Contest Class Development for Future Success - The Case fordeveloping the Handicapped Classes

Sean, et al:

I totally get the appeal of a grand prix race. I'd likely show up for one, depending on who is flying. I personally prefer distance racing, but hey, that's me. Where I think we can agree is that we're not running nearly enough experiments to find new and popular racing formats.

We seem to be running the same experiments, with small tweaks by the rules committee, hoping for a very different outcome. In the lingo of start-up culture, it's time for a pivot.

I applaud what Bruno and Tim have done at Nephi (and I really wished I could have gone this year). They've clearly found a format that is so popular as to have been over subscribed. It doesn't matter if it meets an arbitrary definition of a "true race", it got plenty of attendance in a pretty damn remote part of the country. They're clearly on to something.

I have read (too many times) that the rules committee will give waivers to try different things at a regional level, and if it's popular they'll consider adopting it at a nationals level. But this is a very slow approach to innovation, and it sure doesn't look like we have decades to figure this out folks.

In my opinion the gliding community is very risk adverse and slow to change.. We like rules. We like organization. We like to presume there is a correct way to do things. We're all a bunch of pundits, but in the meantime our sport is dying because it has become so insular and clique-ish.

For years it seems like the focus has been on optimizing for a local maximum that incrementally improves attendance at, say, a standard class nationals, rather than searching for another format(s) that are compelling enough to get competitors to make the extra effort to participate. Clearly the data shows this isn't working. I'll tend to think that the racing scene needs two things to occur to change it's death spiral:

(1) It needs to be far more inviting to new racing pilots. Doing this almost certainly will require simplified formats, with shorter races, and a strong social activity component to help new pilots develop relationships with established pilots. Right now this is handled at the regional level, that's a mistake if you want to develop a strong national racing scene.

(2) We need *way* more experimentation occurring in the sport to increase the probability that we discover a growth opportunity. Again, this has been pushed down to the regional level. Instead, why doesn't the SSA rules committee promote several new race format concepts each year and see which ones get traction?

Alternatively, we can have an endless discussion on RAS that makes much the same points that have been made before, and stay the course.

Chris Young
42DJ