Welcome to the first edition of The Drill Team Blog. The Drill Team Blog Crew is compiled of people from every area and aspect of racing. The Crew consists of some ex-racers, some current racers and some junior racers. The Blog will report on not only the drills and parades, but also what is going on behind the scenes and what the fans don’t get to hear about sitting in the stands. Every week we hope to keep you informed about new developments in our sport: facts, stats and maybe even some fun trivia questions. We hope you are looking forward to reading every week because we are really excited to be writing for you.
The 2011 New York State Drill Team Racing Season is upon us. This Saturday, teams from Nassau and Suffolk will be in the beautiful Village of Lindenhurst here on Long Island. Points will be counted towards the Suffolk County total points only. There are a few interesting things about this drill to note. The new post entry system is being used and the B-Hose and Buckets’ records have been reset to 7.65 and 20.25 respectively. The new post entry system was changed to level the playing field and to keep teams from entering a drill post entry to avoid being in the beginning or end of a line up. Entering a drill post entry does not guarantee you a spot in the middle anymore. The B-Hose and Buckets records were reset due to equipment and testing changes.
The Northern area’s season will begin on June 11th when they gather at Copenhagen for the Northern New York Convention Parade & Drill. The Northern area looks to be a competitive one for the upcoming 2011 season. The Delmar Boosters will be competing once again and the addition of the Great Bend Cobras will give them some more competition. Deerfield, Copenhagen and Lake Placid are looking to have strong seasons as well. Norfolk sadly will be only running a C Truck for this season along with the foot races. Although they are from the Western area, the Ol’ Henries from Henrietta will be participating in the Northern Convention drill on June 11th. Speaking of Western, their season will begin on June 18th in Point Pleasant with the drill being hosted by the Sea Breeze Fire Department.
On June 18th Deerfield with be hosting a drill for which the Drill Team Radio will be in attendance broadcasting the first ever non state drill in the Upstate region. There also are a few teams that will be making the trip up to compete in the Drill as well. Keep an eye on some of these teams this year. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the number of good runs they will pull off.
After an exciting end to the 2010 season – where there was tie in the State Drill between the Bay Shore Jr. Redskins and the East Islip Jr. Guzzlers – the teams will be back for another exciting year beginning on June 5th at 12:00 PM in Lindenhurst. Here’s a quick recap of the who’s who on the Junior Circuit from a year ago: the Islip Terrace Jr. Schlagers had the most 1st-place finishes with 4 followed by the East Islip Jr. Guzzlers with 3 and the Bay Shore Jr. Redskins with 2. There is one new team coming out to race this year and that they are the Massapequa Jr. Indians. From what can be seen there are about approximately 25 members of this team who are very excited to get out on the course and represent their department. The newcomers generated an awful lot of positive buzz in the room at the Directors’ meeting recently held in Selden. The Jr. Slo-Pokes from Main Transit will be making their yearly trip down for the Junior State Drill in Lindenhurst on July 31st.
Every year something happens in the Junior Division that does not happen anywhere else in our sport; team members age out. There are rules governing what age a team member can participate up to. Just as a team gets a flow and members begin to get experienced in their positions the season ends. Every year can be a rebuilding year for a lot of teams. But just like in Motorized and Old Fashioned, everyone wishes there were more teams out there racing every weekend. Anyone interested in finding out more about starting a junior team for their department please contact any junior team that is currently participating and speak to their team advisor. As always, if you ever have any questions regarding any aspect of Drill Team Racing feel free to contact any State or County officer.
We’d like to wish all the junior drill teams good luck this season as well as a big welcome to the Massapequa Jr. Indians.
In the Nassau area, The Hempstead Yellow Hornets will be looking to achieve a 10th straight Nassau County Total Point Championship. The Termites from New Hyde Park, the Turtles from Westbury, the Freeport Dead End Kids and the Road Runners from Port Washington rounded out the top five in 2010 are expected to do well again in 2011. Rumor has it that the West Hempstead Westerners are going to be a team to watch for in 2011. The Woodlanders from Rockville Center are back for their sophomore season in the motorized division as well.
In Suffolk, the Central Islip Hoboes will be looking to defend their title as 2010 New York State Champs. The Flying Dutchmen from West Sayville will be back and you can’t help but mention their valiant come from behind effort in the State Drill last season. The Dutchmen had zero points coming out of the ladder events but managed to salvage their day with a great run in the next four to finish in second place. This year, the Dutchmen will be resorting back to their previous driver who was behind the wheel for many of their previous State Championships. The West Islip Raiders will be joining forces with members from the Babylon Fire Department to field a drill team in 2011 and you can never count out the Islip Wolves, even though they are rumored to be “rebuilding” this year. They have a very competitive spirit and a driver that has been around the block a few times. Watch out for the Yellowbirds too, as Copiague will be back and look to be as competitive as ever.
The Old Fashioned teams will begin their season on June 11th at Lynbrook. This is one of the four drills that will count towards the Old Fashioned total points. It’s interesting to see a new team in the mix with the addition of the Amityville Villains to the NCDTCA. This will give them the ability to have their points counted towards the year end Nassau County Total Points. The Extinguishers from Miller Place are looking to come back stronger than ever this year to defend their OF State Championship. The Chipmunks from Malverne will be nipping at their heels along with the Lakeview Sparks in their sophomore season. Looking to be a part of the Top 5 are the Tumblers from Lynbrook and the Ballbreakers from Bellmore. Sadly we won’t be seeing the Parkers from Garden City Park in 2011, but it’s always refreshing to see the East Rockaway Cold Ducks and the Smokin’ Seagulls from Point Lookout-Lido out on the course.
Once again Drill Team Radio had their Pre-Season Radio Show that was attended by many and listened to online by almost as many people. Along with the Joe Hunter Scoreboard, the Drill Team Radio Crew will be on the air for the Lindenhurst Invitational Drill to kick the season off. A new addition this year is the Racing Gear Raffle which will be drawn at the Joe Hunter Memorial Drill on June 30, 2011. The prizes and costs of tickets for this raffle are as follows:
One nozzle from Triangle Manufacturing, Three lengths of hose from Jolly Tinker, 20 "bucket" shirts, 10 pair kneepads, 2 stop watches from Titan Group, One “Tranny” refresh from FB transmissions, One pump flow assessment test from Speedmaster Automotive, Ten 8” x 10” prints of your team from 911 Pictures, 1 Tray of wings at the C.I. drill from Fatty McGee's. Tickets are 1 for $15, two for $20 and can be purchased at the County Meetings, the Side by Side drill, all June drills AND the Deerfield Invite.
This raffle is being conducted by the Suffolk County Media Committee and is aimed to help continue and improve all Media Committee endeavors. Chris Murphy has assured us that The Drill Team Radio Crew is looking forward to a great season bringing you the drills as they happen.
This week’s Drill Team Blog Crew are Jimmy Leggio, Ryan Costigan, Kyle Stephens and Dan Laverty. Thank you for taking the time to read the first edition of the Drill Team Blog.
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