Make Sailplane Racing Great Again

On Sunday, 5 March 2017 06:43:08 UTC-7, Kevin Brooker wrote:
Before sailplane racing can be great it must first be decent and viable.
Great is a long way off. Great is the result. By focusing on the result
will not achieve the goal. A goal is attained when we have a process and
take an honest look at our assets and liabilities and are open to
solution.

Does the sailplane community have a consensus definition of what a great
contest is? There are probably as many unique answers as people
responding. What might be a better questions is what are the components
of a great contest? These can be real or fantastic wishes.

It is helpful to know why people fly contests too. Camaraderie; bragging
rights; change of scenery; whatever they might wish.

Why do we hold contests? This matters too. The SSA was formed to hold a
National contest to choose a National Champion; do we still need to do
this and do we really care if we have a Champion. Team selections; do we
need contests to do this and are contests the best way to prepare a team
for international competition?


Does the contest model need to change? Maybe gathering in one place to
fly and heading out OLC style to rack up as many miles as we can is the
way to go; maybe not. Again, what are we trying to accomplish with a
contest. Maybe this won’t prepare the US for international comps but do
we really care and if not, why bend the contest model for potentially
10.000 pilots to suit the ambitions of ten?

The sailplane community must also become supportive of each other. As a
group we can be pretty negative and are quick to point out the weak
points of a glider, class, rule, etc.. Many ideas which are new and
presented here are quickly ****ed upon. Denigrating or dismissing
someone’s enthusiasm is a sure way to chase them off. Most of the
negativity on this forum pertains to contests. If I was a new and
interested contest pilot, reading this forum would help me decide to
spend my time and money somewhere else.

Who are contests trying to attract? Pilots are an aging population and
if we want to attract a younger generation having the FOGs make the
rules and formats might be attractive to the old guys but not the twenty
and thirty somethings.

Maybe the Junior Champions should be chosen with Condor. Put is online
as viewer entertainment and we can all watch. E sport viewing is the
fastest growing and most profitable sector of the entertainment
industry. Find a sponsor and put up prize money and have a big time with
it.

Maybe anyone, pilots and non-pilots, can enter and racing can take place
at any time. The tasks and weather are pre determined and it can be
flown whenever the pilot wishes. The weather will be fair, the gliders
will be fair, the pilots can be comfortable and even stop the flight to
eat, sleep, or use the bathroom.

Sailplane racing and even soaring as recreation might just be another
niche activity.

I wish you the best of luck and skill in achieving your goal.




--
Kevin Brooker

Many well thought out points.

One side that many folks forget; what about the organizers? What is in it for them? Why do they do it? How can more locations come on line for contests, camps or fly-ins?

For me personally I have been involved with planning and running a few events; LOgan and Nephi UT and also scoring at Hobbs and the worlds in Uvalde. The SSA sanctioned regionals and nationals are difficult to run well and correctly due to many specialized resources needed to meet the rules requirements.

Is it best to focus on more participants or to get more locations? Also there are very few location in the West left holding SSA sanctioned events.