Are the rumors true? On Jetski.com, there is an article that its a done deal, just not announced, yet. I am no fan of rumors, but with the Lee Bower letter, and all the manufacturers, including Kawasaki, pulling the plug on racing, I am really wondering if this is true?

I also wonder how this will affect PWC racing? I have seen a couple APBA Unlimited races near my house, and its pretty exciting to watch. They go for all-out speed with very few turns. I could see them doing this with PWC racing. Less skilled riders could compete and there would be fewer collisions.

Anyone else hear anything?
TD

B O A T = (Break out another thousand)

This is what I got from another site....

So Long IJSBA, Welcome APBA

There has been no comment on the record, but rumor of the moment continues to be the speculation that the International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) will be dissolved, and that the American Power Boat Association (APBA) will take on the role of sanctioning body for personal watercraft racing (as they did in the early 1990”s and late 80’s). The IJSBA has reportedly lost funding from all five of the major watercraft manufacturers, who in recent years had reportedly grown more discouraged with the organization’s efforts and losing support from racers. Many saw the spin-off of the American Watercraft Association earlier this year as an indication that the IJSBA’s days were numbered.



With the APBA having a very good relationship with Speed TV Maybe we will get the racing coverage that the sport needs to secure corporate sponsorships. And as a former tech inspector for the APBA’s PWC division. I can tell you that they are a class act organization and are very professional. We look forward to working with APBA to help bring PWC racing to the forfront again!

Suzan you should stop pasting posts from other boards, even rephrased.
At least give credit.
11

Building :
2003 S/S triple STXR (95% completed)
2003 ltd SXR (95% completed)
2001/02 ltd XP (0% completed)

GPR cop, you should attend some of the limited inboard races close to your house. The 1L Mod class uses the Yamaha and Kawasaki engines to power a large portion of the racers in that class. These engines can push these boats to over 100 MPH in the straights. There will testing at the Dayton Hydrobowl at the end of April. Watch for the signs at the park or leave a message of here and I will firm up the date for you. I can assure you that it will be interesting.

Hydrofreak,
I live 5 miles north of the Hydrobowl, and I am praying in the future these will evolve into a powerboat/pwc type event. The PWC promoters have been trying for years for an event at Eastwood but the management wouldn't but if PWC's become incoorporated into the APBA, I could see it happening, if only just a PWC dragrace across Eastwood.

It seems like they do something with the power boats in April and August, and I used to go there on duty and watch in between calls. I was there the year the one poor guy lost it and died, I think it was in 1997.

My email is gprcop@netzero.com
TD

B O A T = (Break out another thousand)

IJSBA DISSOLVED
The five manufacturers that fund and support the International Jet Sports Boating Association — Honda, Kawasaki, Polaris, Sea-Doo, and Yamaha — have elected to dissolve the racing organization as of December 31, 2003. Manufacturer support will now be focused on the American Watercraft Association, a one-time IJSBA spin-off that is being restructured into a recreational user group based in Washington, DC.

“The board has decided that a new direction is important,” confirmed Kawasaki board representative Roger Hagie, “and that the new direction will be focused on the AWA as a representative of the user community. That really is the driving force. We want to put whatever energy and effort this board has split between the IJSBA and the AWA side of the picture, we want to put it into a reconstituted AWA with a focus on the needs and voice of the recreational user.”

The loss of the IJSBA leaves a gap for racers and race promoters. Hoping to fill that void is the American Powerboat Association, which has tapped promoter Patrick Mell to help beef up the PWC program. “The good thing is that the APBA is an organization that can real quickly have the race program set up,” said Mell. “I expect this to be 100-perecent up and running by the end of January, with the insurance program set up, and the first mailing to all the people. Any promoter who wants to do an event will be able to purchase a competitive insurance package, and it will be very similar to what they’re used to.”

Allowing the APBA to handle the racing side of the equation also does away with the need to fund an office and staff, as the IJSBA required in the past. “The APBA has the benefit of a complete office full of people,” explains Mell, “to handle the processing of the memberships, and the sanctioning, and the accounting functions, answering the phones, tallying the points for qualifying for bigger events, and things like that.”


Composed: 01/09/2004 | Modified: 01/09/2004

2001 super stock farthing built
2001 stage 2 gp1200r

The plot thickens....

http://www.pwctoday.com/viewtopic.php?t=24734

http://www.ijsba.com/ijsba/index.cfm?s=ijsba&t=2004/misc/0001.htm

mark c
http://www.hydrotoys.com
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