So where do we go now?

RC is a beloved hobby many of us have been doing for over a quarter of a century. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the industry itself has been on the decline. Major changes in consumer tastes and the way the industry itself is run has taken a bite out of the market. This topic is brought up occasionally and everyone helps identify problem areas and offer well intended solutions. But is the decline unique to nitro boat racing or RC in general? The simple answer is no.

If you are in the motorcycle industry you too are seeing a dip in sales. Why you might ask? Because bike consumers are getting older, dying off and many of generations Z’s population ( born between 1995-2012) feel motorcycles are far too dangerous and have no interest. It is a real problem for manufacturers who are scrambling to meet the needs of women and minority bikers in the hopes of regaining market share.

Full scale auto racing is not immune to the new generation either .Despite all the evidence to the contrary, a feeling of malaise hangs over the sport, a sense that racing has lost its mojo. Television numbers are down. Attendance is trending in the wrong direction. The fan base is aging, and new blood isn’t being injected quickly enough to keep the sport healthy. Millennials tend to be blasé about automobiles. Cars are increasingly seen as a utilitarian means to an end, and the romance has been sucked out of driving. “Mobility,” the buzzword of the day, doesn’t exactly conjure sights and sounds of heated competition. “Something that scared the crap out of me was reading a study that found that 16-year-olds wanted a smartphone more than a driver’s license,” says Tanner Foust, who’s earned a lucrative living racing on the edges of motorsport, first in Formula Drift and now in Global Rallycross. (Road and Track, Dec 2017)

So how does Nitro RC Boat racing and auto racing sell itself in a world where consumers have more choices and shorter attention spans? How does it appeal to its traditional fans while attracting new ones? How does it stay true to itself while adapting to the times? These are the questions that everyone has been asking their peers for the past few years. Turns out, they’re asking themselves the same questions.

For full scale motorsports, the way racing is captured and consumed will change, in ways we have not even thought of yet. For us, things are not so clear. Do we start to look at 40 year old rules and make changes? Do we make it easier to get into the hobby with ready to run set ups? Do we pull racers from other forms of RC? Or do we simply stay on our current course and go the way of nitro tethered boats? Something is going to happen as more of our racing base dies off and new comers don’t fill in the gaps. If you don’t believe me go to a flying field and see how many Nitro planes are flying.

Just something fun to read and a little food for thought. Enjoy the Holidays, see you at the lake, Jeff

I saw a neat video of a club in Texas running Skidaddle 20s with Super Tigre 18s. Low cost and really any bodies race. Boys and girls were out there running. The boats ran really well and did not get airborne like my 3.5 did. I think it's a great place start.

There is no question but that the world and society are changing. We have to adapt to the changes. The first thing, in my opinion, is to make our hobby more family friendly. That means it is a comfortable atmosphere for the wives and children. Some of the best racers are those people that started under their fathers' guidance.

If we can appeal to people as a family friendly activity we will attract more people and keep sites. Let's look in the mirror and see if we are the type of people that embrace families. Or, are we someone that you would not like to see your wives and children emulate.

When children are using golf clubs that cost several thousands of dollars, and adults are using $30,000 trap guns, if it is fun people will get involved. If it is not fun, people will leave.

We can offer classes that are not expensive. But, first we have to make certain that our activities are fun for families.

Al HHobbs

"The first thing, in my opinion, is to make our hobby more family friendly."

"if it is fun people will get involved. If it is not fun, people will leave."

"But, first we have to make certain that our activities are fun for families."

"fun for families" is the common denominator here. And I couldn't agree more.

These days people spend more money on their kids than ever before. Travelling around the country side for sports, dance, and any other venue you can think of. Change is the operative word. Make it an attraction for kids that adults can participate in and you may have something.

Good post Al. And probably just one of the reasons you're the newly elected President of Namba

We also need to promote more at Hobby Shops letting people know there are races close to them.

I think there are a couple of issues that we really need to look at that are hurting our hobby:

1) How do we present ourselves to the public? Even in this forum, how often does someone get ridiculed over something? Just a few days ago, I got what can only be referred to as attacked in one of the threads because I made a post a couple of people "disagreed" with. How does that look to people thinking about getting into the hobby to see that kind of behavior online

2) Do we need to lose the "good ol' boys club" attitude? When I showed up at my first few races, just to watch, I was totally ignored by the guys racing. They would be talking boats, joking around and laughing among themselves but, to an outsider, it was far from an inviting experience. Had it not been for a few people, in one case one of the wives, taking the time to say hello and actually inviting me to stay, I would have left and said "SCREW THIS CRAP!!!"

3) How do we bring down the costs for people that want to get into the hobby? This one is pretty much self-explanatory

4) How do we compete with society's quest for instant gratification? This is the big question. People want to buy "off the shelf" and win right away. How do you change that?

You might think that this answer is is too short....smart phones.

Anything that requires someone to put down their phone for more than 5 min. is not going to be a popular past time.

You cannot believe the number of people that I know who cannot wait for cars that drive themselves. Why? Sit, ride and be on your phone! Don't have to drive.

Another thing I notice is that far fewer people will use their spare time on a hobby. More people than ever....even upper middle class will use their spare time doing something to make more money. And...that also means staying on a phone.

I have been boating since about 1978-1979 going to races.

This type of discussion has been going on since I got into boating. In THOSE GOOD OL DAYS THERE WERE FEWER RACES THAN NOW, The motors were much poor quality, very few boat builders, NO INTERNET TO GET ADVICE HELP OR PICTURES OF BOATS TO LEARN FROM.

Hardware was horrible, pot aluminum

Radios and servos were so bad we had to pack the rudders in foam to keep from stripping the Servo gears when traveling to races.

SO IT IS SOOOOO MUCH EASIER TO GET BUILD OR BUY A COMPETATVE BOAT.

For example: you can get ZIPP KIT EASILY GET HARDWARE BUY A STOCK MOTOR AND COMPETE.

IN THE GOOD OL DAYS we raced ONE BOAT.

INDY UNLIMITED YOU RACED ONE BOAT.

Now days most run 2-3 boats

Now days there are plenty of races to go to.

There always has been the GOOD OL BOYS CLUB, BUT THEY , AND MOST OTHERS ARE WILLING TO HELP. But no body is going to do the work for YOU.

Hobby stores have never , in general , been in the Model boat RACING BUSINESS, and they never will. Yep you can get a ready to run electric but no 80 mph nitro hydro

RC boating requires some building skills which is not part of the younger VIDEO GAMING CROWD. AND YES IT IT IS NOT EASY TO BE SUCCESSFUL as video gaming running electric TRAINS flying drones and RC planes.

So you build membership at the club level. The HUNTSVILLE CLIB HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE OF BEING INCLUSIVE

We have those that run scale battle ships , others have THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN BOATS/TWINS BUT WILL NEVER RACE and then the most competitive individuals that can exist. They are ALL welcome and we help

each other out and have a place under the Huntsville Tent.

So in conclusion it is good to look at ways to improve the hobby. BUT IT IS NOT ON LIFE SUPPORT

So as stated recently on IW: IF DOC CAN GO OVER 100mph, ANYONE CAN

"Anything that requires someone to put down their phone for more than 5 min. is not going to be a popular past time."

BOOM!! That says it all right there. And it's affecting anything that requires even a minimal physical effort, not just us.

I see a melding of the 2. A heads up display driving/racing the rc boat from the comfort of the lawn chair?

Oh, and we gotta stop talking down to the newbies! Remember, it was the "newbies" that stuck radios in the control line boats, newbies that sold blueprints of scale boats, Lazer cut kits, better motors etc.

New people. Cost and time. We have evolved to high level of competition with large 2 and 3 day events that may not attract participation from new racers. Even with local one day races how often have you heard a new prospect say "I can't compete with you guys". Now add multiple boats, long drives and 2-3 night hotel stays and newbies aren't lining up. Local clubs with monthly events have been replaced by mega once a year races. I attend and enjoy them too. The new racer just can't be accommodated he needs to be included. Structure and rules need to be looked at also, with some more local one day club building events. I remember when 10 guys and twenty boats were a fun day.

Mic

The fact is that no matter how good or bad things are, they change. Right now we are right smack dab in the middle of a transition. Something the plane and helicopter guys have already lived through. Most guys on a nitro forum don't want to hear that any future growth hinges on club level one day races, racing FE in addition to Nitro. One of the few bright spots for surface sales in the hobby industry is FE RTR's, like the ones from Horizon Hobby. ProBoat has been making hobby grade hulls for sometime now and many are race ready right out of the box. With logical rules, help from fellow club members, one day races and a desire to be part of the action, FE will continue to grow and flourish. From these new members, maybe with a little luck we can get a couple hooked on Nitro as well. It is just a hard sell because of the ease and simplicity of electric. Take a look at your local flying field. Nitro Heli's are gone and electric powered flight is the norm. We can kick and scream as long as we want, but it is happening.

The Saginaw club up here in Michigan has 6 to 8 club member only races a year, since moving to northern Michigan and racing again after many years it was great to find a club that had bouys out and used the clock at all their club races. It was a casual atmosphere with great patience and help if anyone had a problem, everyone was there to help immediately with no rush or feeling like you were holding things up. Club level activities are a great level to help new boaters to transition to the racing level and for an "OldDog" like me to work on his driving and timing. Thank you Saginaw Bay Area RC Model Boat Club!!!!

Thanks John

Jeffmaturo said:

Right now we are right smack dab in the middle of a transition

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I believe you're right. I believe the only way to sustain RC modeling as we know it (RC Model Boat Racing, etc.,...), in today's world, is by direct exposure from a family member (parent, sibling, cousin, etc.,..), friends, or TV, or [maybe] Web-Streaming Media (ie. YouTube, NetFlix, etc.,...). Otherwise, for the most part, many or most Millennial's could care less about the excitement of internal combustion engines. Or even the concept of "racing". Unless there's someone who physically exposes them to it. It has to become moreso part of the current social world we live in today. Maybe, if a number of the International Gaming World guys (including the Drone Racing League), transitioned to the more traditional RC modeling venues, that could initiate, or spark, some interest? Who knows.......

you know it is funny . Here in Saint Cloud FL there is a group of electric boaters that just sprang up all on there own at a local park.

Are club tried to invite them over to are pond but thy just keep doing what thy do. Having fun with no one messing with them.

Think there is a moral in there some where but then again may be not......LOL

It takes a lot of time and work to secure good water to run on. Once that is done there is more work in maintaining the site, chase boat and related "stuff". In addition it takes a few dedicated people to set up and host races. These sort of people are going away and there seem to be no qualified replacements.

Okay, my question is what makes someone "qualified"?

I went to an event a while back and those running it seemed to not want anyone to know the what or why of what they were doing. You would think they would want others to learn so that they could step down and just enjoy the event the next time around or just be able to give advice or answer a few questions rather than having to run it due to no one else knowing how

My soon to be 8 year old grandson wants to race next year. He loves the boats. I told his Mom I would pay for his IMPBA and bring him to some local races an hour and a half away from home. She said he will be playing baseball and soccer. I don't know if it will work or not but I will give it a shot. Church on Sunday may be the killer. She will not let him miss Sunday school.

At our last District race It was pointed out to me the two youngsters who raced that weekend were sitting in lawn chairs on their phones between heats. I got the feeling they had more fun on the phones than when they raced. Times are changing. What would we have done if phones were available when we were kids. Lets face it. Life was boring when we were kids and modeling was something fun to do. They don't need to go to a race to see their buddies. Just get on the phone. Life is different these days for sure. Last time I visited my three grandkids in Atlanta all they did for three days is play on the computers and I pads. They live in a different world than we are used to. And the reset button makes it so easy when things don't go well.

John

Jeffmaturo said:

RC is a beloved hobby many of us have been doing for over a quarter of a century. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the industry itself has been on the decline. Major changes in consumer tastes and the way the industry itself is run has taken a bite out of the market. This topic is brought up occasionally and everyone helps identify problem areas and offer well intended solutions. But is the decline unique to nitro boat racing or RC in general? The simple answer is no. [/size]

If you are in the motorcycle industry you too are seeing a dip in sales. Why you might ask? Because bike consumers are getting older, dying off and many of generations Z’s population ( born between 1995-2012) feel motorcycles are far too dangerous and have no interest. It is a real problem for manufacturers who are scrambling to meet the needs of women and minority bikers in the hopes of regaining market share.

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No, it's not that. can we dispense with the "snowflake" nonsense? Motorcycle sales are declining because- in this country- the vast majority of sales have been to Boomers buying $20-40,000 Harleys and Indians (Harley alone has had about 50% marketshare for years.) They're aging out of the market, and bike sales are going with them. Complain about "millennials" and "gen Z" all you want, but in the US bikes are toys. Hardly anyone uses them for daily transportation like you would see in India and Southeast Asia. That's why we don't get many cheap bikes here. you think younger people have thousands of dollars they can just blow on a toy? I just bought an FZ-09 this year, and after taxes and fees the bottom line was over $10,000. That's the price of a fair-to-middlin' used car, which is what someone is going to buy if they need transportation.

the up and coming generations are going to be worse off than us in terms of job prospects and financial stability. They're not getting a smoking hot post-war economy handed to them.

Hydro Junkie said:

Okay, my question is what makes someone "qualified"?

I went to an event a while back and those running it seemed to not want anyone to know the what or why of what they were doing. You would think they would want others to learn so that they could step down and just enjoy the event the next time around or just be able to give advice or answer a few questions rather than having to run it due to no one else knowing how

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every hobby has "those people" who think they own the hobby and can dictate who's allowed to participate and how they have to do things.