2007 NAMBA Nationals

[Mike McKnight]

Ok folks the 2007 NAMBA nationals is online at www.2007nambanationals.com

 

[Rod Geraghty]

Ok folks the 2007 NAMBA nationals is online at www.2007nambanationals.com

Kudos.....Now that is one great website.

 

[ronratoff]

Here do it this way and everyone can just click on it..............

http://www.2007nambanationals.com

Ron Ratoff

 

[Grimracer]

Hea.. anybody want to step up to the plate and sponsor the event... Holy schnikies..

I have to say I have been playing RC boats for a number of years.. and I can understand the need.. but charging for vendor booth space for 3 days at a bill or more a day? man...

Not trying to jump anybody here or anything.. but man.. you can not support the event for LESS then a C note.. sure thats cheap enought.. but from there it just goes nuts..

Might just be me but how can a 10X20 Fee Booth Space cost a grand.. slick play on words..?

No doubt the event will be a sucess but whats up NAMBA.. P.S. I am a member..

Im trying to look at this from a few sides.. The racer and what this will give him/or her.. and an X RC busness owner turned complete RC junkey..

Mike Z

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Hea.. anybody want to step up to the plate and sponsor the event... Holy schnikies..

I have to say I have been playing RC boats for a number of years.. and I can understand the need.. but charging for vendor booth space for 3 days at a bill or more a day? man...

Not trying to jump anybody here or anything.. but man.. you can not support the event for LESS then a C note.. sure thats cheap enought.. but from there it just goes nuts..

Might just be me but how can a 10X20 Fee Booth Space cost a grand.. slick play on words..?

No doubt the event will be a sucess but whats up NAMBA.. P.S. I am a member..

Im trying to look at this from a few sides.. The racer and what this will give him/or her.. and an X RC busness owner turned complete RC junkey..

Mike Z

ACTUALLY, I WILL RESPECTFULLY STATE THAT PORTION OF YOUR POST IS NOT ENTIRELY CORECT

We thank you for your comments and concerns, however, you and everyone else will be happy to know that your concerns have been well anticipated and we have planned accordingly. : )

ONE COULD SUPPORT THE EVENT IN A COUPLE OF WAYS FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY OR IN ONE CASE NONE AT ALL.

If you are willing to offer a product or service with a 50% off or (Buy one Get One Free) coupon that you guarantee you will redeem, that coupon will be included in the event program at no cost. This is to try to really encourage potential new customers to patronize your business knowing that the hardest thing is business is to get that first time purchase from a customer, while adding value to the event program and additional benefits to the racer.

Also, there is no limit to the cost of raffle prizes so you could donate a bag of 2 cent bubble gum if you would like. We'll take it, AND you will be listed in the program as a raffle prize contributor. There is also advertising in the program for advertising as low as $75.00.

If you see the entire package the SPONSORSHIPS THAT ARE REGULARLY SUPPORED BY OUR RC BOATING COMMUNITY REMAIN THE SAME PRICE (ie. Trophy sponsorships, and event program advertising). You will even see that we took into account that we increased the class sponsorship slightly but provided a discount to NAMBA members so that they still pay the same price as always. This was done,

for one,

because I know that most of the class sponsors are small and can't afford much in the way of marketing themselves,

for two,

even if they did, change is hard to swallow for most of us,

and three,

the draw to the event as far as racers are concerned, will be no more than any of the other larger nationals such as LA.

Plus...

most of you who sell boats would sell boats and accessories will do so right out of your pitting tent... avoiding any cost for booth purchases.

The other sponsorship packages you mention provide actual value to your business rather than your money being purely a donation. Traffic to your website, and advertising in print, on radio and television are all benefits to the sponsorship package in 2007. We really wanted to bring value to the sponsorship packages as well as access to advertising channels that one may not be able to afford on your own. With the launch of the website a press release will be issued to City Hall and it will be distributed from there to all of there media partners with the hope that some of them will pick it up and write a story which will then push traffic to the website, generating more exposure for everyone linked to the website.

Some of the sponsorship possibilities that you see are targeting the local vendor. These people pay as much as $300, $800, $1000, $2000, $10,000 and even more for booth at local festivals in San Jose for events that are at the most 3 Days and range from 5,000 visitors to 100,000 visitors. The 2007 nats will be held in the presence of 20 to 25,000 over the course of the week. I based prices from other events that I put on and/or have seen then adjusted prices to fit the sum of people expected be present the 2007 NAMBA Nationals.

Anyone know what a booth cost at the RCX show... and how many people they get?... And how many their have a demonstrated interest in water activities.

As mentioned on the website, and in the press release, and in the sponsorship package, we are making an attempt to make this a bigger deal than usual. I know it's new but in trying the new things we still made accomodations for the old things so that they can still be done in the same way.

So the correct statement would be...

"The 2007 NAMBA Nationals has provided a variety of affordable sponsorship opportunities with real benefits. There are even premium packages that provide access to large scale media channels for those potential sponsors looking to maximize there sponsorship efforts. "

 

[TomMoorehouse]

When my old club was still in around, every year we would give our profits to charity. We only kept enough money to buy the plaques for the next year. You guys should be able to make some charity VERY happy!

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

When my old club was still in around, every year we would give our profits to charity. We only kept enough money to buy the plaques for the next year. You guys should be able to make some charity VERY happy!

That is a very noble idea. I have done the same at another annual race that I put on year after year. Perhaps our committee will take this into consideration. At the moment the plan for sponsor funds it to cover cost of the event and cost of promotion for the sponsor, since that is what they are paying for. Some sponsors may want something specific for their sponsor dollars. For example: In the case of the "Kids R' Boaters Too the sponsor made a very specific request which will absorb the entire sum of their sponsorship contribution.

 

[Ron]

Great job Roger!

What luck! My first year racing and the Nationals are in my state!

Yahoo!!!

 

[lohring]

I would like to point out that I the District 9 group has been the backbone of a lot more than the 2007 Nationals. They supply much of the CD, judging, pit boss, and similar manpower at every Nationals they attend. They are in the process of consulting other districts and past Nationals committee members for advice. They are doing extensive planning for what could be a very large event with site restrictions that may be more difficult than NAMBA is accustomed to. Dealing with these problems in a private park inside a major city can be expensive and it is their goal to make this invisible to the participants. The normal sources of model boat event funding are small companies or individuals and they will not be expected to provide any more than in the past. The District is working with some larger sponsors to help take care of the larger expenses and to create a better quality of event. I hope this event can set a higher standard for model boat racing and bring our sport to a new level.

Lohring Miller

 

[Mike McKnight]

Thank you Lohring for stating my thoughts exactly. I have mulled over a response for this for quite a few days and hope that I lay any concerns or fears to rest after this.

Let me start by saying that I can understand why some people may be critical because we are going about this differently than many of the past events. As a co-contest director for this event I have been fielding criticisms for being too commercially driven for this event. Those opinions have been noted. But I still ask the question "What is wrong with asking for commercial sponsorships?". I see a number of races and organizations in boating that have commercial sponsors other than RC products already.

Now a lot of you know Roger as he has been involved in RC boating much longer than I have. So let me take a moment to tell you a little about me and my history. With the sound and video business that I ran and still continue to run on a limited basis, I was involved in and even the main promoter for quite a few large events. Everything from Rod and Custom shows in large market arenas in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and number of other cities in Northern California and Nevada. I also was on the committees and even the main promoter for several large annual APBA boat races that used to run here in NoCal in the 80's and 90's. I have been in Radio as an Air Personality on and off since 1985 and to this day I do a morning show from 5a-9a here in my hometown. I have done PA announcing and broadcast analysis for a variety of sports, mainly motorsports and some football. I am now doing my first season as the PA announcer for a minor league hockey team that draws 4500 to 9500 nightly.

So combine that with Roger's expertise and not to mention the people on commitee that are bringing their respective professional talents to bear on this event. We are going about this like it is a much larger event than it may actually be. Why? Because it has a lot of potential to be much larger than it actually is. Not to mention the fact that we have an enormous opportunity because of the location to have more spectator involvement and exposure which can possibly help attract new boaters. How does this affect the boater coming to this event? Well it puts the fact that they are racing on a bigger stage as it should be as this event is a Nationals. The way we are going about this is to defray some costs normally paid by the racers through sponsors not part of the boating community. NAMBA members are being given price breaks on anything they want to sponsor even the class sponsorships. A good portion of the ones we have already have chosen on their own not to take the price break offered because they believe in where we are headed.

Some of the comments I received directly were that we are trying to raise money for our district and that this was some big money grab. Not true at all. First, what we raise from outside sponsors is being used to enhance the event and give each racer and his/her family an experience they may not have had before. Second, we have a opportunity to get our sport/hobby some exposure and enhance and even create a public perception of what we do. The upside can be tremendous on a number of levels. Local memberships to local hobby shops to mail order manufacturers and distributors and so on. Third, if it works can be used and expanded upon for future Nationals and other events.

Roger and I see tremendous upside with a lot of benefit to the racers attending with little if any at all increase in expenses to them. If you have doubts, concerns, questions, whatever....just contact me or Roger and we will hear what you have to say. But if I were you I would be preparing to come to a top shelf event put on by a district that is busting it's collective behind because they believe in the the goal and are working with the boater first and foremost in mind.

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Ditto...

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

WEBSITE UPDATES MADE 12/10/06

Hotel information and booking link has been added to the 'Hotel" link. Nearby attractions have also been added to the 'Site' link.

 

[Mike McKnight]

For those that have been asking for entry forms. They will be up shortly as we are still working out the schedule of events. Our next scheduled Nationals Committee meeting will be early January and we expect to finalize and approve a schedule at that meeting so I would check by mid-January for entry forms. We also have more lodging and RV park information that will be posted as soon as certain details are confirmed. This should all be in place before the end of January.

 

[topfuel443]

I am not a NAMBA member, nor will I be attending the 2007 NAMBA NATS, but I gotta hand it to you guys, you have done a huge amount of work with this. The website is awesome. The race site/location is awesome. The hotel set-up via website, the whole nine yards....just awesome. Congrats to everyone who has had a hand in planning for this race, youve done one hell of a job. Good Luck!

~James

 

[Jeff Stubbers]

WEBSITE UPDATES MADE 12/20/06

Check out the special Hotel booking rates and link on the 'Hotel' page.

Directions to Park have been clarified on the 'Site' page in addition to Nearby attractions in San Jose, San Francisco & Monterey listed on the 'Site' page.

 

[Mike McKnight]

James your comments are very appreciated! Trust me when Roger first brought up this race site and he and I were talking about it you should have heard the two of us and seen the looks on our faces because we saw a lot of potential for a great event. Based upon experiences from events we did separately we were jazzed to be able to get together on this event. I also must give credit to the rest of the commitee and our district because there are people with talents in a lot areas that are really stepping up. Everyone so far has met and even exceeded my expectations. Plus the talents of Jeff Stubbers on our website is fantastic. Still a lot of work to do but if you want to come James and are willing to make the trek you are welcome.

 

[Jeff Stubbers]

WEBSITE UPDATES MADE 12/28/06

RV accommodations have been added to the 'Hotel' Page.

 

[Mike McKnight]

For those that have been waiting for the schedule and the entry forms....we have been delayed from posting it due to a couple of surprise issues that came up right before the first of the year. Those will be resolved in the next few days. The commitee will be meeting to approve the final draft of the schedule and we expect to have it up before 2/1. Class Sposorships are beginning to get filled so if you have you eye on something the time to get in on it is now. Contact Roger or myself and we will get you the person that will take care of you.

 

[Buckshot]

Mike / Roger,

What's up with the schedule and entry forms?



-Buck-

 

[Roger Hooks Jr.]

Mike / Roger,What's up with the schedule and entry forms?



-Buck-

Hello Will,

Rest assured, the schedule is all done. There are just some site logistics that we still have to iron out which could affect the schedule. Delays in staff availability of the managers for the site have actually been the cause of the delays. It is our top priority believe me.