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There are few advantages of being a senior approaching 80 years young. I have lived though the beginning, the growth stage and the decline of boat racing in Ontario. I think one reason is most people today aren’t interested in boats racing. They likely never have known about them, thought about them, didn’t care and have never been to a boat racing event. Few would remember the races in Toronto, Hamilton and few Ontario people go to Valleyfield Quebec to see what is considered one the the best boat racing events in the WORLD.
Ontario is not alone! The United States with 10 ten times the population of Canada has seen most of their large events disappear or become smaller. Covid, the economy, even climate changes are factors.
Knowing your market, knowing your limitations and having good, unselfish , committed , knowledgeable people add lasting stability to your organization. This is true for not just a boat race club but most organizations big and small.
In Ontario Toronto Outboard Racing Club (TORC) is an excellent example of a small organization that has lasted decades mostly due to the people that have managed that organization thru good times and not so good times.
Those of us that have a lasting passion for this sport or maybe it’s an illness, always think positive and are thankful we still have some boat racing in Ontario. We think OPBRA will return and wouldn’t it be nice to see those F1 tunnels race.

As someone who attends the F1PC events in the states, it is not just our side thats losing viewers, however there are a couple notes. I frequently hear of the USF1 days with big sponsors. Bud Light bringing a semi loaded with beer when they sponsored the Seebolds. Rule was one member from each team could come and take as many cases of beer as they could carry, the glory days of the early 2000's.

Local business engagement is critical. Getting businesses to sponsor, support. It goes both ways, spectators see a local restaurant advertised at the race, that gives them an idea where to go for lunch or dinner. We generally as well display a local sponsor on the boat, and its worth a couple hundred bucks, helps pay for a small portion of our expenses. Hotel sponsors are big too, asking for a group rate, usually called the "Racers Block". Hotel gets some advertising, teams save some money. We've had local dealerships give teams trucks or atvs for loading for the weekend.

Your friends also do want to watch you race, even if they cant be there. Online coverage, promoting, sharing, is all important. I bet 30% of the people watching the F1PC streams are from Six Mile Lake or the Barrie/Innisfil area.

The race in Pittsburg was awesome, they would time our final to line up with whatever sporting event was that afternoon, and literally funnel the people down to the river. Sadly that race hasn't happened for a few years due to some security reasons.

I think both the organizations and the racers have an equal part to play. Getting the news out there to start. Need to add some story and drama, to attract attention. I do hear rumors of F1 returning to Valleyfield possibly next year.

The boating industry has gone thru many changes over the last few years. We have certainly noticed them on our lake. We did have many high performance boats on the lake, they disappeared and we saw high performance fishing boats, they disappeared and were replaced by pontoon boats. Inboard ski boats got larger . The sail boats increased for a year or two and now there are few. Our bay was always an activity center for water sports and now it’s quiet. Everything related to boating is expensive. By the large inventories of new boats at our marinas, the market is not strong. Many of the large boat dealerships have been sold in the last few years.
Look how quiet high performance web sites are. This one for example. They’re dead quiet!
Companies want return if they invest in a sponsorship. Sponsoring a boat race event would be a tough sell. Maybe a passion boat person will win a lottery and try to jump start events.
I do agree with having boat racing events part of other functions. We got a lot of promotion with events like the Antique Boat Show. Maybe link up with other events so the program offers more variety. I don’t think...same old....same old programs will continue to draw fans.
Many times people need to be exposed to new things first and then realize they like it.
For years the younger generations have said they want some newer motors and boats in outboard racing. It’s interesting that there is talk but no action with these people. Are they committed? It doesn’t appear to be the case. You get a few people as a group with a new class and maybe a club will give it a try. I still think a tunnel class with stock commercial motors 40-50 hp as a knee down constructed in wood or fiberglass would add new interest to the stock outboard program.

How does a 50 hp tunnel class look like?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJfZJumrooY

Here is a resent interview about the F1 series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8aDsqSz6V8

Here are the boys testing on Six Mile Lake. The team is Canadian members!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iKVSnobIgQ

https://f1powerboatchampionship.com/lake-havasu-2023/

We'll be in Lake Havasu, Az this coming weekend. Boat and trailer are departing tonight. Full Canadian team, and most from Six Mile Lake. Made a big change to the bottom of the boat this past weekend, have some new propellers, and 2 strong engines. We are hoping to repeat our win last year here.

Saturday racing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az7zhN5Dk0g