On Monday, July 21, 2014 10:03:58 PM UTC-4, MNLou wrote:
I have been following multiple threads over time discussing how to get more pilots to become competition pilots.



I had the pleasure of flying in the Region 10 North contest.



The contest is specifically advertised to be "beginner friendly" and has 2 competition classes - Club and Low Performance.



Great! I am both a beginner and own a PW-5 so I qualify as Low Performance - both my sailplane and my competition skills



I had a great time. When I got home, I looked at all the remaining US contests and did not find any that appeared to be Low Performance friendly.



A number of us at R10N were rookies and flew Low Performance sailplanes. And, a number of the pilots were no where near Social Security eligible.



I would encourage any contest organizers for 2015 to consider adding this class to their line ups.



Lou

R2N in NY is run as a beginner/newbie contest with a rookie school and active mentoring of new contest pilots. It also features a 2 seat class limited to trainer type s seaters ("bus class") where prospective new racers fly with experienced contest pilots. Anywhere from 10-20 new folks get a chance to see what it is about.
Tasking is set to try to get everyone home, understandingly at the expense of what may be the best race.
Organizers have lots of options to try to draw in and retain new contest pilots but may need some help from experienced contestants to make it work.
One thing that can be a big encouragement to someone thinking about trying contest flying is an offer by an established pilot to mentor and encourage the newbie to give it a try.
That first contest finish gets a lot of them hooked. A day win and they're on the way to hooked for life.
Watching a 16 year old junior girl give a winner's speech- Priceless!
UH