No question there. It is rigged. And fortified. But I I am only getting started. This is just playtime.

John and I actually were together last Saturday night. It was a pleasant evening by the fire. We basically came to the conclusion, all things considered, that the right solution was FAI rules for Nationals and US rules for regionals. And more OLC events for beginners. I could accept that, but I would not like it. Not one bit.

I think that compromise is probably right thing considering the current situation. But it needs to happen now. I would even accept the tasking portion with the US scoring for expediancy, but what's the point of going halfway. But I still feel strongly that it is arrogant of the US to have its own rules and undermine and attack the FAI rules as they do. The misinformation is astounding. Many of these statements thrown at FAI competition is just untrue. FAI does not have more or less gaggle and/or more of less landouts. It is equally safe, statistically.

I think this quote sum's this debate up perfectly...

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -Mark Twain

The US rules boys know for sure that FAI rules are.....insert garbage here. They have bet the farm on it. Our fearless leaders think that FAI is bad becuase racing around a fixed course will lead to nothing but land outs and gaggle's. This is their basic premise. At best it is misleading and bias. But at worst, it just aint so. And the result has been the creation of a new sport based on OLC thinking. The result is ZERO sailplane racing remains in the USA.

So this discussion has a very simple battle line. Do we want "some" real, objective racing competiton in the USA or only timed, pilot option, OLC games?

This discussion is about what worthy compitition is and is not? Hell, it is about asking outselves what is a sport? What is a game or a puzzle? We know for sure that FAI is 50% real racing and the US rules are 100% not real racing.

I often wonder, why does the FAI support the SSA as the USA's national aero-club if they attack their soaring rules and us their own, entirely different rules. Do we know how this has been allowed to get this far?