I fly Sports Class as my Duo Discus is not competitive in any FAI class
contest held in the Western US.


This is a serious concern. The only real objection I've heard to club
class is that if we destroy sports class by eating out the middle,
people like yourself have nowhere to go. Same for the sparrowhawk,
silent, and other gliders "below" club class. The R5S club contests
have been really great efforts, but we're still seeing 6 gliders in
sports and 7 in club (2010) which is pretty marginal. The 6 gliders
in sports is as crucial a number as the 7 in club. It would be great
to see more regions try this and see if it works.

If all we do is subdivide the existing classes, we end up with tiny
contests. The club class advocates are arguing, I think, that changing
the US team selection rules or printing up a separate scoresheet will
bring tens of new pilots out who do not come out to sports contests
now. Maybe. It didn't work for the PW5s. Boy, it would be nice to see
really big enthusiasm at a regional level, or in response to the past
US team selection restrictions, before jumping into that pond again.

Participation would solve everything. But the trend is the opposite.
Standards seem to draw 10-15, 15 meter seems to draw 25-30, open and
PW5 have been below 10 for a long time. Maybe we should be discussing
how to merge classes, not to separate them. Or all out getting more
people to show up at contests, any contests!


John Cochrane