Board tweaks Gold Cup format

Since the majority of feedback about the 2022 ERCU Gold Cup as a two-day event was positive, we’re going to do it again.

While last year’s event was indeed a success, we still learned a few things that we think will help improve this year’s event.

This year, setup is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16. We’ll then have an hour of open water, rather than two hours, and we’ll shorten the time trials to 90 minutes. If there’s a need for time trials to run a little bit longer, we can do that.

Time trials are included in the Gold Cup rules in the rulebook, and they’ve been a part of ERCU since the club’s inception. In fact, in the early years of the club, boats were required to actually qualify for the Gold Cup. Time trials evolved from that when members said it should be optional, not required, for entry into the Gold Cup.

Following time trials will be the Saturday drivers meeting, and the 2023 ERCU Gold Cup first flight of heats. We also hope to have a barbecue dinner in the park for fellowship among racers at the end of Saturday’s racing. If there are members/guests who would also like to bring swap meet items, we can also conduct that on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, we’ll have a full day of racing. The day starts at 7 a.m. with all hands helping to re-set the pits and the club equipment. We’ll also have a brief period of open water, primarily for those who didn’t run on Saturday, but open to anyone. We’ll have another required drivers meeting on Sunday morning. Heat racing will dominate the rest of the day, followed by second connies, Ted Jones Memorials and finals for all divisions and classes. The club will provide lunch for members on Sunday only.