You know what they say - "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck" - well don't believe it, at least not when it comes to an E-Scow! Over the winter the NCESA members voted to add a new wrinkle to the Scantling Rules. According to the Scantling Rules, you are racing an E-Scow only if it has a valid annual sticker on the transom. No Sticker - Not an E-Scow!

The Sticker is small, 1 ¼" x 1 ¼".
It should be placed on the transom of your boat in the starboard corner.

At last year's annual membership meeting an ILYA member suggested we might adopt a model used by the Yingling class to require membership in the NCESA for all E-Scow owners who want to race their boat. The reason behind this proposal was to provide equitable funding of the association by all boat owners in the four NCESA regions. Two NCESA regions have always required skippers be NCESA Regular members to compete in their regional events, but the largest region, the ILYA, has not. Many ILYA skippers would only join the NCESA if they attended the National regatta. This has been somewhat of a contentious issue within the class for more years than I can remember, because the regions that required membership didn't think the ILYA region owners were contributing their fair share to the NCESA.

Creating the annual boat sticker requirement in the class Scantling Rules has the dramatic effect of having every racing E-scow owner support the NCESA through their membership. The benefit of full participation is significant - it has been well established in One-Design sailing that, "the value of your boat depends on the success of your class". The NCESA has a long track record of successfully managing the E-Scow class. Class communication has been achieved through newsletters, the website, and the REPORTER magazine. We are working to expand our presence in social media outlets such as FaceBook and Twitter. The class has managed the Scantling Rules for more than 50 years by presenting, nearly annually, a ballot to its Regular members that requires a favorable 2/3 majority vote before any rule goes into effect. The NCESA holds a National Championship regatta and is consistently one of the best attended national regattas for all One-Design sailboat racing in North America - a testament to the strength of the NCESA.

The sticker requirement is in the E-Scow Scantling Rules so that it cannot be changed by a Notice of Race or Sailing Instruction. Owners of an E-Scow will need an annual sticker on their boat if they compete in local club races, regional regattas or the National Championship - a race is a race and the rule applies to everyone everywhere.

2012 will be the first year for the sticker requirement and the NCESA will need the help and cooperation of its members to spread the word. We are relying on our members to bring this requirement to the attention of their fellow sailors. Our goal is 100% compliance by all racing E-Scow owners. Our current members are in the best position to explain the reasons it is important for their fellow competitors to support the NCESA with their membership. Clearly this is not just so they are scored; the NCESA adds value to the E-Scow racing experience. Please help us meet our 100% membership goal by encouraging your fellow boat owners to join the NCESA. You can see who is a current member of the NCESA at the following link:
                http://e-scow.org/membership/current-membership/,
and the information in the report is always current and your name should show up as soon as your payment is processed.