The American Poker
Runs Association's (APRA) second annual Safety Summit at the
Miami International Boat Show attracted the who's who of the
high performance boating industry and poker run associations
in North America.
There were two main objectives of this year's meeting: to
introduce the new set of industry driven rules for this season's
events, and to introduce the newly created Advisory Board
and Advisory Council of the APRA.
Following events of the 2006 season, several high performance
boat manufacturers asked the APRA to establish a standard
set of rules that would apply to APRA-sanctioned poker run
events for the current season. With these regulations in place,
those who attend or who sponsor these events will know in
advance that the agreed rules, including event insurance,
will be in place. With manufacturers and other industry representatives
being asked to attend more and more events, they will be able
to pick and choose only those events that provide the rules
of safety they demand - those sanctioned by the APRA.
"The APRA spent a considerable amount of time on the
road and on conference calls last fall polling virtually every
major performance boat manufacturer to obtain their thoughts
and ideas on rules necessary to grow the sport and enjoyment
of poker running while keeping them safe," said APRA
president Bill Taylor. "We have been at it longer than
anyone and have produced hundreds of events without a mishap,"
he added. "We used the rules we developed and utilize
in our events as a basis of discussion and tweaked them accordingly
with the help of the manufacturers. We now have a comprehensive
set of rules for participants and poker run organizers that
the industry has agreed to. They will be in place for the
2007 season," said Taylor.
In his opening remarks, Taylor introduced APRA's new Advisory
Board for 2007, a group consisting of some of the most high
profile people and organizations in the high performance boating
industry: Skip Braver, Cigarette Racing Team, representing
V-Bottom manufacturers; Peter Hledin, Douglas Marine (Skater),
representing catamaran manufacturers; Bob Leach, Eliminator
Boats, representing the west coast; Dave Patnaude, New Jersey
Performance Powerboat Club, representing poker run organizers;
Bill Tweedie, Myco Trailers, representing suppliers; Sonny
Hawkins, Tiger Performance Products, representing safety &
communications; Bob Christie, Typhoon Performance Marine,
representing high performance boat dealers; Virgil Chambers,
National Safe Boating Council, representing safety organizations;
Tony Esposito, Custom Marine Inc., public relations director;
and Attorney William Beccaro, legal advisor.
In addition to the newly formed committee, Taylor introduced
the members of APRA's new Advisory Council, which consists
of some forty members and organizations, including several
most of the major high performance boat manufacturers, suppliers,
dealers, poker run organizers, insurance companies and brokers,
boat training and education organizations, the high performance
boating media, engine manufacturers, and others such as the
National Marine Manufacturers' Association (NMMA).
"The APRA will be a communications hub for ideas and
recommendations from the board and from the Advisory Council,"
said APRA Executive Director Pierre Savoie. "We need
to have open channels of dialogue with everyone with a vested
interest in the long term viability of the high performance
and poker run industry," continued Savoie. "We simply
have to ensure the safety of these events in order for them
to continue," he added.
David Dickerson, Director of State Government Relations for
the NMMA spoke briefly at the Summit and pledged the full
support and backing of the NMMA to the APRA in its efforts
to be pro-active in promoting safety.
Industry veteran, Richard Crowder, acting as moderator of
the Summit, and assisted by a panel of industry experts, steered
the packed room of enthusiastic participants through a number
of hot topics which will require resolution in the very near
future. Such topics included the wearing of helmets, the inclusion
of canopied boats in poker runs, the need and delivery of
driver training, issues of speed and how to control it, treatment
of poker run rookies, and controlling of starts, among several
others.
The APRA used the meeting to announce it will be going "International"
in the very near future with the formation of the IPRA. It
has received requests from France, Greece, Italy, Scandinavia,
England, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia to help create poker
runs in those countries. A delegation of the producers of
the forthcoming event in Greece addressed the Summit to promote
the event and to solicit attendees.
After a break in the meeting just before 10 AM to allow those
in attendance who needed to be at their booths for show opening
to leave, a lively and open discussion continued with the
remaining mainly poker run organizers and others batting several
hot topics back and forth. The energy and the positive suggestions
that came forth showed the concern and genuine interest from
all those involved in the industry to maintain a healthy industry
on an ongoing basis. |
