No, I strongly disagree. My facts are highly accurate (despite being typed from a car and from memory). 5/6 whatever. It's 50% IGC assigned tasks vs 5% (actually, I think it was 3% to be exact) assigned tasks in the USA. No Mats, no Hats whatsoever were run in Australia. I'm not sure how my point could be any more substantiated than that, sir. ;-)

I believe that flying the same rules (and therefore the same strategy and tactics), at all US contests, as the rest of the gliding competition world uses (safely and without issue or without mass exodus from the sport because "it is too hard") is important to the USA on many levels. We are embarrassing ourselves when "some" try to argue that our watered down US rules are not having a significant impact on our US team pilots ability to compete effectively at FAI Gliding World Championships which are all run under IGC rules (the world standard). At the same time, the grand US rules "experiment" is not improving our participation numbers or satisfaction or enjoyment. For many, it is in fact quite irritating to be isolated from the rest of the world.... Even our own private US ranking system is entirely different from the rest of the soaring worlds FAI pilot ranking. US pilots results from US contests are not even added to that list anymore... Even more isolation.

The general trend for US rules is continuing to move steadily towards more and more watering down of the tasking with the impossible goal of eliminating land outs or mass land outs. OLC "contests" are being seriously discussed, etc, etc, etc.

There is no reason we can't have fun at US contests (just as the rest of the world does...) while flying IGC rules. This is a general misconception that has led us down a resource intensive path (US rules) that has limited, neutral or negative value to our sport here in the USA. Our numbers are not increasing. "Hey, the tasking is easier now, I'm signing up" but wouldn't do so until this happened...said nobody ever. "Our pilot satisfaction is not demonstrably higher (with many it is lower). Yet we spend tremendous effort and endlessly debate and continuously modify our own unique US gliding competition rules on an annual basis. No rules are perfect. I know everyone means well, but is all this effort really worth the actual measured results? What is the goal for having our own US rules again? Why do we do all this again? Under what circumstances will we stop being the only country on earth up with its own gliding competition rules? Especially vs. the obvious benefits (time, resources, priorities, etc) of being on the same rules page with the rest of the worlds competition soaring community?

Who within the SSA has the power to force all of us US (and Candian) contest pilots to have to fly entirely different rules? Who are the cheerleaders? Who were the architects? Why do we allow this given the current return on investment?

I'll take the IGC rules and put the manpower we spend managing them to other uses which (in my opinion) are far more in need of attention for US soaring. It's like the flat tax. Get rid of the IRS. Simplify. We have a number of great guys on this "problem." who would (in my humble opinion) be far better utilized working on growth or junior soaring or increasing our US clubs cross country skills and culture, etc, etc, etc.

I am happy to get into the finer details but the broad, general policy of wrestling with our own unique US rules (completely isolating us from the rest of the soaring competition world) vs. simply utilizing IGC rules is something that HAS NEVER made any sense to me, whatsoever. I'm continuously baffled by it. Is it just me? No...

I look forward to some honest answers to the questions above...

Sean