It's been a long time since I was a junior (I'm 64, having started flying at 14), but I'm not sure how appealing a small Junior Nationals would have been for me at the time. One of the most thrilling experiences of my early soaring career was my first contest when I was 17: the Central Ohio Soaring Association's Annual Fall Roundup one weekend in September 1968. My father brought his Diamant HBV and we also trailered our 1-26. One of the attractions was flying with the "big boys": e.g., AJ Smith, Rudy Mozer, and other fine pilots I'd known about for years.

An even bigger thrill was my first nationals, the 1976 15M Nats in Bryan, OH (the first 15M contest), in which I flew our Libelle 201. I'm not sure whether there were other juniors at the 1968 contest but I know of at least one other at the 1976 Nats: Eric Mozer (he was 22 then but I was actually 25). True, by that time I had flown enough regionals to feel comfortable tilting with the top pilots but I measured myself against Eric's performance each day there not particularly because he was a junior, but because by then he was already winning days and on his way to winning his first nationals not long after. And, of course, a young Tommy Beltz was already on his way at that point, as well.

Going to a juniors contest might have been fun, but more because of the social aspects, the mutual support, and what I could hopefully learn. In its proposed form at Ionia--i.e., acknowledging that most of those participating will likely be fairly new to competition--I think I would have viewed a junior nats almost as a camp, not a real contest.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with that concept, only that others have proposed modifications to the idea that would enhance its value as a camp: e.g., dual instruction in high-performance two-seaters from experienced pilots, classroom sessions, detailed debriefs.

Like Sean, some of the best experiences of my life have been in soaring. I was extremely fortunate that my father was an instructor, competition pilot, glider owner, and strong supporter of my flying, and that we lived near what is now the Caesar Creek Soaring Club, surely one of the country's most vibrant soaring organizations. I've also been fortunate to visit or fly with Harris Hill Soaring Club, Valley Soaring, and the Blairstown folks, three of the strongest groups for juniors. I don't have any new answers as to how to encourage more junior participation in cross country and contests. I do know I would have given almost anything to be able to ride around in the back seat with someone like Karl Striedieck on a contest task back then. Heck, I still would, but that would mean giving up a day in one of the few contests I can fly now.

Good luck with the proposed Junior Nats. If you've already received feedback from a good cross section of junior pilots and this is the result, just ignore my dated response. If not, it would probably be worth surveying the juniors we already have to see what they would like in a dedicated contest, event, or sub-class in a larger contest. As with any other "minority", it's dangerous to presume that we older white males have any insight into what others really want.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.