On Dec 14, 2:25*pm, Sean Fidler wrote:
There is clearly a wide range of opinion on this subject.

Really? Show me a west coast thermal flyer who would rather fly a
contest dry. Show me an east coast ridge runner who would rather fly
dry.

In USA all those pilots can fly in sports class if they want to.
Don't mess with the FAI classes freedom to fly with ballast at pilot
discretion.

Water ballast allows a pilot in an FAI class to fly with the wing
loading he chooses (up to max gross wt). I weigh only 165 pound and
fly a glider that is almost 50lb lighter than some others in my
class. In a dry contest that puts me over 150 pounds lighter than
some pilots I would compete against.

Any "no ballast" rule should allow all pilots in an FAI class to fly
at the same wing loading or be assigned an appropriate handicap.

Andy (ASW-28 GY)