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View Full Version : Hydros won’t race on Lake Cd’A this summer



Serious News
04-20-2016, 11:01 PM
COEUR d'ALENE — Hydroplanes have been halted on Lake Coeur d'Alene for the third straight summer.

Coeur d’Alene Silver Cup General Manager Keith Allen announced Friday the Coeur d’Alene Silver Cup H1 Unlimited Hydroplane race will work toward hosting a race in 2017, but not in 2016.

Allen said $300,000 is needed before he would feel comfortable launching the event — especially after the financial mess under a different group and name three years ago — and more than $100,000 in pledges had been secured.

"We flat-out don't want to put ourselves or those who support us in a bad situation," said Allen. "It would not benefit our organization, the city of Coeur d'Alene, the sponsors or the local area if the event was not a success. We had a go/no go date and we didn't deviate from that."

The race was tentatively planned for Silver Beach on the east side of the lake July 15-17.

"Obtaining sponsorships has been challenging, but the biggest challenge with that is overcoming the stigma and lack of success from the other group that put it on (three years ago)," Allen said.

The previous group operated the race under the Diamond Cup name as unpaid debts piled up from the 2013 race. Races returned to Coeur d'Alene that year for the first time in decades, and they haven't been held since.

Allen said Silver Cup will still be able to use an Idaho Department of Lands permit next year if the races are held. He was working on another permit through the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office for this year, so a lot of the legwork on that end has been done.

Allen said he'll continue to seek potential sponsors for next year immediately to build on the momentum. He said some sponsors have seen his steadfast commitment to organizing a financially successful event and are bantering upping their sponsorship levels as a result.

Silver Cup is a nonprofit that planned to raise funds for Children's Village and the Kootenai Police and Fire Memorial at the event, as opposed to it being a for-profit group as Diamond Cup was.

Allen said due to his 14 years of experience organizing such races in the Tri-Cities, the hydroplane race-sanctioning body H1 Unlimited asked him to revive the races in Coeur d'Alene after the financial debacle of the previous group.

"Keith and his organization pledged from the beginning to the fans, the teams, to H1 Unlimited, the sponsors and the community that they would only run the event if they could do it right," said H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Chairman Steve David.

"They just ran out of time to do it properly, and they committed to upholding their pledge to everyone. And for that reason alone, I know we have the right people in place to bring unlimited hydroplane racing back to Coeur d’Alene in 2017."

Last April the Silver Cup group decided to also postpone the races for 2015 until this year because more time was needed to raise money.

Coeur d’Alene has a strong history in boat racing. The first inboard race was in 1913 with the first unlimited hydroplane race taking place in 1958 with Bill Stead in the Maverick grabbing the win. The unlimited hydroplanes continued to race on Lake Coeur d'Alene, in the Idaho Panhandle, until 1968. Billy Schumacher and the "Checkerboard Comet" Miss Bardahl won the 10th and final race until the boats returned in 2013 when Jimmy Shane in the Graham Trucking boat won the title.

The 2016 unlimited hydroplane season will begin on the Ohio River in Madison, Ind., July 1-3.

Allen said a hydroplane with the event dates has been on display at area businesses such as Super 1 Foods in the past year. Businesses can have their name on the hydroplane that's transported to their location for a tax-deductible donation of $500. Corporate and event naming sponsorships are also available. Community groups can also sign up to volunteer during the event and raise funds.

http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_5e93dd4e-52cd-5173-9b72-fd7921a15e28.html

Ratickle
04-22-2016, 12:57 AM
Too bad once again.:banghead:

Serious News
04-22-2016, 11:23 PM
Have the hydros set sail?


One month after declaring there’s a good chance for hydroplane races on Lake Coeur d’Alene this summer, organizers announced that there will be no races in 2016.

At this point it’s fair to speculate that perhaps these aqua spaceships have flown away forever.

Not to sink the hopes of die-hard hydro fans hoping for a return in the summer of 2017, but the spectacular failure of the races three years ago sure won’t boost the likelihood of future races. Organizers of the 2013 Diamond Cup didn’t just flop; the show they put on did little to please many paying fans and left substantial unpaid bills with unhappy creditors in the boats’ wake. Some have never been repaid.

That’s not the fault of the current race promoters, a nonprofit known as Silver Cup headed by longtime race organizer Keith Allen. Allen deserves tremendous credit for the hard work he’s put in trying to bring unlimited hydroplane racing back to the Lake City. Allen cut down on some of the need for big revenue by creating the nonprofit, with proceeds intended to benefit Children’s Village and the Kootenai Police and Fire Memorial. We applaud him for pulling the plug when it was clear the races didn’t have the financial support to assure a successful event.

A fair question to ask, though, is this: If a couple years of laying the groundwork and fundraising for races in 2016 isn’t long enough to make it happen, what will it take? Allen had tried to re-launch the races in 2015 but ran out of time and wasn’t able to raise the necessary money, which some longtime race supporters say is more than the $300,000 often cited as a break-even point. The economy is good and many businesses are thriving. Why is this such a hard sell? The lack of sponsorships for the races might be a reflection of basic lack of interest as much as anything else.

Our skepticism could be washed away by several big players stepping forward, of course. Oldtimers who last witnessed hydro races on Lake Coeur d’Alene in 1968 before the flame-out in 2013 still love to recall the glory days, when those races were the annual summertime highlight. But times change and so do consumer interests. The reality is that hydroplane racing might represent an exciting chapter in the community’s history, to be revisited but never revived.

http://www.cdapress.com/1/article_3977e5ef-cc37-521f-b4d5-214b5e8a6bac.html

Serious News
04-23-2016, 11:24 PM
No Idaho race this year

Organizers have scrapped plans for a race in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for this season, and are instead focusing their energies on a possible race in 2017.

Coeur d’Alene Silver Cup General Manager Keith Allen made the announcement through H1 Unlimited on Friday.

“We have been working with our sponsors and local community representatives’ right up until the 11th hour to add the Silver Cup to the H1 2016 schedule,” Allen said. “With it now being 90 days until our event was to be run and only one-third of the way from our fundraising goal, we felt it was in the best interest of our organization, the community of Coeur d Alene and the sport to proceed in a manner that ensures a successful event and continue our work for 2017.”

Coeur d Alene Silver Cup Inc. has already obtained the primary permit to run the unlimited race in 2017, but the Silver Cup organization is still working to distance itself from former Coeur d’Alene race organizers — the Diamond Cup group — that left unpaid debts from a race in 2013.

“We started with plenty of time and some money and now even though we have some strong financial commitments, we do not have enough time to put on the race on the weekend of July 16 and 17, this year” said Allen. “We promised those that have supported us we would not jeopardize the integrity of their brand or businesses and canceling the event now allows us to fulfill that promise and keep those important relationships in good standing.”

“Keith and his organization pledged from the beginning to the fans, the teams, to H1 Unlimited, the sponsors and the community that they would only run the event if they could do it right,” H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Chairman Steve David said. “They just ran out of time to do it properly, and they committed to upholding their pledge to everyone. And for that reason alone, I know we have the right people in place to bring unlimited hydroplane racing back to Coeur d’Alene in 2017.”

The 2016 H1 Unlimited Hydroplane season will begin on the Ohio River in Madison July 1-3.

http://madisoncourier.com/Content/Sports/Sports/Article/No-Idaho-race-this-year/18/289/96565