I was going to stay out of this, but what the hey!

Who buys a Libelle, Cirrus, LS-1, etc? Probably a new-be, right? Is he/
she likely to race it? Probably not, at least not right away. I tried
to get a Duster class going 38 years ago, there was a bunch of them
flying so I called for an informal competition. Who showed up? Just 3
and only one had any cross-country experience.

We are combining classes right now just to make ends meet. Montague
next year is hosting open nats, standard nate and a regionals. There
is a good chance they won't get over 30 total. Will the organizers be
able to pay all the bills? Will they likely bid to do that again, if
not?

Tasking is a problem in sports class where only MAT's and TAT's are
allowed due to vast differences in ships being flown. Some creative
tasking on the part of the CD could call a MAT with 5 or 6 turn-points
so that only the supper ships could do it all. Bring them back near
home about half way through and let the club ships quit if their time
is up. That's exactly what was intended when this task was introduced,
but it has become too easy to just call 1 turn or (no turns) and let
the CD off the hook.
JJ

WB wrote:
On Oct 17, 10:55 am, wrote:
In a couple earlier threads related to a proposed Club class, I asked
pilots who
don't compete now, but would if we created a Club class, to reply
either on line or to me as RC chair. I indicated I would report the
result.
The response, surprisingly, was no replys.
The element we are looking for is how much increased participation
could come about if we create a seperate class.
So- I'll ask again, maybe in a slightly different way:
1) If you are not currently competing, would the creation of a Club
class bring you in to participation.
2) If you currently compete, or used to compete, would you acquire a
glider to participate in this new class?

If you don't like the wording of my questions, feel free to answer in
your own way.
The key element we are trying to quantify is how development of
another class will increase participation. We already know that some
pilots who own gliders in the Club handicap range would participate.
They affect entry activity as a net zero.

Thanks for your input.

Note: This is an informal poll pole by the RC Chair

H Nixon UH

Hi UH,

First to answer or comment on your questions.

1. I already participate in the Sports Class, so I guess I really
can't answer this question as asked. However, does a new class really
have to draw more contestants to be valid? I think the current Sports
Class participant pool is large enough to spin off the Club Class and
still flourish.

2. My old Libelle is at the low end of the Club Class, so I'm all set
for now. (But when I get in a position to afford a new generation
ship, I'm going to say goodbye to Sports/Club Class and fly it in the
class it was designed for).

Now for my thoughts: Sports Class is a great concept and unarguably
successful. That success is powerful evidence that we do need an
"entry and exit" class as some call it (and I thought Standard was the
exit class :-). Regardless of it's success, there are some issues with
Sports Class that would be best addressed by establishing a Club Class
separate from Sports. 1) Sports has become so competitive, it is
drifting from it's concept as the entry and exit class. 2) The
validity of handicapping is always going to be arguable. Handicapping
would be less of an issue in Club Class due to the narrower range of
glider performance. 3) Appropriate tasking is a problem when the
performance range is extreme. If someone shows up in a Blanik, Ka-8,
or heaven help, a 1-26, it's difficult to put together a task that
will allow the low performance ships to get around the course and not
send the higher performance ships to the back of the turn cylinder
each day and still finish under time. Turn areas can only be made so
big before they start overlapping, and that ain't okay by the rules.
The Sports Class rules also deprive us of the chance to fly a good ol'
assigned task (and too often we fly the reviled MAT).

So, I think we have an opportunity here. The Club Class already exists
in a developed form in Europe, so we don't have to create it from
scratch. We could give a Club Class a try, in addition to, or in
conjunction with Sports Class. Club Classers can have the competitive,
challenging racing they want, Sports Class doesn't have to change (and
might become truer to it's purpose with somewhat "relaxed" tasks).
What's the real downside of having more choices? New racers with Club
Class ships can elect to fly Sports or Club Class. Highly competitive
pilots with high end ships can race in the class their ship was
designed for or they can dial it back and play in Sports. I say let's
give it a try and see how it goes. If Club Class can't support itself
or if it begins to disrupt the Sports Class, then we can ditch it.

Respectfully,

WB