Forget Dying; Is Soaring Dead?

I have flown in two contests Avenal and Air Sailing Sports contest.
Both were a lot of fun and well attended. In region 11 our regional
contest this year was held at Ely NV and was not well attended which
was probably because of it location. It is also difficult to convince
most wives that crewing in the desert for a week is a good way to spend
a vacation.

I think handicapping the regional contests by class would encourage
pilots to attend who do not have the budget to compete with the latest
ship designs. I also agree that the rules for qualifying to attend a
regional or national contest make no sense. How does a pilot ranking
score greater than zero prove anything. Pilots with XC experience
should be allowed to attend any contest that has room for them.

CLewis95 wrote:
A 2006 Sports Class REGIONAL rule change (see below) makes it necessary
for pilots to have a Pilot Ranking Score or have earned the FULL FAI
Siver Badge to qualify for competition. (This may be just a formallity
to many experienced XC pilots...but enough to keep them from competing)
Previously only participation in a formal XC soaring program was
required.

Does anyone know of any pilot who did not fly in their first Regional
contest due to this requirement? I have been concerned about the
effect this change.

Also....do you know of any pilots that did not compete due to the lack
of an installed ELT...in contests where one was required?

I wish I had gone to Uvalde!

Curt Lewis - 95
Genesis 2
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Regional Sports Class
5.4 Pilot Qualifications and Requirements
5.4.1 Experience requirements
5.4.1.1 Each entrant shall meet one or more of the following
experience requirements:
5.4.1.1.1 Have a Pilot Ranking Score (Rule 5.2.1) greater than
zero.
5.4.1.1.2 Present evidence both of having completed a previous
National soaring contest and of recent cross-country soaring
experience.
5.4.1.1.3 † Present proof of having earned the FAI Silver Badge.


///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

wrote:
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"