I already have the flexibility to go to a "local" national contest
nearly every year. I own an ASW 24, still competitive in the *Standard
Class. I can also fly Sports Class. This year I chose Standard Class
at Cordele (east) over Sports Class at Montegue (west). Next year I'll
have to choose between Sports (Elmira) and Standard (Montegue). I've
also flown in 15 Meter contests: modern Standard Class gliders are
very close to 15M gliders in the east. Pilots with Standard Class
airplanes with 18M tips have another option, though pure 18M gliders
have an advantage. I even flew one Open Class Nationals (competitive
on strong days when my wing loading and maneuverability were higher;
less so when it got weak and pure glide ratio was important).

Chip expresses very well what's going on: the vast majority of pilots
fly for fun, and choose a good nearby event rather than schlep all the
way across the country to follow a particular class. In the last few
years, on average there are fewer than 3 pilots who cross the
Mississippi to fly true East (Mifflin/Cordele) or West (Montague/
Ephrata) contests. I counted zero "west" coast pilots at mifflin this
year, and 3 easterners at Montague now (among the names I recognize,
which is most but not all of the field.)

This by itself isn't realy a problem. It's great to be able to enjoy
national level competition within a 1000 mile radius of home, though
with the compromise of often flying a suboptimal class. Pilots seem to
have resoundingly made the choice in favor of conveneince.

The fact does suggest that pilots might prefer a system with multiple
"nationals" in which glider classes are mixed with handicaps, as we
now mix standard and 15 at some regionals. What do US ras'ers think of
that?

It also means that world team selection is made from a very small
group of people willing to take an extra week to drive across the
country to follow a given class, and typically to fly in multiple
nationals each year since wins count and losses don't hurt you. But
team selection is another matter. First, we have to run successful
contests, then we have to figure out how to use the results of those
contests to pick winning teams.

John Cochrane