On Friday, December 21, 2012 2:41:42 AM UTC+1, wrote:

Kirk, Sports Class will continue to have the same results even if Club Class gliders move into a separate class at the same venue. Yes, the Sports Class category will have fewer gliders because some are now in the Club Class category. Organizers will be happy to see increased overall participation. Based on petition and previous marketing results I see a meaningful participation increase.

Sean, you can't have it both ways - Club Class gliders are the core of Sports class. Personally, I don't care for Sports class, so it's academic, but a new guy in the sport with his newly purchased ASW-19 might think otherwise.

Suggesting a newbie will be scared off is ludicrous. IGC rules are at minimum just as safe as US rules. If a newbie has a Club Class glider, the option of flying US rules in Sports Class is an option. This petition is about having a choice. I have flown IGC contests many times. I have not experienced your ascertation of increased start gaggling and mass landouts under IGC rules. How many IGC contests have you flown to base your opinion?

Sean, you are being elitist - something I'm accused of frequently! Ask pilots of racing gliders who don't race why they don't race and you will get a lot of answers, but a lot are scared off by "all the rules". Advertising a contest as following "foreign FAI rules" is not going to make those pilots more likely to show up! And please note that I didn't say FAI rules are more dangerous, I said that someone who is thinking about getting into the sport and gets his information from reading Soaring or RAS is probably going to get that impression. Read Moffat's Winning - I thought it was exciting, but some would find it scary!

Again, I wish you guys luck. But the "we are the hotshots and want to do things our way because we know better" attitude is getting a bit old ;^) Just do it.

Kirk
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Starting to look for a 15M regional to go to this summer...