to consider what are the ways to keep all of the cat sailors in the same boat... paddling in the same direction to the beach.... (oh yeah... the boats on fire and your OD class today could have 3 members tomorrow... So... what's good for your regional sailing scene?

Fact of life is that Time and Money are limited for cat racing for most people. Most of the racers left belong to a one design class and so they prefer to race One Design but more importantly... they are duty bound to show up at their class one design race. Bottom line.... an A class sailor really doesn't have much contact with a Hobie 16 sailor. I have a very strong point of view that a regional open class championship is critical to keeping the OD fleets on point and working on a shared purpose of growing catamaran racing. Simply having OD fleets share the venue does not accomplish the same goal. Respect is earned when you race each other.

A single regional/ Area Open Class Championship that allows the sailors in the regions' one design classes to mix it up with the prize being that the winner can move on to the national championship is a spectacular way to maintain a community of catamaran racers in the region. Every one design class in the region is needed to feature the event in their schedule EQUIVALENT to their High point regattas or the championship looses integrity.

The qualifier's will never work if the motivation is the slot at the championships... Why?, It's the same reason that we don't give you money for winning a regatta. Our ego's have no problem competing for a symbol... We can deal with the pecking order that results. Competing for money... well that's a job. If you lose and don't make any money at the job... you quit and move on.

Wow, full moon isn't until next week and Chris and I have BOTH agreed with something Mark has posted this week???

Like Robi has said, don't put the cart before the horse. People should be joining for other reasons, well in advance of the elim event.

And, as I have posted many, many, many times, I totally favor bringing points into HCA standings from the AC elims. There is no real downside to this.

Mike

It's a bit of a catch-22.

To Zander...
A regatta can't afford to pay two memberships per boat. That would be $100 per boat extra because both skipper and crew have to be registered.

The thing is it's a bit of a catch-22. The event by itself can't support getting enough participants to handle the cost in general. You need at least 15 boats to really put on a regatta and make it feasible to run.

To get 15 boats you need to have a reasonable price regatta.

Personally I think they just need to drop the requirement for the crew to be a US Sailing member. That would make it a lot easier to require all to be members. As we know many skippers pick up last minute crews for regatta's. These are the same skippers who might not be to serious about winning the event but want to just come and have some fun. They don't want to fork over an extra 50 bucks to make their crew join US Sailing. Plus they probably would have a hard time finding a crew that would be willing to pay the money as they might be just starting into the regatta seen.

All US SAILING championships and qualifying events require membership. All of them. Even the offshore event - all crew. The only way around the membership requirement is to be invited or selected for a championship through petition, résumé or to be named by a member class. Even then, to go to the championship, you then have to join - the on-line registration won't even take your money anymore until you join or renew. On-line registration will eventually get pushed down to the qualifying events.

I hear what some of you are saying; that you need to attract people to the events and membership is expensive. I tried to build the Area D event up to be a top-shelf, well-run and solidly officiated two-day event. That was what, IMO, attracted racers. I also tried to have some swag to give away. Those elements made it seem just a notch above the average weekender. There are only two events a year for which membership is required - your qualifier and the championship. The benefits of membership last year-round; discounted fees at other events, access to good insurance, and now, a 50% discount on Hobie Polarized. That discount on Hobie products alone will pay for your membership, and the discounted entry fees throughout the year don't hurt. Add the free rulebook, which I really wish more people would read... it isn't that long.

Joining through the Multihull Council's Golden Anchor program automatically identifies you as a multihull sailor. If you've already renewed as a regular member, you can call US SAILING and they will switch you over, quick and painless. If you need to renew, drop me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send you the form, or take a look at the latest issue of the Hobie Hotline (in print or on-line) and fill out the form there. It gets you a nice discount off the regular dues prices.

I would not have objections for having non members at the event. They just should not be considered in the standings for qualification.

Damn - thanks John. I need to switch my membership over to MCGA. I renewed just before the Cup this year without even looking at the different options online.

Heres's what y'all have to look forward to as your sweet butts get wrinkled with age marks:

Based on JWs urging, I looked in my wallet to see when my USS membership is due for renewal...ah...expires 6/30/2010, good, at least I am current.

I will call tomorrow and convert to MHC Golden Anchor.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember a recent letter from USS. Ahha...here it is. Well, inside is another membership card , expires 7/31/2011.

At this rate I may be a life member before I ever make it into the GA program.

Like I said, I will call tomorrow.


TODAY...OK John, I called Kate and I am in. And apparently I paid twice this year

My scheduled Alter Qual crew is a US Sailing member. He had a dealth in the family prior to the event and needed attend to his family instead of racng with me. My backup crew not updated US Sailing member. Should just be skippers requirement!