The British held their annual Junior National Championships last week.
http://www.soaringspot.com/en/uk-jun...wn-2015/pilots

SEVENTY SIX Junior pilots entered the event. Say that with me slowly.... S E V E N T Y S I X. Britian is a country of 63 million. Roughly 1/6 of the United States. If seventy six jr pilots are attending their Jr nationals, what does that say about the health of their youth programs? What does that say about the growth and development of British soaring? How many youth pilots are training within the British soaring system with the goal of one day competing with their peers in a major, highly prestigious and recognized Jr Narionals competition? Imagine the social events at this contest? Imagine the bonds that it creates. The enthusiasm it creates? Imagine the learning and personal development the Jrs experience.

Meanwhile, back In the USA, a country of some 330 million, we have 3 or 4 Jrs who competed in adult contests this year. we do not hold Jr contests anymore. I can't tell you the last time we did. And we wonder why we are having problems. This is a disaster and we are completely blind.

We need to be FAR smarter. We need our best people absolutely focused on this. We need a strategy. We need leadership. We need to put more effort into this problem. WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK! This should be, without question, the # 1 problem to be worked on at all levels of the SSA and soaring clubs. It simply IS NOT. We are failing, miserably.

The SSA has a growth and development committee. It gets very little attention. I think we need to put a lot more effort into this commitee. Perhaps 10x more. This is without question the most important topic within the SSA because, frankly stated, the sport of soaring is a disaster in the U.S. right now in terms of growth.

For starters, I think we need a monthly column in the soaring magazine, a dedicated website and dramatically more focus. We should not be worried about ADSB 1/10th as much as we are worried about growth, youth participation, etc. ADSB of course just saw the front page of Soaring Magazine. When was the last time our monthly publication addressed growth on its cover?

I am very frustrated by our present course. It's a shame.

Sean
7T