On Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 2:03:08 PM UTC-8, Clay wrote:
Rules of golf: 200 pages
Sailing: 190 pages
Tennis: 38 pages
Soaring: 34 pages

Argument against rules is a red herring. Anyone using that as an excuse not to fly contests, I just don't buy it. If you can decipher an aeronautical chart you can figure out the rules of soaring.

It would make an interesting pole, among all pilots who might consider racing (participants and potential participants): What is your number one concern in soaring competition: 1) Safety, 2) rules complexity.

In my own informal polling #1 wins hands down, #2 is rarely mentioned if at all.

Acceptance of risk is an interesting and well studied bit of human psychology. The longer you engage in risk the more accepting of it you become, even though the risk does not change.