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Jeff
 
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Default Very Interesting post from Offshore

This was posted on the Offshore Only site. No mention of the Stock, Mod
Event that was to have taken place.
Ho hum will things never change?


APBA/UIM Offshore World Championships Update

09/16/2003

Ladies and Gentlemen of APBA Offsho

Today we are announcing that due to circumstances beyond our control this
year's APBA/UIM Offshore World Championships will be held in Orange Beach,
Alabama the week of November 10-16. We are thrilled to be associated with
Gary Nichols and the Gulf Coast Powerboat Association. As many of you know
they staged an outstanding event this past August and promise to produce the
best World Championships in the history of our sport. The entire community
is enthusiastic and excited at the opportunity to host us, you, your
families and our sponsors and we are all confident that you will enjoy the
experience.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and trouble this move may
cause. If we could have made it work we would have done everything humanly
within our power to do so. We made this decision after tremendous,
painstaking discussions and analyses of our options and the repercussions of
staying in Key West this year versus making a move in a different direction.
At the end of the day we unanimously concluded that racing in Key West
simply was not a viable option. Let us explain why:

We notified the Key West promoter, Lee Mills, several weeks ago that he
needed to sign a sanction agreement and pay the requisite sanction fee if he
wanted an APBA sanction. In the end, Mr. Mills chose to stage his own
independent event. Many of you received his invitation and noticed that
there was no mention of the APBA. You noticed the same thing about his
website. We noticed too.

In short, we could not guarantee our racers, sponsors and fans, that the Key
West event would be run using APBA Offshore technical and competition rules,
and thus qualify as a legitimate UIM recognized official World
Championships. Further since we could not guarantee what the costs and
conditions of participation would be for you we felt we had no other choice
but to make this move.

Since 1999 we have made tremendous strides against sometimes incredible odds
and some pretty stiff opposition to move this sport ahead. The racing is
much improved. Our rules and enforcement procedures are vastly superior.

The quality of our television product is significantly enriched and the
amount of actual programming we produce now is exponentially greater than
ever before. We are producing better and more professional events as
evidenced by Milwaukee and we have a firm template for the future as further
evidenced by our recent move to St. Petersburg. In addition, we also have
fulfilled all of our commitments to you, including financing several races
over the past several years to ensure you always had a full schedule, and
paying every dime of prize money we ever committed to pay. We also have
brought more contingency sponsor money to the sport than ever before.

This year, moreover, we secured the most significant non-marine related
sponsor in the history of the sport which has raised the profile of offshore
racing higher than its previous 100 year history. GMC has given us
tremendous credibility and exposure and this relationship will continue to
grow and prosper in 2004!!!

In addition, while we have been engaged in an unpleasant situation with
certain members of APBA Detroit for the past 10 months, it is now over. We
are finalizing the formal settlement as we speak and the bottom line is that
our group will remain APBA and UIM affiliated for many years to come!

Further, while we have some related issues with one of our best and longest
running sponsors, Mercury Racing, we continue a positive dialogue and remain
hopeful that we will soon be able to announce a resolution which benefits
all of us.

We also will be announcing a 2004 schedule that will be exciting and most
importantly, solid as a rock. We know you have heard that before but we have
taken certain steps to minimize the instability of our venues and dates. We
also are working on an exciting new business venture which will further
ensure future schedule stability. Indeed, that is our number one priority
next season. We are as tired of the changes as you are and fully recognize
and appreciate the importance of a solid stable schedule to all of our
success.

For the sport to grow, we need business partners who want all of us to
succeed. We need to be competing in bigger markets that are easy to get to
and where sponsors can get great exposure. Orange Beach is close to several
large population centers such as Birmingham and Mobile. Alabama is a huge
sports state and we all know about their enthusiasm for motorsports with the
famous Talladega Speedway and two Winston Cup events each year.

Significantly, GMC also has a fabulous dealer group in the area which makes
the venue change a positive one for GMC, our sponsorship, and for your
investment in us.

In short, we will make this move a positive one for you, your sponsors,
families and fans. We firmly believe that we have successfully navigated
through the toughest part of the long journey we embarked on in 1999. Your
loyalty, faith, and commitment will be rewarded. Thank you for all of your
support and understanding.

Now, let's go racing!!!

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us.

Sincerely,


Michael D. Allweiss
Gordon Kraft
Nigel Hook
Mark Nemschoff
Allen Allweiss
Steve Miklos
Ted Zoli