The point you're missing, "Wil", is that not every one cares the
slightest bit about competition. If you want to race, have a ball, but
the vast majority of soaring pilots aren't interested in glider races.
I think the decline in the sport is due to what someone else stated
earlier: that today's man and woman have given up control of their free
time. I can't count the number of times I've heard, "Sorry, I have to
take the wife shopping", or "Sorry, I have to take the kids to the zoo".

It's a matter of choices and management. Some of us have one, some have
both, unfortunately a lot have neither. And what possible interest can
there be in watching a bunch of guys pedal their bicycles? And who
watches Olympic swimming anyway?

Dan (not afraid to sign my real name)

On 3/2/2017 12:04 PM, wrote:
So many naysayers!! Each of you are contributors to the decline in our sport!!

Does swimming in the olympics have explosions?? Does the Tour de France have explosions??? Does the World Cup have explosions???

Our sailplanes go almost as fast on a ridge day as a stock car. And on a moderate thermal day, the inter thermal speeds are around 100 mph, that's exciting!! Our sport may not have the explosions, but neither do so many other competitions that are televised and enjoyable to follow.

If you want this sport to draw interest, Grand Prix soaring is the solution. Look at the reaction on the faces of the spectators in the videos from other countries. They enjoy the excitement just like other forms of racing.

Having a sport where the ultimate competition is not even a time trial, nor an all out race, but a screwed up set of rules where a winner can cross the finish place last and a loser can cross the finish line first, is a very very hard sport to sell.

--
Dan, 5J