Greetings from IJSBA Headquarters.  This is the second weekly update that prepares all of us for the 2014 Jettribe World Finals.  This draft was started on September 2 with 31 days to go until the gates open at Crazy Horse Campgrounds.  By the time this update gets published, it will officially be less than a month until World Finals.  Of all of the years, the 2014 season as seemed like the slowest moving until the last minute when it launched into a full blown sprint at the middle of August.  It is ok, though, your IJSBA staff is prepared to meet the workload.  Currently, we are in the stretch were we are receiving 300+ emails per day (and we manage to reply to nearly all of them) along with answering the phone (which rings constantly).  We are getting back to, more or less, everyone in the same business day in which they have contacted IJSBA…. not too bad.  We have a very good world finals brewing, we look forward to seeing you there.  But, there is a few weeks from now, today is just an update which we hope you will share with your friends and colleagues in the PWC Racing family.

1. Surf Slam this weekend.

Tomorrow marks the start of 2014’s Blowsion Surf Slam.  The Surf Slam began as a small annual beach gathering of friends who had two things as a common goal: the love of riding a standup in the surf and the ability to tolerate Blowsion’s odd sense of perspective.  The gathering became a formal event a few years later and quickly evolved into one of the “must attend” yearly gatherings.  Most of the watercraft performance industry shows up to watch the world’s best Freeride competitors push the limits of what a Ski can do in the surf.  The Blowsion Surf Slam is held at Tierra Del Mar beach in Pacific City, Oregon.  This area is one of the most praised vacation areas in all of the Pacific Northwest.  The comfort and serenity of Pacific City blends harmoniously with a big air motorsport event somehow without creating a juxtaposition- all is as it should be with aerial maneuvers being performed against a coniferous backdrop in this crazy dairy meets forest meets beach environment.  With a few heats of Motosurf Racing and a section of vendors, the Surf Slam is one of the greatest IJSBA events.  If you have a bucket list, the Surf Slam needs to be on it- it is an experience not to be missed.  For more information, visitwww.blowsionsurfslam.com.  Also, for those of you West Coast Expert and Pro ranked racers, the Motosurf portion of this event qualifies you for the 2014 Jettribe World Finals.

2. NEWA’s West Haven, Connecticut event this weekend.

NEWA is the acronym for the Northeast Watercraft Alliance.  NEWA has really been gathering a lot of notice for the gains they have made in racing in the Upper New York area.  Wayne Orden, and the group, have made great strides in their local PWC community and have a very nice program.  This event has been highly anticipated as the expansion in to the State of Connecticut is going to bring racing to a larger group of enthusiasts.  Wetwerx, Blacktip, and SBT have all generously helped with bringing racing to Savin Rock Park Beach.  Competitors in the Northeastern part of the United States will have their final opportunity to qualify, locally, for the 2014 World Finals at the NEWA event.  For more information, visithttp://www.newa.us/racing.

3. Final closed course race is September 13 and 14 in Tavares, Florida.

Pro Hydrocross will host the final closed course event of the year in Tavares, Florida.  For those of you who wait until the absolute last minute to become eligible to compete in the World Finals, this is it.  For those of you who are die hard Southern US competitors, you have the honor of closing out the 2014 Regional Racing.   The Pro Hydrocross group puts on very good events in one of the most fiercely contested areas of the United States.  This event should be a well attended.  For more information, visithttp://hydrocross.com/.  Pro Hydrocross has some very exciting and innovative plans for next year.

4. Asia Beach Games meeting.

While we are counting down the days to big events, there are less than 70 days until the Asia Beach Games in Phuket Thailand (it has also been a day since I drafted the opening section of this update for those of you who caught the discrepancy in countdown days).  The Asia Beach Games features PWC Racing in five categories: Runabout Open, Runabout 1000 Superstock, Ski Open, Sport GP, and Runabout Endurance Open.  Podium finishers earn gold, silver, and bronze Olympic Medals.  The event is sanctioned by the Olympic Council of Asia and is open to athletes under their jurisdiction (sorry to the competitors from non-Asian countries) and brings an incredible amount of prestige and notoriety to our sport.  IJSBA will be attending a meeting in Phuket from September 6- September 9.  For more information about the 2014 Asia Beach Games, please visithttp://www.phuketthailand2014.com/en/home.aspx. The Jetski Sport portion of the Asia Beach Games is held on November 17, 18, and 19 at Phuket’s Pattong Beach.

5. IJSBA office open during Asia Beach Games meeting.

Ok, we mentioned above that the workload is absolutely crazy heavy right now.  Next week, it will be even worse.  Ria will be in the office while your Managing Director is at the Asia Beach Games meeting.  Please do your best to send any questions, that do not pertain to membership, to info@ijsba.com so they can be handled by email until September 10.  Technical matters may be sent to tech@ijsba.com.  Please be patient with us as next week will be a tough week for everyone as the office will be working on two different time zones.  We will do our best to be as prompt and efficient in meeting your needs as we can be.

6. Media credentials (and early registration).

IJSBA will open media credential applications on September 16, after early participant registration has closed.  Please do not apply for media credentials until after September 16.  Right now, we are concentrating on processing all of the early entries and adding them to a database which will help ensure that some less than scrupulous competitors do not try to slip into classes that they should not be in.  By the way, this is a reminder that early registration ends on September 15 at 11:59 PM, PST.  Beginning on September 16, participation fees for all classes go up $10.00.

7. Dove Hunting Season Open In The Lake Havasu City Area.

This really has nothing to do with PWC Racing except the fact that every year- seriously every single year- a couple of riders get to World Finals early and decide that the vast open desert landscape is just too tempting to ignore.  The next thing you know a rental car is buried five miles out of civilization and competitors restricted to being a pedestrian until the problem is solved.  One of our regular World Finals supporters sent in pictures of dove hunting in progress over this past weekend.  So, for those of you why are arriving in the Lake Havasu City region now, and feel the need to go exploring the wild frontier, please know that armed persons are out shooting in the same areas.  There are no refunds of World Finals entry fees- buckshot injuries are no exception.  Avoid dove hunters in the Lake Havasu City area no matter how attractive or intriguing they may be.

8. Trade show participation is at record level.

One of the key indicators of the strength of the PWC Racing sport is how well racing generates sales and interest for the general public.  Over the last couple of years, industry members have noticed the importance of racing has increased as a key factor in influencing a customer’s choice in which products to purchase.  The trade show portion of the IJSBA World Finals has benefited from the return in focus to racing as it has become the quintessential event where consumers can touch and see live products that are normally visible only through the internet.  Consumers can ask questions of product representatives and see the how products play out on the race course.  This year, the trade show portion of the 2014 Jettribe World Finals will have, possibly, the largest vendor and exhibitor participation in the history of the event.  There are just a few spots remaining, our goal is to fill the entire area.  Please emailinfo@ijsba.com for vendor inquiries.  We thank everyone who works so hard to give the sport a positive image.  Sales of personal watercraft have increased as have the sales of performance related products.  Many people are commenting on the positive influences that racing is having on the overall watercraft market.  The following is a list of current vendors and exhibitors booked for 2014:Jettribe Havasu Powersports Solas Blowsion Burn Industries JetRenu Bullett Racing Flip Flop Shop Vast Action Photography Jet Pilot IMS/ShirtWerx Kommander Industries Watcon SB Products RIVA Berts Mega Mall Full Spectrum X-Scream Pain Relief Cold Fusion Rick Roy Products Parker Yamaha Thrust Innovations Parts Unlimited Gasket Technologies Jet Connection Loki Jet Dynamics M&M Marine DASA ProRider Magazine Jettrim Vintage Museum Trendsetterz Worx Rad Dudes ProWatercraft Hydro Turf Jet Lift Eric Malone Enterprises Gibbs Technologies/Quadski Freestyle Factory Bomboard Optimum Racing Boyesen quakysense P1 AquaX Slippery Wetsuits ET Superchargers Sato Engineering Low and Mean Junior Stars IJSBA 3D Motorsports Kettle Corn Freegun Kawasaki Yamaha Sea-Doo

9. Goodbye to a dear friend of watercraft.

IJSBA says goodbye to one of our greatest colleagues and a very loyal supporter of PWC Racing.  Our good friend, known as “Pappy” left us over this past weekend.  Pappy was just one of the most wonderful people to ever walk up and down the beach at any event.  His friendly attitude and encouraging words for everyone were one of the most shining examples of the camaraderie that has made our sport the best in the world.  IJSBA releases formal notices only at the request of the family of our lost loved ones.  We will post more information if such a request is sent in.  In the meantime, goodbye Pappy more people were motivated by you and were proud to be in your presence than you ever knew.[fblike]