As the minutes show, the RC recognizes the radio issues problem, but does not think that passing one size fits all rules from on high, in the absence of any experience, is the way to do it. What works for a 6 glider sports class regionals and what works for 60 gliders in a big event like Perry will be different. What works when the focus is "mentoring" and what works when the focus is "practice pair flying" will be different.

Obviously a wise CD will tell pilots to stay off 123.3 in the 15 minutes before the start, and stay off 123.3 or use a unicom frequency for traffic during launch.

In general, I think it will be a good idea for us all to stay away from too much winter rule-making. There is a tendency to make complex procedures to avoid imaginary problems. I think it would be better to keep it loose, see where there are really problems, and address them as they come up.

The Feburary Soaring will contain several articles on radios in contests, to spark thoughts not just about rules but about how we can use this change to make contests more fun for everybody.

John Cochrane