It has finally happened. Maker Faire is coming to New York State. We need to get all of the New York and south fast gun clubs to partisipate in battles at Maker Faire. It is my idea to have on a rotating basis a fast gun battle , then a treaty battle, then a Big Gun battle. When you are not battling you are displaying your format, repairing your ship for the next battle , ETC This way we can encourage the developement of the hobby. What we need is to have a point person from each format to get the discussion going now to get things going for September. Imagine Battling in front of 20000 spectators over a weekend
Is anyone at all interested in battling at Maker Faire in New York? Rob Wood Maker Faire Warship Combat Coordinator
If if can be done legally and safely I am. Any idea what kind of permissions and such were needed for the west coast event?
We're planning on going and running a Booth/ display but both Carl C. and I are doubtful they are going to let us set up live bb guns for battling. That might be a logitics nightmare in NYC. If you can swing the battling I am sure we can fill it with IRCWCC locals. Rob Wood, are you the contact for NYC's faire? I suppose we will have to find out who to contact about it.
I'm the coordinator for Maker Faire RC warship combat. We (WWCC) have proven that battles can be safely watched by spectators. Last year we battled before a total of over 6,000 people in bleachers (picture a hockey game), with no injuries. All spectators are given safety glasses and must wear them at all times in the arena. The year before we had a similar sized audience, and did have one injury (a spectator was struck on the cheekbone under his safety glasses). This is out of thousands of people, and we learned there was one small space that was not blocked. Each person who enters the arena has to be wearing a "waiver" wristband, which they receive after signing a hold-harmless statement that says that they understand there's a certain amount of danger involved (which is why they want to watch in the first place). Plus, Maker Faire itself has a huge umbrella insurance policy, as there are many dangerous activities going on at Maker Faire, and the RC warship combat arena is covered, as are all the participants (captains and helpers). In addition, we require each captain to have NAMBA insurance, and we also get the NAMBA site insurance as additional protection. The trick is that it really requires one person as the director/Master of Ceremonies (think "show-biz"), around 20-25 captains, and around 10 volunteers to pull this off. WWCC has the numbers here in California, and we will be battling every hour on the hour, starting at Noon each day (May 22-23). So far, I have not heard from any group in NY who has the numbers and the willingness to do this. Is there a group within striking distance of Queens, NY, that has the numbers and willingness to battle at Maker Faire, September 25th and 26th, at the New York Hall of Science at Flushing Meadows Corona Park? If not, is there someone who would want to step forward to make it happen, even if it means gathering captains from several clubs? The official "call to makers" for NY MF opens on April 15th, which is the date an online form will be available for seriously committing to do this. That means we have until then to find out if there are enough people who are interested. I will help whoever steps forward to lead this effort in NY, but I don't have the resources to lead it myself. I'm already in charge of the California MF combat event. I will, however, help anyone who wants to take the bull by the horns, with advice, drawings, specifications, photographs, material lists, etc. The alternative to actual battling at Maker Faire is a static display, which is how we started in California. It's a good way to "test the waters" to see what the interest might be for 2011, and to recruit new prospective members to your clubs, if nothing else. Best regards, Rob Wood
As I have said in the past I would be willing to be the "point man" but I would also make it clear that in NYC for the past 27 years I am still the ONLY person in 10 -12 million that does R/C combat. A battle area needs people not only to organize but to do the GRUNT work and we just don't have the numbers of either big gun or small gun people. So the prudent thing is to just set up a video and a display table for what ever club shows up.
I do understand why you would be pessimistic, but there's never been a Maker Faire there. Until we battled at the California Maker Faire in 2008, no club had ever battled before thousands of spectators in a completely controlled environment. Maker Faire is unlike anything you've ever seen (unless you've been to one, of course). As for being the only RC combat enthusiast in 10-12 million people: maybe so, but weren't the 2008 IR/CWCC Nationals held just 65 miles north of Queens? That means people are willing to travel long distances to attend a combat event in NY - as long as somebody reaches out in the right way. It may very well be that in 2010, Maker Faire NY will only see a static display for RC warship combat, but unless someone reaches out in a big way, we will never know if combat is possible this year or not. I have to say that when we were invited to battle at Maker Faire 2008, I was beyond skeptical about doing it, but we did it, and then last year, did it again. Even if battling doesn't happen this year, set up a static display of all the different flavors of RC warship combat. I know Robert Allen of the Empire State battle group wants to display some ships, and there may be others who are willing to travel. Reach out and see what's out there. I'll be glad to help. Rob
We only pull from NY and NJ 4 full time active members and we are all hours away from each other. How many other clubs are in this area with active members? If somebody sets this up I am more then game to help out and battle but keep in mind I am 3 hrs away and through traffic. (if I'm not working - reduced vacation time and wages make that necessary....)
