Not trying to nit pick, but is cost really as much of a deterrent to
participating in these sports as the time and mental effort you need to
put in to get and maintain the necessary skills? When you consider the
prices people are happy to pay for spectator seats or the latest &
greatest curved-screen TV just to sit and watch other people exercising
said skills I really do wonder.

Yes. Yes. Yes. The demand for soaring is not inelastic and, with all due respect, you're in denial to pretend otherwise.

Will cost deter someone who deeply desires to fly more than anything else in the world? Probably not; there are ways to fly sailplanes--and even compete--on a budget. But those diehards are not the ones we're talking about. It's the folks who have disposable income but a lot of different ways to spend it that swell the ranks.

Yes, there are other obstacles to soaring, especially to compete, among them (as you say) the time and effort it takes to get good at it. But money is important, too, especially when there are so many other ways to spend it these days, many of which can be shared with family members and enjoyed much more of the time than gliding (or racing cars or even sailing).

So we can make soaring (and I'm speaking mostly about competition since that's my focus) as expensive and difficult to access as possible. Or we can recognize that life is all about choices and tradeoffs, and do what we can to make it easier for the rest of us to participate. I've been in soaring since 1965. At one point it was the central focus of my life. Everything I did was planned around it, in particular contests. But I've been forced by circumstances to be out of flying a few times--and because I'm active, I've found other ways to challenge myself. And guess what? My life didn't end.

I'm older now, with different priorities. And I have two daughters in expensive American universities. And I'm divorced, which--though amicable--has had an impact on my financial situation. So frankly, if I hadn't been fortunate to buy my ASW 24 23 years ago (before children) and didn't know that it was still competitive today, I probably wouldn't be in soaring now. And if I had to buy $5,000 to $10,000 worth of avionics and tech gadgets to stay competitive, I probably wouldn't either.

So take it from someone who, over the past 50 years, has displayed about as much commitment to this sport as all but the most rabid and accomplished U..S. World Team pilots, COST MATTERS! End of rant.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.