Orion Kingman wrote:
wrote:

Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"


A few numbers to consider:

In 2003 there were 111 US Pilots registered for the OLC, 250 in 2005,
550 in 2005, and 660 this year.

On the 2003 Pilot ranking list there were 551 ranked pilots, 636 ranked
in 2004, 636 ranked in 2005, and 590 ranked in 2006. If a pilot
doesn't fly a contest for three years they are droped off of the list.

So the question presents its self: is soaring on the decline, or is it
competitive soaring? From the brief look that I took, its appears that
it is competitive soaring that is suffering. So how do we as a comunity
correct this trend? What is the UK comunity doing correctly to have
such high atendence numbers? Clearly the distance is a significant
issue; for a west-coaster to drive to Mifflin, or for a an east-coaster
to drive to Montague, can mean the difference in competing in the
contest.

This dialouge never has a magic cure, but it is good to keep it alive,
becuase it does keep us thinking about the future of our sport.

Orion Kingman
DV8

I wonder if some who might otherwise attend a contest are getting their
jollies by posting their flights to the OLC??

Paul
ZZ