I think the idea is that you have a good idea what is going on in the
pattern before you finish. In most (all?) contests, the last leg of a task
*should* guarantee that all competitors are coming from the same direction,
therefore you have had 10/20/30/40+ miles with the same aircraft heading for
the finish.

In Australia we have had several midairs over the years, some with tragic
consequences, but I dont know of any that have occured at the finish line.
They all occur on task (generally in a thermal) where at least one of the 1
pilots would have had a good view of the other sailplane. When we fly, we
are all placing our life in the hands of other pilots.

I Agree that low, high speed finishes are not necessary. But they are FUN!
They are fun for the pilot, and fun for those on the ground. In fact, when
you think about it, they are really the only fun thing to see for the people
on the ground. They are also the only part of the sport with any marketing
potential. Non-pilots are not interested in seeing your new C302, PDA or
Winglets. They want action. Have a look at the interest the UKSmokin video
has generated. Watch it with non-gliding friends that have never seen a
glider before. See the look on their faces.

Nick.


wrote in message
oups.com...
We successfully fly our sailplanes by keeping our options open, don't
we? We keep an extra 300 feet in the pattern, just in case we hit a
bunch of sink, don't we? On the ridge we keep our speed up and always
have an escape route, don't we?

Why then, do we continue to use a finish gate that reduces our options
to just one? When we finish at 50 feet we must immediately exchange our
speed for altitude and hope there isn't somebody above us as we make a
beautiful climbing turn to down-wind. What if we suddenly see someone
else in the pattern? What if we see 3 other ships in the pattern? Been
there, done that! I abandoned any thought of putting it on the runway
and lined up on the taxiway, just to see one of the other ships make
the same decision and cut inside me. We rolled to a stop, not 15 feet
apart.

Over the years I have paid my competitive dues by volunteering to run
contests. I have been the Competition Director in 3 Nationals and a
Regionals in the last 30 years. I will not subject myself, the pilots
or the organization to the liability involved in using a finish gate
that I consider outmoded, unnecessary and unsafe. We have an option,
don't we?

JJ Sinclair