Boat racing

Japanese: 競艇 - きょうてい

This is a public gambling game that sells betting tickets (funaken/shuuken) for small one-seater motorboat races. It is officially recognized and operated under the Motorboat Racing Law (Law No. 242 of 1951).

After the Second World War, it was planned and conceived with the aim of restoring local finances and promoting the shipbuilding industry, and was launched three years after Keirin. The first race was held on April 6, 1952 (Showa 27) at Omura Racecourse in Nagasaki Prefecture. Organizers are limited to local governments, and currently (2008) there are 39 organizers, including one prefecture, 22 cities, 15 associations, and one business group (a total of 113 organizers). There are 24 racecourses and 1,336 racers (159 of which are women). In 1983, annual sales were approximately 1.456 trillion yen, topping the top of the five public sports (the other three being Keirin, Auto Race, and Central and Local Horse Racing), but since 1984, it has been topped by Central Horse Racing. Sales have been gradually declining since peaking at approximately 1.63 trillion yen in 1980, and were approximately 1.075 trillion yen in 2007. Seventy-five percent of the sales are refunded to winning tickets, and of the remaining 25%, approximately 2.6% is paid as a grant to the Japan Shipbuilding Promotion Foundation (Nippon Foundation), 1.1-1.2% is paid to the Local Public Enterprise Finance Corporation (which took over the business of the Japan Finance Corporation for Municipal Enterprises, which was abolished in October 2008), and 1.3% is paid to the Japan Motorboat Racing Association, and the remainder, minus the actual costs of holding the event, becomes the profits of the organizer.

Grants to the Japan Shipbuilding Promotion Council are divided into two categories: (1) Maritime accident prevention and shipbuilding industry-related, and (2) education, physical education, and welfare-related.

The number of days that races are held is 12 days a month if there is only one organizer at one racecourse, and 14 days if there are two organizers. In addition, there are 12 special sponsored races per year to raise funds for national events such as the 2015 World Exposition, Aichi Expo. Supervision is provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the practical aspects of the races are entrusted to the Japan Motorboat Racing Association by the organizers.

[Tsuneo Ishii and Jun Nishinaka]

race

Six motorboats make three or four laps (only in the final race) in a counterclockwise direction around two turn marks (buoys) set 150 meters apart on either side of the starting line. The maximum speed is about 80 kilometers per hour. Each boat leaves the pit two minutes before the scheduled time and prepares for the start on the waiting surface, then starts off with sufficient running speed while watching the second hand of the big clock. At this point, they must cross the starting line within 0 to 1 second of the scheduled start time. If they are too early, it is judged a false start (F), and if they are too late, it is judged a late start (L), and in either case they are disqualified and their tickets are refunded. If a boat is disqualified multiple times, they will be penalized.

The boats used are made of wood, approximately 288cm long, 126cm wide, and weigh 70kg. The engine is a domestically produced two-stroke outboard motor with a displacement of 396.6cc and 30 horsepower. Boats and engines are not owned by the racers themselves, but are allocated by lottery from those registered at each racecourse. There are two types of boats: hydroplanes, which have a stepped bottom, and runabouts, which do not. Hydroplanes, which offer a superior sense of speed, are mainly used.

[Tsuneo Ishii and Jun Nishinaka]

player

The training exam for motorboat racers is held twice a year, and after passing, racers undergo one year of training at a training center on Lake Motosu in Yamanashi Prefecture before being registered as a racer. The Japan Motorboat Racing Association is responsible for training, registration, and race entry arrangements. It also registers boats and engines, and trains referees and inspectors. Female racers are treated exactly the same as male racers.

[Tsuneo Ishii and Jun Nishinaka]

Boat tickets and how to make inferences

There are seven types of boat betting: a win bet to guess the first place boat, a place bet to guess the first or second place boat, a dyadic bet to guess the first and second place boats in the order of their positions, a dyadic combination to guess the combination of first and second place boats in the order of their positions, a trifecta to guess the combination of first, second and third place boats in the order of their positions, a trifecta to guess the combination of first, second and third place boats in the order of their positions, and an extended combination to guess two boats from the first to third place boats.

The appeal of motorboat racing is the powerful start and the thrilling first turn, which almost always decides the winner. However, an important foreshadowing element is the positioning (lane battle) on the waiting water surface. The inside lane 1 (in) is closest to the first turn mark, and it is easy to avoid overtaking and attacks from the outside, so the rate of winning is by far the highest among lanes 1 to 6. Therefore, the basis of boat betting is to deduce which boat will occupy the inside lane and how the boats from lane 2 to 6 will line up. It is also essential to compare and consider the power of the engine and the skill of the racer. Even if engines are manufactured to the same specifications, there are subtle differences in performance for each engine, and differences also occur depending on the skill of the racer. By paying attention to the demonstration run (2 laps) before the sale of boat tickets, the start practice before that, and the test run before that, you can get a rough idea of the condition of each boat's engine. The skill of the racers varies greatly depending on the individual differences and the difference in career, and there are large differences in driving technique and situational judgment ability. Therefore, inexperienced rookies cannot make full use of the power of the engine. The fun of boat racing is in figuring out which boat will win by combining all of the above factors.

[Tsuneo Ishii and Jun Nishinaka]

[Reference] | Public gambling

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

1人乗り小型モーターボートの競走を対象とし、勝舟投票券（舟券(ふなけん／しゅうけん)）を発売する公営ギャンブル。「モーターボート競走法」（昭和26年法律第242号）によって公認され運営されている。

　第二次世界大戦後、地方財政健全化と造船関係産業振興の目的で立案企画され、競輪より3年遅れて発足した。初の開催は1952年（昭和27）4月6日、長崎県大村競走場。主催施行者は地方自治体に限られ、現在（2008）施行者は県1、市22、組合15、企業団1（施行者構成数は113）の計39団体。競走場は24か所、選手数1336人（うち女子159人）。年間売上げ高は1983年には約1兆4560億円で、公営5競技（ほかに競輪、オートレース、中央および地方競馬）のトップを占めたが、1984年以降は中央競馬にトップを譲っている。売上げは1980年の約1兆6300億円をピークに漸減傾向にあり、2007年度は約1兆75億円であった。売上げの75％を的中投票券に払い戻し、残り25％のうち約2.6％が日本船舶振興会（日本財団）への交付金、1.1～1.2％が地方公営企業等金融機構（2008年10月に廃止された公営企業金融公庫の事業を承継）、1.3％が日本モーターボート競走会に納入され、開催経費の実費分を除いた残額が施行者の収益となる。

　日本船舶振興会への交付金は、〔1号〕海難防止と造船産業関連、〔2号〕文教、体育、福祉関連がある。

　開催日数は、1競走場に1施行者だけの場合月間12日、2施行者の場合14日。ほかに日本国際博覧会（愛知万博）など国家的行事へ寄付するための特別協賛競走が年間12日。監督は国土交通省が行い、開催業務のうち競走に関する実務は日本モーターボート競走会が施行者から委託を受けて行う。

［石井恒男・西中　準］

レース

スタートラインを挟み各150メートルを隔てて設けられた二つのターンマーク（浮標(ブイ)）を6隻のモーターボートが左回りで3周または4周（優勝戦のみ）する。最高時速は約80キロメートル。各艇は定刻の2分前にピットを出て待機水面でスタートの準備行動を行い、大時計の秒針を見ながら十分に助走スピードをつけてスタートを切る。このときスタートラインを発走予定時刻の0～1秒間に通過しなければならない。早すぎるとフライング（F）、遅すぎると出遅れ（L）と判定され、ともに失格で舟券は払い戻しされる。失格の回数を重ねるとその選手は不利益処分を受ける。

　使用艇は木製で長さ約288センチメートル、幅約126センチメートル、重量約70キログラム。エンジンは国産アウトボード（船外機）で2サイクル、排気量396.6cc、30馬力。ボート、エンジンともに選手の個人所有ではなく、各競走場登録のものを抽選により割り当てられる。ボートには艇底に段のあるハイドロプレンと、段のないランナバウトの2種類があり、スピード感に勝るハイドロプレンがおもに使われている。

［石井恒男・西中　準］

選手

競艇選手の養成試験は年に2回あり、合格後、山梨県本栖(もとす)湖の研修所で1年間の養成訓練を受けて選手として登録される。選手の養成、登録、出走斡旋(あっせん)は日本モーターボート競走会が行う。また、ボート、エンジンの登録、審判員、検査員の養成も行う。女子選手は男子選手とまったく同等に扱われている。

［石井恒男・西中　準］

舟券と推理の仕方

舟券は、1着を当てる単勝式、1着または2着を当てる複勝式、1着と2着を順位どおり当てる2連単、1着と2着の組合せを当てる2連複、1着2着3着を順位どおり当てる3連単、1着2着3着の組合せを当てる3連複、1着から3着までのうち2隻を当てる拡連複の7種類がある。

　競艇レースの魅力は迫力あるスタートとスリルに富む第1旋回で、勝敗はほぼこれで決する。ただし、重要な伏線要素として待機水面での位置どり（コース争い）がある。内側の1コース（イン）は第1ターンマークにもっとも近い位置にあり、外側からの追い抜き、攻撃をかわしやすいので1～6コースのうち1着率がずば抜けて高い。したがって、舟券の推理はインをどの艇が占めるか、2コースから6コースまでの艇の並びがどうなるかというコースの推理が基本となる。エンジンの力と選手の技量の比較検討も欠かせない。エンジンは同一規格で製造されていても1基ごとに性能に微妙な差があり、選手の整備の巧拙でまた差がつく。舟券発売前の展示航走（2周）、その前のスタート練習、さらにその前の試運転に注目すれば各艇のエンジンのおおよその状態がつかめる。選手の技量は個人差、キャリアの差によって、運転技術、状況判断力に大きな開きがある。したがって、未熟な新人選手はエンジンの力を生かしきれない。以上の諸要素を総合して勝ち舟を推理する点に競艇のおもしろさがある。

［石井恒男・西中　準］

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