OPA Winter Awards Banquet Celebration
February 11, 2014
Coming off a very successful 2013 season, the OPA Teams once again converged in Galloway Township, New Jersey holding their annual meeting at The Stockton SeaView and Awards Party at the Oyster Creek.
During the meeting, Ed “Smitty” Smith, President of OPA, announced the unification with APBA. In attendance was Dan Weiner who explained many of the benefits to this unification. Following the announcement, Smitty went over safety recommendations & requirements for all boats. The criteria have been changed for the High-Points Champions and new criteria will be amended for the Jimmy Welsh Trophy for the 2014 season. OPA will continue to red flag races anytime there is an incident on the course. Once the course is clear, the race will be restarted. Smitty also announced that Super Cat is being added to OPA for 2014. The requirements for this class can be found online in the OPA Rule Book.
The awards party was more like a family reunion for wayward racers. The house was packed with a live band and fantastic food. Teams came from Florida, Michigan, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia and New Jersey. It was a night to remember with some of the typical shenanigans but the warm bond of close friends and family.
There were many highlights of the evening during this year’s awards ceremony:
Congratulations to all the 2013 winners! The OPA Season will start in Lake Hopatcong, NJ and end in Ocean City, MD. Good luck to everyone in 2014!
Special Thanks to Bruce Dimpflmaier, aka iMax, for the wonderful work on the High Points Champion logo for the 2014 Season. (photo submitted by Sharkey-Images)