The highly successful UK Junior XC program vs. USA's nonexistantJunior XC program. Why?

The UK Junior National Championships is successful due to the tremendous
hard work and effort put in to it by the people who want to see it be a
success and provide the opportunity for others that they have been given
previously. It's a hugely exciting comp to be at and compete in and the
friendships forged will last a lifetime. It's had its lean years also so
it's great
to see this year back at capacity plus!

Yes, there is huge talent, competitive spirit and camaraderie among those
eligible to compete and be coached for future years but this is not limited
to
the UK. I'm sure the UK geography helps - even the most distant pilot has
less than 10hrs to drive to most venues.

You have the pool of talent and youth in the USA (I truly hope you do
anyway) and you have no excuse with weather.... so get involved and take
the lead Sean!

GG (14 year ex UK junior...)

At 15:53 09 September 2015, Sean Fidler wrote:
Some of you might be interested to know that the UK just held its 2015
Juni=
or Nationals a few weeks ago. Nearly 70 juniors pilots (yes, SEVENTY)
comp=
eted in the event. As an American, I nearly fell over in my chair when I
s=
aw the article (and photo of the grid).=20

Back in the USA, the SSA doesn't even bother to hold a Junior Nationals.
I=
cannot recall when the SSA last held a specific Junior competition?
Only
=
a few Junior glider pilots competed in SSA sanctioned contests this year
na=
tionwide (even with a hefty discount offer from the SSA). The SSA, to
the
=
best of my knowledge, has no real plan or strategy to improve Junior
soarin=
g numbers. To be honest, few leaders in the USA seem concerned about
truly=
developing a vibrant junior XC soaring culture. Some even bitterly
questi=
on if Junior XC or contest participation is relevant or important to the
he=
alth of the SSA or US Soaring. When is the last time we saw an article,
p=
oll or speech on improving youth soaring XC
skills/participation/enthusiasm=
in the SSA or USA?=20

The UK isn't satisfied with just a highly successful 2015 Junior
Nationals.=
Now the UK is next holding a Junior winter XC series in the coming
month=
s. They already have 50 Juniors (FIFTY, not done yet) signed up for the
fi=
rst event in the series. Yesterday, British Soaring (SSA equivalent) was
o=
n Facebook soliciting more gliding clubs to "send their dual XC ships
with
=
instructors" to keep up with "demand." Amazing.

If the UK is developing this kind of energy and enthusiasm at their youth
X=
C events, what does that say about our nonexistent youth XC training
progra=
m in the SSA? Yes, these are all XC events and NOT primary training,
rides=
or kiddie playtime. Yes, these events are all equal or larger than the
SS=
A's largest sanctioned contests (Seniors (interesting in and of itself
real=
ly) and Perry). What benefits does a strong youth XC culture provide the
U=
Ks soaring community vs. our own?=20

The UK equivalent of the SSA has a Junior Development Committee (JDC).
Cle=
arly, the UK puts a huge amount of emphasis on this "opportunity." They
li=
kely put their best people on it. Does the SSA even have a youth soaring
f=
unction or officer? Why not? What is more important than a highly
develop=
ed youth XC soaring culture to a country's soaring future?

How can the UK, a country of only 60 million citizens, be so highly
develop=
ed in terms of Jr soaring pilot XC skills, proficiency, organization,
event=
s and enthusiasm while the USA (a country of some 330 million) doesn't
even=
have an organized Junior program, bother to hold a Junior Nationals or
any=
have real Junior culture whatsoever? They few Juniors we have are left
to=
themselves to figure it out. They have zero funding and little
support.=
=20

How many U.S. Junior pilots are capable of flying true cross country let
al=
one contest tasks? Developing Junior XC flying skills is not magic.
It's
=
simply a function of inspiration, qualified instruction, and motivation.
X=
C soaring is also quite fun to learn and master. It is an extremely
satisf=
ying challenge to meet. XC might just challenge our youth pilots enough
to=
keep them interested in the sport. That appears to be the case in the
UK.=
And the UK is not alone, most European countries are also quite
successfu=
l with their youth XC soaring programs.=20

What does all this tell us about the health of U.S. Soaring (SSA)?=20

What does this tell us about our leadership focus, culture, priorities,
and=
strategy? What does this tell us about our soaring clubs (many actively
D=
ISCOURAGE cross-country flight!)? What does this tell us about our
glider
=
instruction culture? Our mentorship results?=20

How can the UK (and many other countries to be perfectly honest) be so
amaz=
ingly successful at developing Junior XC soaring energy and while the US
(S=
SA) is so impressively "unsuccessful?"=20

We hear the occasional murmurs in the SSA about our falling numbers, poor
i=
nternational competition results, aging demographics, etc.=20

Does the USA's lack of an organized and a high priority youth soaring
progr=
am bother anyone else? Is there anything to learn here? Is there
anything=
that we might want to consider changing? What is our "leadership" doing
a=
bout this problem? Do they even recognize it as "a problem?" Is our
lack
=
of Junior participation and XC skill development even on the SSA priority
l=
ist? On our soaring clubs priority list? What's our strategy? What are
ou=
r action items for 2015-2016? Are there any presentations scheduled at
the=
upcoming SSA convention?=20

I hope this sparks a productive discussion.=20

Sean=20
7T