Last Day In Hobbs scrubbed - What a Joke!

OK, so I don't mean to be a downer on the 4th of July, but let's see:

The National Championships are being held in Hobbs, NM.

The last day of Nats has to be scrubbed because the city of Hobbs is telling people to go watch the local fireworks from the airport runway, starting midafternoon.

Hobbs, NM is the HQ of the SSA

So our NATIONAL organization can't even coordinate with their own "home town" to organize our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS?

I feel badly for the contest staff who are no doubt working their asses off; but I'm shaking my head in disbelief. What the HELL, SSA?

--Noel

I'm sure that was very frustrating for everyone involved.

Contests and the fireworks display have co-existed at Hobbs for many years. It was normal to fly a task on July 4th then sit out with a beer and watch the display.

Surprising that it was a problem this year.

Andy

On Friday, July 5, 2013 8:47:20 AM UTC-4, Andy wrote:
Contests and the fireworks display have co-existed at Hobbs for many years. It was normal to fly a task on July 4th then sit out with a beer and watch the display.



Surprising that it was a problem this year.



Andy

It is important to understand that the SSA staff, ON THEIR OWN TIME/VACATION, in addition to their SSA duties, since 2004 has undertaken to organize and run contests at Hobbs while simultaneously keeping the office going. This year the large number of entries made the workload especially high.

Publicly flaying dedicated volunteers is not a path to having them want to do it again and better.

John Godfrey (QT)
Chair, SSA Rules Committee

On Thursday, 4 July 2013 16:36:51 UTC-6, noel.wade wrote:
OK, so I don't mean to be a downer on the 4th of July, but let's see:



The National Championships are being held in Hobbs, NM.



The last day of Nats has to be scrubbed because the city of Hobbs is telling people to go watch the local fireworks from the airport runway, starting midafternoon.



Hobbs, NM is the HQ of the SSA



So our NATIONAL organization can't even coordinate with their own "home town" to organize our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS?



I feel badly for the contest staff who are no doubt working their asses off; but I'm shaking my head in disbelief. What the HELL, SSA?



--Noel

Siding with QT on this one. Come on Noel you are aware of all the pieces of the puzzle for a contest to be successful.

This type of posting I would expect from Sean, not you.

That's a bummer. I would never insult a contest organization. I probably would have missed that conflict myself and would have felt awful.

**** off Ron.

Sean
F2

You guys sound like a bunch of old hens. Lighten up.

On Thursday, July 4, 2013 4:36:51 PM UTC-6, noel.wade wrote:
OK, so I don't mean to be a downer on the 4th of July, but let's see:



The National Championships are being held in Hobbs, NM.



The last day of Nats has to be scrubbed because the city of Hobbs is telling people to go watch the local fireworks from the airport runway, starting midafternoon.



Hobbs, NM is the HQ of the SSA



So our NATIONAL organization can't even coordinate with their own "home town" to organize our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS?



I feel badly for the contest staff who are no doubt working their asses off; but I'm shaking my head in disbelief. What the HELL, SSA?



--Noel

Noel,

The SSA Staff worked very hard and helped put on a great contest. We saw nothing but enthusiasm and professionalism from them during the whole contest. They were always willing to help and very gracious hosts.

The decision and coordination for the last day was the responsibility of the CM and CD.

As a contestant I felt the decision to cancel was made prematurely and without exploring all the options. The Fourth of July activities were scheduled to start in the nearby park at 4 pm (not the airport), but the Fireworks were not set to happened until 9:15.

See the flyer he

https://www.facebook.com/pages/City-...n/391027686384

I left Hobbs disappointed that more options were not explored and that the pilots were not given the opportunity to provide input before the decision was made prior to the Pilots meeting at about 9:20 am. It is a substantial commitment of time, money, and resources to attend a contest and each day provides an opportunity to learn to fly better at both that site and with your peers.

Tim

On Thursday, July 4, 2013 4:36:51 PM UTC-6, noel.wade wrote:
OK, so I don't mean to be a downer on the 4th of July, but let's see:



The National Championships are being held in Hobbs, NM.



The last day of Nats has to be scrubbed because the city of Hobbs is telling people to go watch the local fireworks from the airport runway, starting midafternoon.



Hobbs, NM is the HQ of the SSA



So our NATIONAL organization can't even coordinate with their own "home town" to organize our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS?



I feel badly for the contest staff who are no doubt working their asses off; but I'm shaking my head in disbelief. What the HELL, SSA?



--Noel

Over many years we have always flew on the 4th at Hobbs. The police would just keep the entry roads closed to the ramp until all the gliders had been accounted for.
Since Tim reads RAS maybe he will chime in and let us know what happened? Dave Nadler even posted the weather was not behaving as needed.
The Mayor did come to the opening pilots meeting. He was very friendly and happy we were their. The Chamber of Commerce even came and was very pleased at the large turnout.
Many, besides those who work for the SSA, give freely of their time and work very hard for us to help put a contest on ( National or Regional). The CM and her husband drive down from Wyoming to help put the contest on and do so at their expense.
The last several contests we have had, we passed the hat around (as I was the hat passer, it was $150 extra per entrant) to help them break even, in one case they still lost several thousand dollars.
The folks who have supported racing at Hobbs over the years have done so because they really care about our sport. They are great folks, so lets not jump to unfounded conclusions. Misunderstandings do happen.
Am hoping Tim will jump in and help clear this up.

Tom Kelley. #711.

For those castigating me: Did you miss the part where I acknowledged the contest staff "working their asses off"?

TODAY I got up at 5am (after being up most of the night with neighbors setting off fireworks) to drive 3+ hours to a contest site, just to deliver a weather briefing. Any of you who know me understand that I do a lot of volunteering and I have a great respect for everyone who volunteers to run an event. And my involvement with contests is in addition to being on the Board of Directors for _2_ separate clubs, *and* being the primary organizer of a major XC/Contest Mentoring event every Memorial Day weekend for the last 4 years, *and* holding ground-school type sessions for our club's student pilots!

But oh yes, SHAME ON ME for pointing out a major and _embarrassing_ failing of our national organization! It was a major failure in two ways -

First:
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It was potentially a waste of the _final day of competition_ for a National Championship. If I was 20 points out of the lead and vying for a Worlds team-slot, I'd be _incredibly_ ****ed off about this! Can you imagine if the PGA cancelled the final round of any golf tournament? Or how about the Reno Air Races only holding qualifying heats and cancelling the final rounds?

And winning isn't the only reason for pilots to fly on the last day... Taking time off work to travel to a contest and compete is a major commitment, and getting as many flying days in as possible is important for contestants to feel like the trip and expense was worthwhile. I realize that a large portion of the SSA membership is retirees; but if you want to pay more than lip-service to the future of the sport then you need to think about how people in their 20's, 30's, and 40's can enjoy and participate in the fullest way. And that means being cognizant of work schedules and the pressures of people with families and family activities (and the greater number of time-sinks and alternative hobbies/pursuits in today's world).

Second:
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We've already got an image/messaging/marketing problem when it comes to our sport, and this kind of thing makes us look weak and amateurish. Sorry folks, but if we're not willing to admit when things aren't being done well, it'll never get improved. There are some fine people putting in long hours for both local and national parts of the organization. But - to be blunt - if the work isn't _effectively directed_ or isn't being done _efficiently_ then it doesn't matter how sweet or wonderful those people's intentions are.

Look, I used to be heavily involved in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) doing autocrossing and road-course racing. The autocross "Solo 2" National Championships are always a big deal in Topeka and the national organization does a good job liaising with the local politicians and land owners to ensure a well-publicized event. If that organization can do it, so could the SSA. How hard is it to have an ongoing dialogue with the town leaders and the airport manager? And if this _is_ something that's been coordinated in the past, why wasn't it a checklist item for the organizers and/or the SSA National staff?

As _people_ I like and really appreciate the individuals who give their time and energy to the SSA. HOWEVER, I think this screwup speaks volumes about the state of the national organization (either the way it is run, or organized, or how funds are used, or some combination thereof).

--Noel