News>ANG makes a splash at Indiana hydroplane regatta
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U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto qualifies at the 2012 Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup, 62nd Annual Madison Regatta, July 6, 2012. Steve David, driver, has been behind the wheel for Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison since 2001. H1 Unlimited is partner with the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series. (National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund/Released)
H-69 River Rat driver Billy Cousins qualifies at the 2012 Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup, 62nd Annual Madison Regatta, July 6, 2012. H1 Unlimited is partner with the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series. (National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund/Released)
Heat 1B boats U-5 Graham Trucking and U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto battle it out for first place. Final results: 1st U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto; 2nd U-5 Graham Trucking; 3rd Degree Men; 4th U-57 Formularboats.com at the 2012 Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup, 62nd Annual Madison Regatta, July 7, 2012. H1 Unlimited is partner with the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series. (National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund/Released)
U-57 Formularboats.com qualifies at the 2012 Lucas Oil Indiana Governor’s Cup, 62nd Annual Madison Regatta, July 6, 2012. N. Mark Evans, driver, has been behind the wheel since 2010. H1 Unlimited is partner with the Air National Guard Hydroplane Series. (National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund/Released)
7/16/2012 - MADISON, Ind. (July 6-8) -- The 2012 Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series thrilled thousands of spectators at the Lucas Oil Indiana Governor's Cup, 62nd Annual Madison Regatta held on the Ohio River in Madison, Ind., July 6-8.
The 12-team racing series features the world's fastest boats on the water with 3,000-horsepower turbine engines topping out at speeds of 200 mph.
Attending the regatta was Brig. Gen. John McGoff, chief of staff for the Indiana Air National Guard.
McGoff said "the Air National Guard is the title sponsor with the H1 Unlimited Series which are super-fast boats and this is a great opportunity to create awareness of the Air National Guard. Later McGoff presented the winners with trophies.
In addition to sponsoring the hydroplane series, the Air National Guard displayed its new Rise to the Challenge Tour.
"It's a great recruiting tool that has people interacting with challenging gaming scenarios," said McGoff of the display booth, which is designed to share information on the careers and benefits of part-time service with the Air National Guard.
The Challenge Tour gave individuals the opportunity to test themselves with scenarios that simulate real-life missions, putting them in the midst of the action. Here they were able to compete in a pull-up challenge; test their recall and observational skills; and even refuel a jet mid-flight.
"Our community is very proud of our men and women in uniform," said Madison resident Joe Hertz, media chairman for the Madison Regatta, Inc. "To have them as part of the event makes it even better and special. A good example was the flyover, one of the most exciting things we have during opening ceremonies-we never had that before the Guard." The two A-10s were from the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Another thing that is very important to the Madison Regatta organization is the coop advertising we received. We were able to enter the Cincinnati market with cable TV advertising and we expect to see about a 15% bump in our gate, generating additional exposure. That's the types of things the Air Guard brings to the Regatta that we never had in the past."
Season schedule: July 27-29 Tri Cities, WA; Aug. 3-5 Seattle, WA; Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Coeur d'Alene, ID; Sept. 14-16 San Diego, CA; Nov. 8-10 Doha, Qatar.
