Absolutely. Been there done that and yes it was a strain on the family. This is all part and parcel of the *time* problem. I agree we do need some new thinking on contest formats - perhaps you have a few ideas.

We are to some extent dictated by world contest formats - at least for championships. Unfortunately in Europe where contests are very popular, gliding sites are not all hell-holes like western desert sites , and there are many local attractions close by - the family scene is much much easier.

Split weekend regionals, fun 2 day weekend contests or GP events all fall into the options we have for integrating more into family life.

2T

On Wednesday, July 16, 2014 10:36:39 AM UTC-7, Kevin Brooker wrote:
One reason contests are dying is the contest is all about the pilot at

the expense of everyone else. If my family has two weeks of vacation

time to spend and it is spent at a contest I have no more time to spend

with the family doing something they might enjoy. Contests suck and are

extremely boring unless you are the pilot or an enthusiast.



How often do the majority of contest pilots bring the family? I'll bet

most have done it once and the amount of crap the pilot receives from

the rest of the family is huge and detracts from the fun of contest

flying. If more contests had a social director to find stuff for the

family's of pilots to do while the flying was going on more would be

willing to attend. Dinners don't count; pilots sit around, ignore the

family and tell stories about the day.



How many contests pilots have young families? Most pilots are FOGs with

time and cash. I'm not sure of this but I'll guess many contest pilots

aged 25-45 are divorced or single and thus responsible only for

themselves.



Contest flying is incredibly selfish and does not mesh well families.

Change all the rules, classes, run experiments, and anything else

related to the flying and the growth of contests will remain as it is

now. In decline. Run a few contests where a pilot can bring his family

and they have a great time and contests will grow.









--

Kevin Brooker