Yes, typical government approach of throwing the baby out with the bath
water. The problem wasn't spin training per se, it was instructors not
proficient in how to conduct spin training. So, rather than address
that root problem, the Feds simply removed the requirement and
discouraged the practice entirely.

Ok, looking back on most peoples responses here, this seems to be the
concensus - rather then ensure that those who are training the spins
to begin with are sufficiently trained themselves, and flying aircraft
suitable for spin training, the requirement was just removed in the
USA.

IMHO, a bad move, and a band-aid solution.

Like I mentioned, I can say one thing for sure - the spin training I
took as a student here in Canada made me know what to expect, and how
to handle it.

I "read" about spins in the POH and my traning manuals for the week
before I actually flew the lesson. Yep, I had everthing I should have
"needed" to know in my head.

However, I quickly learned after my first actual spin that the real
thing is different then reading about it. There was no doubt the
training helped, as after a few spins (within 10 to 20 minutes), I was
able to recover rapdily after the incipient stage, often loosing only
minimal alittude.

In a base turning final situation, after accomplishing the spin
training, I'm sure the possibility of recovering is much greater for
me, vs. someone who only ever read about it, but never did a spin in
practice.

The fact that there was such a large number of spin training related
accidents in the USA makes me wonder if perhaps alot of instructors
are just not quite up to their task?

My comments are in no way meant to be personal or insulting to any
instructors here, but is this a possibilty? Is this a problem with
instructor ratings perhaps being easier, or a little "too" easy to
obtain in the USA, versus other countries?

With spins being mandatory here, the instructors handle it like any
other lesson, and there doesn't seem to be any worry about it being a
"dangerous" lesson in any regard. Pretty much every week in the peak
seasons, there is some student doing spins in the training area.

At least here, it's dealt with as just another checkmark in the
training logbook..