Parowan Contest

Fellow soaring friends,

Kids will be kids and that's all I observed, I found they were
creative and generally entertaining to watch. Andy and Micki
appropriately pointed out the retrieve office noise issue but I don't
see how that was improper or legitimately offensive. I attended all
but one of the evening dinners and didn't hear or see the nasty stuff
reported above but I wasn't looking for it either. I did notice a few
moments when the parent(s) seemed a bit over taxed attempting to keep
tabs on the excited group of kids... that seems pretty normal to me
and perhaps a source of some self imposed and shared stress.

Yes, this certainly is a selfish and time consuming sport, we climb
into cockpits alone (usually) fly off on some amazing but hard to
describe adventure that no one can assist you with (unless you land
out) then return to the real world with a grin, by design it's very
one sided. For some of us it's a big part of the attraction.

I've noticed over the years some folks have a built in instant and
personal dislike for contest pilots, yes as in all walks of life
unlikable individuals can be easily found, the key word is
"individuals". My personal experience with my fellow contest friends
is, as a "group" they are passionate about life and engaged in living
a full life. I find them generous and very interesting folks from whom
I have personally benefited greatly in knowing and consider them life
long friends. Now, for me that's the kind of people I want to be
around. When ever I go to a soaring contest it reminds me of a family
reunion, every family has a curmudgeon or two but you still love
seeing your extended family and friends none the less.

My wife attended this contest, (her 2nd) enjoyed herself in spite of
the "record heat", made new friends and took quite a few pictures of
the kids, I'll post some of them on the SSA Parowan contest report
site soon. I think you'll see as did every one attending the joy in
the little ones faces so perhaps the one or two negative comments
noted above were a rarity not the norm.

BTW, this contest, Region 9 Parowan was an absolute blast, well run
and what a beautiful place to fly! I have nothing but praise for all
involved. Perhaps we should start a new thread of the positive side of
the 2007 R-9 experience!

Respectfully,
Rick - 21










On Jul 10, 9:14 am, Andy Blackburn
wrote:
I witnessed the pleas from the retrieve 'office' for
quiet. It was far more often directed at adults (pilots
actually) than kids. It was also generally justified
and not unduly harsh.

We attended nearly all the barbecue events and I missed
the chorus of 'grumpy old men' on Sunday. That one
I can't explain. We generally had a fine time and kids
were allowed to be kids - the fireworks on the 4th
in particular were of a far more enjoyable variety.

9B

Eric

AS I know you very well, I can say this. You would have a blast flying
Parowan, and the most popular question would still be "WHERE'S MARY!!!!" You
will never escape that one!!!!


Brian

"Papa3" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 10, 4:14 pm, Marc Ramsey wrote:
Papa3 wrote:
Actually, Parowan is a comparatively nice place to bring a family,
located in the midst of a growing town with an ice cream parlor and
other amenities (including trees), fancy condos to rent in a nearby ski
area, national parks and other interesting places within a short drive,
etc. If one wants to guarantee that they'll never have crew again, try
Tonopah 8^)

Another data point: my wife and daughter would occasionally accompany me
to selected non-desert glider ports, until my daughter reached 6 or so.
At that point, keeping her entertained away from home and friends was
more work than my wife was willing to put up with...

Marc

I stand corrected. Now, if I can just sell the "It's only a 2,000
mile drive" line, I'm set!

Brian Glick wrote:
Eric

AS I know you very well, I can say this. You would have a blast flying
Parowan, and the most popular question would still be "WHERE'S MARY!!!!" You
will never escape that one!!!!


Trust me - I get that question wherever I go; it's not just at soaring
contests!

Rick puts it exactly right in the post above. Having started flying as
one of those noisy kids I can count on one hand with a few fingers to
spare the times fellow soaring pilots, crew and organizers have been
less than hospitable or that I have witnessed blow-ups. In fact my
experience has been just the opposite. The soaring community is an
interesting and diverse one, nothing if not welcoming to those who put
in a little effort. But understand that soaring competitions are just
that - competitions - with pilots focused on the flying while
suffering all the competitive slings and arrows that the sport has to
offer. Contests are not just big parties designed to give the Club Med
experience to all. They have a goal and they are generally run to
achieve this goal which sometimes can seem abrupt to bystanders. The
07 Parowan Regionals was a delightful event but any competitive human
endeavor has an element of adventure stress for participants which
again is not often understood or shared by visitors. My general
experience is that while respect for fellow pilots competitive skill
is earned, respect for ones humanity if a given. One of the reasons
that competitive soaring is so compelling is that it can be tough,
taking the participants out of the comfort zone and to locations that
may seem like backwaters but are reflective of the places and life
styles most people in the nation live every day. If you want to paint
competition pilots as a bunch of selfish hot headed, ego driven
codgers with bad interpersonal skills you have it very wrong. I have
never understood the sniping between groups in the sport. We are just
a tiny band of aviators who do it for the love of it while sharing a
common passion. Isn't that enough?