We just passed through the last weekend of summer. Today, September 23, is the first day of Fall with the autumnal equinox. We have broken into the ten day countdown until the gates open for the 2014 Jettribe World Finals. Again, it is darker earlier in the day. The climate has also started to cool in most areas (don’t tell Blake about this comment because it has been above 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Lake Havasu City and he has been very cranky when we have checked in with him on the phone). IJSBA receives news of Body Beach being packed and several race trailers pulling into town. The anticipation of reuniting with all of our friends, from around the world, and participating in some great racing makes the last week go by slow. This is not the case in the office where the days go by too quickly to process all of the emails, phone calls, and workload. We are ready for the event, though, and bring you this update of the progress we have made over the last week. There will only be one more update before registration opens at Havasu Powersports on October 4, 2014. Please share the following news with your friends and colleagues in the PWC Racing community.
Jettribe
Everywhere you look on the race circuit, these days, you are seeing Jettribe. Everywhere you are seeing racing grow somewhere, you are seeing Jettribe. Likewise, Jettribe has grown and, where they have grown, they have taken the fruits of their hard work and put it back into the sport. This week, Jettribe released a sale to ensure that anyone needing last minute gear for World Finals could get it at a discount. There is no doubt that Jettribe has been very generous to events, and riders, all over the world. Please stop by their booth at the 2014 World Finals and let them know how much the community appreciates their generosity. This doesn’t just mean buying something, if spending isn’t your thing that day, please take a moment to tell them a positive way that their sponsorship of racing has helped your season. We are very lucky to have them as part of the sport.
Reminder for registration
At 11:59 PM, on September 30th, approximately one week from now, pre-registration will close. Only on-site registration will be available. GP Ski has already closed and potential competitors, in this class, must join a waiting list. Vintage X2 is half full. We tend to get half of our entries on site, more classes will likely fill before the competition week gets under way. It is highly advised that you register early. If you do, you save twenty bucks per class and you get to stand in the faster line at check in.Runabout 800/1000 Classes, Runabout Rec Lites, Classic Runabout, Runabout Normally Aspirated, and Classic Ski 2 Stroke Limited: these classes are lagging behind other classes in participation so far. These are all discretionary classes that were requested by the public. We will forgive Runabout Rec Lites because it was pretty tough to get a Spark (anyone sitting on a Spark or two might do well at the rental business at World Finals). Those of you who want to see these classes have a chance at survival in 2015 might want to rally on your social media sites and try to make the party a little bigger. Other than the classes on the cheaper watercraft, the ones everyone says we need to have for the sport to grow, entries are up for this time in the regular registration timeline.
Nation Count.
This looks like another great year for international attendance at World Finals. Pre entries are outpacing 2013 and we think the same will be the case for the on site (although we would prefer you enter early as mentioned above). The following is the confirmed participating country list as of today:
USA
Italy
Hungary
Serbia
Philippines
South Africa
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Russia
Brazil
Bolivia
Estonia
Canada
Austria
Germany
Indonesia
France
Peru
England
Kuwait
Norway
Australia
New Zealand
Greece
Czech Republic
Poland
International competitors, please remind the IJSBA Affiliate of the country that matches your passport to be current with IJSBA and available for communication at the event, if necessary.
Welcome New Announcer: Tim “Thumper” Plumpton
IJSBA Welcomes Tim Plumpton as the newest announcer to join the team at the 2014 Jettribe World Finals. Tim has been the British racing and freestyle commentator since 2006. He has also been a competitor, a regular contributor to UK’s Jetski & Personal Watercraft Magazine, A Royal Yachting Association PWC representative, and a four year member of the Queen’s Harbourmaster PWC Fast Response Section.Tim goes by the nickname “Thumper.” Having worked with Steve Bushell, and especially my dear Cockney friend Jeremy Hoyland (we miss you, brother) I know that there are some British slang terms that may not be the most appropriate to use in an IJSBA posting, so I thoroughly (spent more than 5 minutes) researched the term on the internet before I committed the word to the press release. So, my apologies if something slipped through the cracks. We are really looking forward to seeing, and especially hearing, what new perspectives he brings to the event.
Rough Course Diagram
We promised you a sneak peek at the 2014 Jettribe World Finals course diagram this week. It will be ready by Friday but we wanted to get the subject started by reminding you of last year’s track. This is a very rough sketch (provided by our friend Don Morningstar) of the 2013 track. For those of you that weren’t at the event last year, here is a description: The green backstretch is only for Runabouts. The dotted brown line represents the path for all Ski classes except Pro Ski and GP Ski (although this is the path that Pro Ski and GP Ski will take on the first lap and any time a rider has fallen in the log jump area. The two white penalty buoys are not placed at the angles of the course, but you get the idea. The 2014 course is going to be very similar to this course as 2013 taking into account the positive feedback we received. We plan to have the splits run a little longer in 2014 to allow for more passing opportunities. Please review the track and then the 2014 course later this week and send us any comments as we will start constructing this year’s course on Tuesday, September 30.
Live Stream
IJSBA is confirming that we will, again, be livestreaming the event. The 2014 Jettribe World Finals will be livestreamed from Thursday, October 9 through Sunday October 12. You will be able to view the event straight from the homepage at ijsba.com. Live stream sponsor information will be available next week in the final update.
Vendors
The 2014 vendor turnout has remained solid. We were sold out for a few days but one or two opportunities have opened up (depending on size). Please email info@ijsba.com, immediately, if you want to be part of the trade show portion of the 2014 Jettribe World Finals.Ok, this is the second to last update for this year’s World Finals. One more to go…..Please email any questions about this update, or the 2014 Jettribe World Finals, to info@ijsba.com.[fblike]
