Lessons from Another Sport about the Elite

Solid observation. I recently got an email from a club member about our upcoming contest asking about ways to let people fly during the contest that didn't want to compete. What struck me most was the use of terms like "top guns" or "elite" in reference less experienced pilots not wanting to get in the way.

We are fortunate to have a small low key contest that attracts some big names, in part due to the fact they live within several hours drive. My experience as a competitor and contest organizer has been that none of the "elite" act remotely elite. You could hang out and never realize that you're surrounded by 3 or 4 national champions or world team members.

One reason for people feeling this way is probably due to the fact that many of the top pilots have been competing for quite a while and contests are like reunions of sorts where they get to see old friends. Other top guns, and of course, you take the opportunity to hang out. That can probably make it seem hard to break into that circle or make it seem like there are different cliques.

So far, I have never been turned away from a post flying BS session or a pre-flight talk because I hadn't been to a Nationals or flown an official regional. Just drumming up the courage to walk across the field and sit down with a group of champions is usually enough to earn you a beer, wine, water or whatever and a chance to make new friends.

We make up most of the walls and hierarchies ourselves.

If people don't want to compete, that's perfectly fine, but I would like to figure out how to help them break down the walls they have built.

Morgan




On Saturday, March 16, 2013 6:27:45 PM UTC-7, wrote:
As I get older, one of the frustrations is the sense I get that the part of soaring that has been most rewarding for me--competition--is still viewed by some as elitist and exclusionary. Even the perception that competition pilots--especially the better pilots--may consider themselves to be above the rest of us might inhibit many from trying their hand at competitive soaring.



The same kinds of real and imagined hierarchies exist in other sports. I've been involved in running for over 35 years and have been running marathons for much of that time. In any running club, there are the hot shoes who win trophies at local races, the club racers, the joggers, the walkers, and everyone in between. We all show up at the group runs but sometimes there's an uneasy sense that the fast runners keep to themselves, or that only the slower runners can celebrate a newbie's first 5K race. This isn't entirely without reason. We all have egos and those who are insecure can sometimes come across badly. But it seems like the better the runner, the less he or she needs to prove and the more likely they are to encourage those who aren't as fast.



This week someone posted a link to article entitled "An Elite State of Mind: Learning Humility from the Fastest Runners in the World". I thought it was one of the best things I'd ever read about keeping things in perspective in sports and even in life, so I've included the link below.



Even if the thought of running leaves you more tired than thinking about getting your taxes done before 15 April, I encourage you to read it, substituting "pilot" for "runner" and "soaring" for "running" (and "Uvalde" for "Boston"!) wherever they occur. If you read nothing else, scroll down to the last few paragraphs.



I can't tell you what the world's best runners really think. I can tell you from experience that the best competition pilots in our country are, with a very few exceptions, as self-effacing and humble and generous with their time and as excited to see less skilled pilots advance as these Kenyan world-class runners are said to be.



http://m.runnersworld.com/race-train...nd?page=single



I hope you enjoy it and, if you haven't yet entered your first contest, that you set yourself a goal of doing so this year.



Chip Bearden

ASW 24 "JB"

U.S.A.