Chip - This is _slightly_ off-topic; but I'd also like to point out
that Contests themselves have changed since 1968, too! Tasking is
different, rest days are different, and site selection is different
(from what this young pup can tell - it seems we've skewed more and
more towards holding contests only at sites that maximize strong
weather and the most flyable days). These all have an effect on the
contest experience, both for the pilot _and_ for the family. Fewer
rest-days and fewer sites (with hotter weather and/or less-convenient
locations) could explain some of the decrease in appeal for a family
vacation. And, as you pointed out, the world is a different place.
While there are still some families and organizations that promote
camping and travel-by-car, the bottom-line is that there are more
distractions and more items competing for our attention (at all age
levels).

Mike - This is also a bit off-topic; but I have to disagree. I think
some people who've never flown in a contest *think* that the OLC is a
good substitute; but anyone who's done both knows that there is vastly
different strategy involved and a totally different approach. The
key, IMHO, is to find a good way to showcase those differences to the
general SSA membership (or at least the XC pilots out there). It will
always be a niche-thing; but there are plenty of pilots who'd enjoy
the closer camaraderie and more-intense (or at least more-tense)
challenging flying that contest tasks provide, in a concentrated form
(i.e. flying tasks several days in a row and letting that be the focus
of your consciousness for that time). Finding ways to "pitch" this
stuff is the tough part - communicating the excitement and adventure
and challenge to the uninitiated is the trick. In the Northwest we've
started an event called the "Dust Up" that runs over Memorial Day
weekend every year. Its a 3-day unsanctioned Sports-Class contest
oriented around first-timers. We hold seminars in the months leading
up to it, to get people prepared, and we promote it to all the clubs
in a 4-state area. We focus on making it informative and building
people's confidence in completing tasks and getting the basics of
contest-flying down. That hopefully builds their interest in a full
contest and/or satisfies their curiosity about what contests are
really like. In the first 3 years its met with good success, the only
downside being that a short event is susceptible to weather issues.
This year we have a big crop of up-and-coming new pilots so we're
making it an XC/Badge event; with the goal of getting them flying XC
this year and trying contests next year. Gotta turn the wheel and
support pilots through the full development cycle, if we want them to
stay with the sport!

....OK, back to talking about the Std Class Nats! :-)

Take care,

--Noel


On Feb 12, 11:54*am, Chip Bearden wrote:

On that subject, I'll throw in something no one else has mentioned. I
flew my first contest in 1968. I realize we live in a different world
now (duh!). When I was a kid, my family accompanied my father to his