I think Scheduling has a lot to do with individual or specific Contest
participation. June in the West illustrates the problem perfectly.
The Open Class nationals has 9 Contestants. The reality of Open
Class @ Minden is that you DO NOT need 25+ Meters of Wings to be
competitive. Moriarty and Ephrata have scheduled the exact same
dates. Just to add insult to injury, The 18M and Standard Class
Nats are in the same corner of the world. The Sports Class Nationals
@ Parowan also overlaps . All this "togetherness" forces people
to make choices and dilutes participation at all events.

If the 18-Std Contest had been scheduled and sited in the center of
the country, I suspect the contestant numbers would have been greater
for both the Open and 18-Std Contests respectively. The equation of
dates and distances must be balanced such as to direct pilots to the
obvious choice. An 18M owner from the East is unlikely to drive to
Montague, However He may make the drive to the Center of the
country. But, not when the dates conflict with other closer
choices. Also, It's good to combine classes. However Location must
be Considered. I suspect that if the Standard Class was combined with
the Opens @ Minden and No other Western Contest was run during the
same time, Attendance would be up significantly.

I know it's a tricky situation compounded by very few sites stepping
forward to host a contest. With some coordination, I think everybody
can benefit

Paul Cordell