American Watercraft Association

The Association continues its annual attendance at the yamaha corp. dealer meeting in august, of which 109 are members of the Association. Dealerships, particularly in Florida and Massachusetts are affected directly by boating safety issues. In Massachusetts, the Association, working with localities and in-state groups, including governing bodies, is working to correct hazardous situations by educating policy makers on the benefit of state mandated boating safety courses. This process is ongoing. In Florida, the Association worked with in-state boating groups and member dealers to bring attention to flaws in revised boating safety legislation which negatively impacted members and users. Insurance requirements for companies renting boats and personal Watercraft have becone challenging to comply with impacting small business owners and members who service those small business owners. Awa continues to be a member of the manatee forum in Florida. This group is comprised of boating user groups and environmental groups working together on policies best suited for the protecting the manatees and user access to public waters. Awa has long supported the efforts of the western states boating law administrators Association. This collaboration provides opportunities to discuss boating safety policies, current and proposed regulations, and trends directly with the state agencies. The Association contributes free training for first responders on how to effectively and safely operate personal Watercraft in a law enforcement and rescue role. Over the years, awa has donated life vests to states agencies who loan life vests to boaters at state boat ramps. This past year the Montana fish wildlife & parks received dozens of life vests for the safe boating program.