This is what Scott answer me :
1th mail: Remi,
My opinions on this subject are kind of split into two categories, my personal beliefs and my beliefs as the IJSBA Executive Director.
IJSBA Opinion:
There is nothing stopping a Limited Freestyle Class from happening. Limited Class exists and the rules are already established, published, and people are familiar with tech inspecting Limiteds. So, any promoter that wants to offer Limited Freestyle is free to do it. It has a chance of appearing at World Finals if sufficient participation for the class exists and there is a strong demand for it at the World Finals level. It is work noting that I have offered this class before as a “Sick Trick” contest and there was ZERO response despite a floodgate of people assuring me it would happen. You should note that Limited Class is 850CC.
Personal Opinion:
I do not think the class will be successful. Freestyle without big horsepower (on flat water anyway) is hard to watch. Look what has happened to Pro Freestyle , it has turned into a backflip variation contest where the average rider has lost touch with doing anything as a “routine.”
A few years back, when I was judging Freestyle at the Kings Cup, someone came out and did a completely old school freestyle set that was probably on a Limited (or a heap of a Freestyle boat). The set looked like it was a routine and he executed the tricks about the skill of a seasoned regional amateur in the pre backflip days. I have him a score in the low 9’s for the originality of it and executing it well. In his second set, he did only an old school routine and I dropped him back into the 8’s. People were excited the first time they saw it but that rider has done that type of show a couple of times since then and nobody really gets interested anymore.
I do think the idea is right and that anytime we can offer an affordable option to anyone who wants to experience competition we should make efforts to do so. I do not think crowds will respond to it if it doesn’t have extreme horsepower.
However, if we can keep our focus that this an introductory class and don’t expect too much out of it, I think it has the potential to have a sustainable life on some level.
I would like you to keep something in mind when you compare Runabouts to Freestyle.
First, there are literally a million plus runabouts around the globe. By contrast, there a significantly fewer standups. You would expect by pure statistics that that there are more runabout classes. However, it isn’t really like that either. It is a situation of the global racers that have come to World Finals have split off into many different types of runabout categories as closed course racing has evolved. Freestyle has been kept in more of a narrow circle and the direction has been dictated by the Freestyle competitors (Kemnitz has posted a totally misleading comment… all of the requests presented to IJSBA were implemented but we did them over a two-three year pace as opposed to all at once).
Anyway, all of this is a discussion, my opinions can change and I hope your mind is open too.
Scott
2nd mail : Hello again Remi,If you are talking about the small kid from Portugal he is very good.
Again, I want to make it clear that it is the policy of IJSBA to encourage these types of classes when they are well organized and have potential. If a real demand show up for regional events then it can work its way up to World Finals.
I understand the concept, and it is a good one. However, I have a hard time seeing this as a reality but I hope the people show up and do it and all the people talking are serious. I would recommend that if this class is created at grass roots levels that it is run in 1 minute segments instead of two.
I am not sure if you are aware but the Limited Rule is already 850cc maximum as is Stock. You would have some problems if you tried to make a separate Limited displacement limit. However, the 50cc difference without porting and the quality cylinders is really nothing. Most people report going from 800 to 850 cc actually robs power in some areas.
Scott
