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    After months of uncertainty, speedboats roar back into Long Beach’s Marine Stadium
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    The ARP Long Beach Sprint Nationals speedboat races returned to Marine Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 17, after months of uncertainty over whether organizers would be able to meet city reviews, requirements and deadlines.

    It took months of wrangling to secure the permit, said Ross Wallach, organizer and promoter of the Sprint Nationals for the last 20 years as president of the Southern California Speedboat Club. Final approval for the event — held in Long Beach for 73 years since the inaugural races in 1946 — was granted less than two weeks ago, on Aug. 5, he said.

    “I was so glad that we finally got the approval from the city as it would have been a shame if this event was not able to happen,” Wallach said. “These races have major cultural significance in Long Beach — just as much as the Grand Prix (the annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Indy-car race weekend).”

    During last year’s competition, driver Gregory Paul Duff of Long Beach was struck by a boat during a race and died two weeks later. However, Wallach said city officials told him that the fatality was not directly related to the additional insurance and safety requirements.

    As is the case with every major event in the city, managers from the city’s fire department and other departments conducted a review after last year’s races. That review prompted the heightened requirements, Wallach said.

    Wallach and city officials went back and forth for months over the new requirements, which included a $10 million liability insurance certificate. At one point, Wallach said he was considering taking legal action against the city, while Long Beach officials repeatedly said the safety standards had to be met before the permit could be issued.

    The stands were filled to capacity early Saturday on a sunny, breezy morning. Additional safety barriers were visible around the venue. No major incidents were reported by mid-day; one boat flipped during practice, but the driver was uninjured, officials said.

    Saturday’s races took on bittersweet significance for Greg Duff’s family, longtime participants in the Long Beach event. The approval for this year’s race weekend was secured on the one-year anniversary of the crash that would claim Duff’s life.

    “I know he is here today looking down on us and watching over the drivers,” said Carrie Ann Duff, Greg’s sister and a former Long Beach resident. “When we found out the race may not happen this year we were devastated. Greg would have wanted the race go on.”

    A memorial ceremony for Duff is planned during the two-day event’s final day, Sunday at noon.

    “My dad was on a pit crew for a drag-boat team and my family followed him around since we were young,” she said. “My brother Greg was in the driver’s seat of a flat boat when he was three months old and his passion for boat racing grew from there.”

    “On August 5, I knew it would be a tough day for me, being that it was the anniversary of the accident,” she added. “But when I got the phone call from Ross (Wallach), it made the day a lot easier for me knowing that this race would go on.”

    Despite meeting the city’s requirements to stage the race, organizers are still struggling to meet all of the city’s financial requirements and are seeking donors online, Wallach said this week in a Facebook post. Donations can be made by going to gofundme.com and searching for “2019 ARP Long Beach Sprint Nationals Memorial Race.”

    The event continues from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children at the gate. Children 5 and younger are free. Active military and veterans are free. Parking is $20 per vehicle.

    For more information about the 2019 ARP Long Beach Sprint Nationals — The Greg Duff & Phil Bergeron Memorial Race Presented by Nick Rose Insurance, log on to scscracing.com.

    Photos;
    https://www.ocregister.com/2019/08/1...arine-stadium/
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    IN PICTURES: The 70-year-old boat race that almost didn’t happen

    Photos: https://lbpost.com/sports/in-picture...-nationals-arp
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