Re: fees Gold Cup World and North American Championship 2011 Notices of Race

[ERIC ANDERSON]

Being a new comer I have to some what agree with the above post.On Buying a boat and joining the class I was quite supprised (and a little disappointed) to find out the DN is not true One Design class.Both of the other classes I compete in (Laser and Hobie) are both SMOD classes.This for my liking is the way to go,but again what do I know I have only owned the DN for 6 mths and extremly excited to get out and compete. 

It is true that Iceboats are not smod’s.  Then again if they were, no one could build their own boat.  Ask yourself this, what is the competitive weight for a H 16 crew?  How about a Laser?  Smods typecasts ideal skipper weights in a very narrow range.  Dn’s have competitive skippers in the gold fleet ranging from ~130 lbs to 275 lbs.   that is pretty cool.  The second thing is that the DN today is very different then the DN of 1936.  Think about it, Inserts, bendy masts, much lighter boats all sprung from this evolution.  
There are obviously plusses and minuses to this.  The one thing I would point out is that the evolution in the class is very slow.  Post 1980 Hulls and planks stay competitive for 20+ years if treated properly.   Masts are long lived if not abused.  I am still racing a 2003 vintage mast.  Runners  last forever if you don’t crash them.  A 20 year old insert that was built well and sharpened properly is still a great runner.  
Mostly I think this class has it right.

cheers,
Eric

[DN 5449]

Very good point about SMOD classes,yes both those classes listed are very weight sensitive,which I as I am finding out the DN class is not.

[Ken Smith]

Hey guys: 

I am stuck here.  I have to present a balanced budget, no excess for class, no funds from the class.

We have certain known expenses:  Trophies, give-aways, forms, printing, etc.

We have certain known things to pay for, but the exact cost is unknown:  Expenses for the RC folks who are only there to let the race happen, cost for port-a-potties, bridges or misc stuff, cost of local support.  Costs vary widely from MN to Montreal and everywhere in the middle.

We have revenue that is unknown:  Price per registrant times how many?

I have the last Euro and US worlds to compare to.  The Euro worlds was much more expensive, the last US worlds ran short (cost more than revenues).

The late fees are mandatory for the NA and not for the Worlds, so I discounted the late fee for the worlds.  All the pre-notice advice from my local committee and from the executive committee was to produce a world-class event.  Budget was approved.  Fees then fixed.

The price increase is roughly $5/day.  Not huge, but not negligible.  The budget and return costs will be visible to everyone at the annual argument.  I am reluctant to go further in this forum, but if you want more details, click on my name at the top left, and send me an e-mail. I am happy to discuss in a more private forum or in person.

Yeah, I retired from the Navy.  Heaven help me if I am imposing arbitrary fees or imposing "taxes" without guidance or justification. 

Ken