New Contest Pilots

I have been following multiple threads over time discussing how to get more pilots to become competition pilots.

I had the pleasure of flying in the Region 10 North contest.

The contest is specifically advertised to be "beginner friendly" and has 2 competition classes - Club and Low Performance.

Great! I am both a beginner and own a PW-5 so I qualify as Low Performance - both my sailplane and my competition skills

I had a great time. When I got home, I looked at all the remaining US contests and did not find any that appeared to be Low Performance friendly.

A number of us at R10N were rookies and flew Low Performance sailplanes. And, a number of the pilots were no where near Social Security eligible.

I would encourage any contest organizers for 2015 to consider adding this class to their line ups.

Lou

Lou -

"Low performance" is not an official class, so you might not find it listed much (if at all) on any sanctioned events. Still, I encourage you to give Sports Class a try - with over 30:1 you should be able to complete the tasks and your handicap should be pretty favorable. There is also a "World Class" or "13.5M Class" tailored specifically to short-winged ships like yours and the Russia AC-4 (which I used to own) - keep an eye out for that class when looking at contest listings.

Good luck, and I hope to meet you at a contest sometime!

--Noel

regional organizers can create a class based on pretty much any criteria they want. The last two years in Kansas we have had a "Low Performance" class limited to gliders with a handicap of 1.115 (Standard Austria SH-1) and higher. This has created a welcoming environment for people with lower performance birds, most of which are just getting started in the contest and XC world. That way they aren't "competing" against ASG-29's.

On Monday, July 21, 2014 10:03:58 PM UTC-4, MNLou wrote:
I have been following multiple threads over time discussing how to get more pilots to become competition pilots.



I had the pleasure of flying in the Region 10 North contest.



The contest is specifically advertised to be "beginner friendly" and has 2 competition classes - Club and Low Performance.



Great! I am both a beginner and own a PW-5 so I qualify as Low Performance - both my sailplane and my competition skills



I had a great time. When I got home, I looked at all the remaining US contests and did not find any that appeared to be Low Performance friendly.



A number of us at R10N were rookies and flew Low Performance sailplanes. And, a number of the pilots were no where near Social Security eligible.



I would encourage any contest organizers for 2015 to consider adding this class to their line ups.



Lou

R2N in NY is run as a beginner/newbie contest with a rookie school and active mentoring of new contest pilots. It also features a 2 seat class limited to trainer type s seaters ("bus class") where prospective new racers fly with experienced contest pilots. Anywhere from 10-20 new folks get a chance to see what it is about.
Tasking is set to try to get everyone home, understandingly at the expense of what may be the best race.
Organizers have lots of options to try to draw in and retain new contest pilots but may need some help from experienced contestants to make it work.
One thing that can be a big encouragement to someone thinking about trying contest flying is an offer by an established pilot to mentor and encourage the newbie to give it a try.
That first contest finish gets a lot of them hooked. A day win and they're on the way to hooked for life.
Watching a 16 year old junior girl give a winner's speech- Priceless!
UH

That's 16 year old girls day winner speech story is awesome. It has me thinking...

In sailing "recognition" is a key goal to race coaching and Jr sailing programs (clubs). Most sailing clubs spend far more effort on their Jr Sailing programs than anything else. Think about that for a minute. Adult sailing is second in importance.

As soon as you can get the kid that feeling of accomplishment (winning a race say) and more importantly the feeling of pride when being recognized for it by the group (for any number of steps along the way), it's like a switch of pure energy is thrown for them. It's a key moment in the sport for them (and us) and a key moment in their life (I can do anything...). Jr sailing is very healthy today partially because of this focus on Jr programs and Jr racing within their clubs. Now if they could just convert more Jrs into racers in their 30's and beyond, but that's another topic.

Soaring has too few opportunities for kids to get recognized by other kids and adults alike. Very, very few Jrs are involved in contests. Very few articles are about kids achievements. We should all be doing more in the US to increase the rate at which 16 year olds (girls and boys) have this kind of moment in their lives with soaring.

What a great story Hank! You guys should have video taped that speech! It should be on the center of home page of the ssa website all summer!

Sean

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 1:05:39 PM UTC-4, Sean Fidler wrote:
That's 16 year old girls day winner speech story is awesome. It has me thinking...



In sailing "recognition" is a key goal to race coaching and Jr sailing programs (clubs). Most sailing clubs spend far more effort on their Jr Sailing programs than anything else. Think about that for a minute. Adult sailing is second in importance.



As soon as you can get the kid that feeling of accomplishment (winning a race say) and more importantly the feeling of pride when being recognized for it by the group (for any number of steps along the way), it's like a switch of pure energy is thrown for them. It's a key moment in the sport for them (and us) and a key moment in their life (I can do anything...). Jr sailing is very healthy today partially because of this focus on Jr programs and Jr racing within their clubs. Now if they could just convert more Jrs into racers in their 30's and beyond, but that's another topic.



Soaring has too few opportunities for kids to get recognized by other kids and adults alike. Very, very few Jrs are involved in contests. Very few articles are about kids achievements. We should all be doing more in the US to increase the rate at which 16 year olds (girls and boys) have this kind of moment in their lives with soaring.



What a great story Hank! You guys should have video taped that speech! It should be on the center of home page of the ssa website all summer!



Sean

Look at May 2009 and August 2011 soaring for a couple articles written by our kids for our club newsletter, then later sent to Soaring. More articles like these should help people realize they too can do this stuff. Unfortunately Rachel is busy towing at Harris Hill this summer and this is getting in the way of her personal soaring a bit.
We need more "I did it!" stories.
UH