Help UHR Help You

Regular UnlimitedHydroplaneRacing.com readers know my fondness for what I frequently call our “Damn Smart Fans.”  Fans of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing are loyal supporters, they have a passion for the sport’s history, and they really know their way around a very fast boat.  No exaggeration here: they are the best fans in the world.

It shouldn’t be any surprise then, when the need for advice presented itself, the first group I turn to is our Damn Smart Fans.

Racing Schedule Page Touch-up

After the home page, the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Schedule page is the most often visited page on UnlimitedHydroplaneRacing.com.  Thank you all for your continued – and consistently expanding – readership.  The numbers continue to grow and it is important to continue to provide you with what you need.

It occurred to me that the most popular page on the web site should be shown some love.  That’s why I’m reaching out to see how it can better serve you.

How it is Today

The Schedule page has evolved over time, and currently provides a rundown of the season, with links to various bits of race information for each venue.  Here’s some current assumptions and rationale:

• Simple.     I’ve tried to keep the approach simple, providing just what I’ve assumed is the right information.  (Now I’m asking, just to be sure!)
• One page.     Instead of creating a page for each race venue, I’ve chosen to place all the information on one page.  Again, simple.
• Links; data not scraped.     In the past, I’ve attempted to provide a lot of detailed information.  More recently, I’ve moved toward providing just the links to various schedule and event information only.  By linking to the source published by the various racing web sites, I don’t have to worry about keeping duplicated data up to date.  If the source changes, you’ll see those changes the next time you visit.

What’s best for the future?

Here’s where I’m asking for help.  There’s really not any official information available yet for 2014 – H1 only has a few references to 2014 so far:

• The Madison Regatta being cancelled this year due to high water and will return on its “normal July 4 weekend dates in 2014.”
• A quote from Steve David after a very successful Big Wake Weekend in Sacramento: “After the reception the sport received here and the great job done by the event organizers, we are already looking forward to coming back in 2014.”
• Earlier this year, H1 announced a 5-year deal with QMSF to return to Doha.  According to the agreement, the event will be held “in November” of each year.
• A few other general references to 2014 come up on an H1 search, but nothing specifically about schedules.

In addition, I haven’t found any specifics on the forums about schedules per se, so I have simply added the 2014 season as a placeholder on the Schedule page.

What is really important though, is a simple question:

“What do you want?”

It would be easy for me to continue on this path, all fat-dumb-and-happy, but I am here to serve you, our Damn Smart Fans.  Please weigh in with a comment below, on Facebook, or on Twitter with your wish list.

Whatever is feasible, I’m in!

Thanks,

Dave