We are closing this month’s update with a brief state of the sport report.  Personal Watercraft are a discretionary item which, naturally, enjoys more pervasive sales when there is greater discretionary income in the areas where PWC are heavily marketed.  When a recession hit the United States, the largest market for Personal Watercraft, in 2007 (depending on who you ask), PWC sales dipped but racing remained reasonably strong until fuel prices had a noticeable static increase in 2011, with a peak, in 2014, just before World Finals.   Fuel pricing clearly affected some racing but IJSBA (International Jet Sports Boating Association) numbers continued to grow.  World Finals participation stayed constant from 2013-2014.  The last few years have seen an increase in PWC sales, with a noticeable rise in both new and used watercraft sales since 2013.  With some economic improvement (again, depending on who you ask) ramping up 2015, we expect both the recreational and competition markets to continue to grow.  A drop in fuel prices started 2015 in the right direction.  The fuel prices and global currency exchange rates will be the most significantly watched factors in racing for 2015.

On the IJSBA side of things, we have outperformed the economy by a significant measure.  IJSBA membership in the USA is reaching a fifteen year high.  IJSBA has approximately double the US memberships we had this time, last year.  Numbers are rising at IJSBA sanctioned events in the USA with the last few months bringing several new partners looking to host sanctioned racing events at their waterfront venues and have expressed that their first priority is to secure IJSBA competitions.  IJSBA has explored new models to reduce costs to event organizers while holding prices constant for competition licenses and industry partners.  2015 will celebrate more than a decade of nor price increases for vendors and sponsors of the World Finals event.  Prices to participate in the competition, in the last ten years, has risen less than the annual cost of living.  By being conservative in our use of funds, IJSBA has continued to bring the world’s largest watercraft event at the lowest possible price.  This year, IJSBA will be investing some of these funds in the aesthetic upgrade of the World Finals presentation.  This will not cause a price increase in 2015.  We hope the returns from this investment will be strong enough to continue to keep prices down.

Internationally, IJSBA continues to see growth.  Many IJSBA Affiliates are showing an increase in the number of events held, annually, as well as increased levels of participation at those events.  Most notably, more regions are requesting IJSBA Sanctioned World Championship level events.  Asia and the Middle East are certain to drive a larger amount of Personal Watercraft events over the next few years with some models predicting that racing in these regions may eclipse the USA as the center of the PWC industry.  IJSBA has also been brought in to do policy consulting at a greater level than in the last decade.  IJSBA’s resources are quite valuable in helping governments plan for the growth in Personal Watercraft use and we will do our best to ensure the safe use of watercraft.  One of the best tools to ensure safe watercraft use is introducing young people to PWC in a controlled environment.  For this reason, IJSBA will heavily advocate licensing for young riders and participation in closed sanctioned activities (such as racing) as skills are being developed.  IJSBA is also developing an updated International Affiliate agreement which will make communication mandatory for all countries under the IJSBA organization.  This will mean participating in databases and updates so that the classification of racers and the caliber of class designations stays consistent from country to country. This will also ensure more uniformed rule interpretations.

IJSBA has been diligently working on a completely revamped Competition Rule Book.  The new rule book format should make for a much easier to follow system of regulations on what can, and cannot, be done to a Personal Watercraft in the various competition classes.  The Rule Book will be printed for two year periods beginning in 2016.  The most important transition for the Competition Rule Book will be to digital media.  IJSBA has been (slowly) developing a combination app/digital rule book that will allow competitors to input the modifications done to a PWC and have the app tell you what classes the competitor is/is not eligible for based on those modifications.  This has not been an easy task but we are determined to have a beta version ready for World Finals.

Perhaps the most significant new development is in the IJSBA restructuring that has been slow but very much evolving.  The IJSBA International Headquarters is planned to continue to serve as the primary research entity for the OEM producers as well as oversee the standards and practices and quality control of sanctioned PWC Racing.  The model of the  IJSBA International Headquarters will be to own the intellectual property of IJSBA and to license it to various entities; those entities will, in turn, manage the segments of the sport democratically through a common unity called IJSBA Racing.  Competition management policy and rule book changes will be made through a general assembly process which will be sent to the IJSBA headquarters for ratification.  The role of the IJSBA Executive Director will be to administer the ratified policies, to oversee dispute resolutions, and to maintain the business practices of IJSBA.  International consulting will also be part of the Executive Director’s role.  The IJSBA Technical Director will be a function of IJSBA International Headquarters and this officer will make final interpretations of any technical matter that is left to interpretation after the ratification of technical rules.  This process will give more governing power to the community as a whole.  This power requires participation and we trust that the community is prepared to make this commitment.

A final change coming to IJSBA is going to be a further prioritization on creating two levels of racing, each with its own level of focus.  IJSBA intends to empower regional, club, and smaller affiliate entities with easier to manage programs that will make their racing more cost effective and can best serve the needs of budget conscious, locally based, grass roots type racing.  Similarly, IJSBA intends to ensure that those organizers that are capable of producing highly visible, world class competitions have the support and recognition that distinguishes these types of events and brings the necessary attention to the sponsors and competitors who are operating at a higher budget level.  The idea is going to be to have these two different types of entities each have their own type of ranking system so they can both grow, complement each other, and make the entire sport larger.  We find too often that events are being judged by a “one size fits all” standard.  Obviously this is going to take some compromise and some willingness to view things through a different lens than we have the last few years but we are confident that this two tiered system will grow the sport and prevent different caliber events from being in competition with one another.  Please watch for the first draft of the two tiered proposal coming soon.

In closing, IJSBA is poised to have another successful year.  We have been busy the last few months making changes where they need to be made, making improvements, and being progressive in modernizing how we will operate without abandoning the core qualities of what has kept us alive for nearly forty years.  Please send any comments and questions to info@ijsba.com.  On behalf of the IJSBA staff, Board of Directors, International Affiliates, OEM members, and Aftermarket Industry, we look forward to serving you and continuing to take PWC Racing to new heights.