|
The ERCU Board of Directors will meet via Zoom on Tuesday, July 20 at 5:30 p.m., for approximately one hour.
The point of the meeting is to take care of club business, according to board chair Nelson Holmberg. On the agenda includes a proposal to create a standing Competition Committee for the club, which would not include any board members, and would serve the purpose of addressing concerns about the racing rules in a timely and pro-active manner during the season. The committee would be empowered with creating "Competition Directives" that would address flaws, ambiguity and errors in the current rule book to make understanding and enforcing the rules easier for all. These Competition Directives would then be reviewed by the board, and ultimately the entire membership, during the following offseason to address permanent changes to the rule book. The board will also consider the creation of an ad hoc Master Hull Roster Committee that would be charged with updating the club's master hull roster and making corrections as deemed necessary. This committee would work for a finite period of time, to be determined, until the MHR is updated and accurate, then dissolve. Other items on the agenda will be discussion of planning the ERCU Gold Cup, clarifying and implementing a process for the upcoming ERCU board of directors elections, and a process for selecting the season awards for 2021, which will include more involvement from the entire membership. Finally, the club board will consider a plan for the end of season banquet, and will discuss concerns over scale appearance of our boats. As always, in accordance with club bylaws, there will also be officers' reports and good of the order. The full agenda can be found by clicking here. For those interested in participating in the board meeting via Zoom, the link (and phone dial in information) can be found below, and on the attached agenda. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8464189312?pwd=Qi9DZ3JqYlppRjFJbFNDcjMzaE1zUT09 Meeting ID: 846 418 9312 Passcode: ERCU2021 By phone: (253) 215-8782  LACEY, Wash. - There must be something in the water this season.
For the fifth time in six races, ERCU has seen another first first. Terry Harmer posted his first race victory on Saturday, July 10, winning the 1/7-scale vintage final at the 14th Annual ERCU Roger Newton Memorial. David Newton continued his sweep of the 1/10 scale vintage 2021 schedule, and Chuck Murray posted wins in the 1/10 scale classic and modern finals. It was an absolutely awesome day of great racing, great food, fantastic camaraderie, and beautiful weather at Long’s Pond in Woodland Creek Park. Forty-one boats were on hand for the event, as the memory of Roger Newton - the Czar of model hydroplane racing - lived in it’s abundant glory. The drivers meeting included a brief video recapping Roger’s life in boat racing, and kicked off the terrific day of racing in his memory. David Newton, the contest director, and son of the Czar, coordinated a very special event for ERCU members. He had dozens of giveaways and raffle prizes, and even conducted a 50/50 raffle that brought a nice little chunk of change to the club. When all was said and done and the roostertails had settled, Newton was appropriately one of four different winners on the day. Behind Newton in the 1/10 scale vintage final was second place finisher Robbie Roberts with his 1970 Hallmark Homes. Robbie made the final by winning the connie and was moved up to the front line when Brad Lewis’ Miss Supertest was unable to start. Third place went to Bill Mowatt driving Rick Evans’ 1968 Miss Bardahl - which had also been awarded Best of Scale (1/10 vintage) earlier in the day. Gerry Bordon with the 1970 Parco’s O-Ring Miss was unable to finish the vintage final. Then came Murray. In the first of two final heats won by Murray, the 1983 Miss Houston outlasted Bordon’s best of scale 1974 Miss U.S., which had also won the connie and ended up starting on the front line due to a boat that didn’t start. Third in the classic final went to Jay Fonville with the 1976 Spirit of Dayton Walther. David Heilbrunn’s 1984 Executone and Lewis’ 1982 Oh Boy! Oberto did not finish. Murray also claimed victory in the modern final. But that may not have been the most exciting feature of the modern class. For the first time in memory, there was a second connie in the modern class. Heilbrunn righted the ship of a bummer day, taking his 2019 J&D’s to victory in the second connie. That allowed him to start on the front line of the modern first connie, which he also won. And that put Heilbrunn in the final, the hard way, and starting as a trailer. Murray’s 2000 Miss Elam was a rocketship all day, and the modern final was no exception. He beat Paul Dunlap and the 2015 Dalton Industries and the J&D’s to the top of the podium. Fourth place went to Mike Hughes in the 1991 Winston Eagle (another best of scale winner), while the 2018 Oberto Beef Jerky of Nelson Holmberg was unable to start due to radio issues. The 1/7-scale modern final was pretty lackluster, if we’re being brutally honest. Sadly, both Craig Mullen’s gorgeous 1975 Pay ’n Pak and Holmberg’s 2007 Miss Chrysler Jeep had issues and didn’t finish. And after a day of tough racing that took out John & Denise Sjostrom’s 1982 Captran Resorts and 1974 Miss U.S., respectively, all Holmberg had to do was make a legal start and finish three clean laps to be crowned Roger Newton Memorial champion. He did that, and it capped another 1,200 point day for Gary Hansen’s Notre Dame, all but securing the season points championship in 1/7-scale modern. Conversely, the last race of the day - the 1/7-scale vintage final - was exciting. With lap penalties, good racing, and lots of drama on the water, Harmer showed the most poise and stayed clean to post the race win. When officials settled out the scoring and order of finish, second place went to Mullen, driving McIntosh’s 1976 Vagabond. Bill Smiley’s Savair’s Mist, Aaron Olson’s Lil Buzzard (driven by Joey Caines) and Jim McKeon’s Maverick all failed to finish the final. All in all, it was a terrific day of racing. By many accounts, it was the best ERCU event in quite some time. Roger would be proud, and we’re sure he was watching.  Long’s Pond, Woodland Creek Park
6729 Pacific Ave SE, Lacey, WA 98503 The seventh race of the 2021 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the Roger Newton Memorial, set for Saturday, July 10 at Long’s Pond in Lacey. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for the seventh event of the year: Contest Director David Newton Context This will mark the 14th running of the Roger Newton Memorial. Roger Newton, club founder and hall of fame RC scale racer, passed away in the summer of 2008. Since then the club has been dedicated to racing in his honor. Roger spent his lifetime promoting and racing scale RC hydroplanes of all sizes. In the early 1970’s he created Newton Marine, a side business that sells 1/8-scale hydroplane plans. He then created R/C Unlimiteds in 1976, the first club dedicated to racing nothing but scale hydroplane models. He helped to form Classic Thunder in 1994 and then created ERCU in 2003. He was influential with scale RC racing around the world and spent his life fulfilling that dream. David Newton will again chair the race. This year he plans to make the race bigger and better than previous years with more raffle prizes, awards, hot lunch and other surprises along the way. This will be a race you won’t want to miss! What to Expect
Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the Roger Newton Memorial is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/roger-newton-memorial.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a blue box just underneath the race site map. You may also pre-pay your entry fees online by following the PayPal directions at the bottom of the page. You can also find pre-registration by going to www.ercu-hydros.com, then selecting “Schedule” from the main menu, and “Roger Newton Memorial” from the schedule itself. Schedule It is our intent to have the course open by 7:30 a.m., so that testing can commence once boats are registered for the event. With the possibility that there may be new boats that need to be inspected or rookie drivers who may need to take a driving test, please plan to arrive early on Saturday morning. The water will be open for testing until 9:00 a.m. A mandatory driver’s meeting will start at 9:05 am. Drivers that do not attend the meeting will not be allowed to participate in the first round of heats. 1/10-scale modern heat 1A will begin immediately at 9:30 a.m. Three Minute Clock The three-minute clock will start as soon as all drivers indicate to the Chief Referee that they are ready and will not be stopped for any reason other than health or safety. Please plan ahead for your upcoming heats and be ready when the chase boat comes back. When all drivers are at the driving area and boats launched/ready to launch drivers will be asked if they are ready for the 1:30 clock. This will be explained at the Drivers Meeting. Drivers Meeting The Drivers Meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin immediately upon the closing of testing at 9:00 a.m. Drivers who are late to the drivers meeting, or do not attend, will NOT be drawn into the first heat – regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. First heat will begin at 9:30 a.m. A Drivers Rep and Pit Boss should also be named at the Drivers Meeting. If a Drivers Rep is not named at the Drivers Meeting, the Contest Director(s) shall be the Drivers Rep. Rookie/Guest Drivers ERCU always welcomes new members to the club and visiting racers from other clubs. If a rookie driver needs to be qualified, we will close the course during the test session for the rookie driving test as often is as necessary. The full procedure for rookie qualifications, and for visiting drivers, is in the rulebook by clicking here). 2021 Rules Please review the rulebook as is posted on the ERCU website, available under the Resources tab (or by clicking here). The Contest Director/Chief Referee will make every effort to be sure that officiating is consistent with the rules as published on the website, and that every effort is made to assure consistency in officiating. New Boats As noted above, it is possible that there will be new boats in the pits that need to be inspected. We ask that you print out the 2021 Hull Inspection Form, found on the Resources tab of the club website (www.ercu-hydros.com), and complete the member information at the top of page one prior to arriving at the race site. Please also remember to bring a photo of the real boat (a photo on your phone or tablet is acceptable) that your boat models. Roger Newton Memorial Defending Champions Modern: David Newton, 1985 Miss Budweiser Classic: Brad Lewis, 1982 Oh Boy! Oberto Vintage: Brad Lewis, 1962 Miss Supertest Race Format
Post Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Following the conclusion of the final heat of the day, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the podium (first, second and third place). After the awards are presented, please remember to stick around to help cleanup and re-pack the club trailer. Any final raffle prizes will be presented at this time. Remember you must be present to claim your raffle prize. Weather Forecast As of this writing, the weather is expected to be 84 degrees and sunny in Lacey. Covid Notice Effective June 30, 2021, all counties in the State of Washington have been allowed to re-open with some masking and physical distancing required for those who are not fully vaccinated. ERCU has adopted a policy that those who are fully vaccinated may participate without face coverings and physical distancing. Those who are not fully vaccinated are asked to continue use of facial coverings, in accordance with state and local requirements. Restrooms There are two public restroom facilities on site in Woodland Creek Park and they are expected to be open. Electricity There is limited access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source to charge your batteries if you need to charge during the day. |
Archives
September 2024
|
RSS Feed