Participation

I've been quietly working on a project to document exactly this sort of information, so would you guys mind sharing your notes with me when you're done?

FWIW, what I have found so far is that there are really 2 or 3 "classes" of regionals:

- Small, "mini-regionals" where the majority of pilots are from the local area and the home FBO/Club has a couple of towplanes that are sufficient to handle the load. Very little cost of bringing in additional towplanes (maybe the Scout from the club 20 miles away), all of the contest officials are local, and meals/events are low key. The limit here seems to be about 20, or whatever number of gliders can be launched by the local tow operation in around an hour. Sounds like Scott's contest or the Wurtsboro Region II contest fit this bill.

- Medium, "true-regionals" where the pilots come from about a day's drive around the contest site, which is a local club operation. These tend to be big enough that there isn't enough local tow capacity and more towplanes need to be flown in. They may still be able to economize with a lot of local talent. Fairfield, Harris Hill, and CCSC are probably good examples.

- Medium/Large "remote regionals". These tend to be hosted at "remote" locations (i.e. good soaring site but no full-time FBO or club present, though there may be a towplane based there). The entire contest infrastructure has to be brought in. While the CD or CM might be willing to rough it to some extent, they still expect a roof over their heads and paid meals in return for their efforts. Since these are large events, you need 5 or even 6 towplanes, with all of the associated costs. Places like Parowan or Mifflin probably fit this model.

What pilots need to appreciate is that the tow capacity is really the critical variable. If you have forty gliders, nobody wants to be sitting on the launch line for 2 hours waiting to go. It means losing a good part of the available day and may actually mean no contest day if the soaring window is short enough.

On the other stuff, I strongly agree that the retrieve process in particular could be more automated. In terms of scoring, I think there's a lot to be said for having a person to sit with to work through the myriad problems that happen, but it's worth trying a different model. While weather can clearly be done remotely, there are many days when it's important to have someone paying close attention (approaching rough weather being one example).. If the CD or CM is willing to take on all that extra load, that's great..

Overall, I think there's room for a wide variety of approaches, ranging from really "no frills" up to the "platinum class", but pilots need to appreciate the incredible effort that goes into running a contest and be a little more considerate of all involved.



On Sunday, June 17, 2012 8:50:29 AM UTC-4, Hartley Falbaum wrote:
Scott;
$5000 profit from 19 pilots? That is $263 per contestant profit!
Sounds like we could benefit from a private conversation.
Comparing the Cherry Valley contest with Cordele (and many others) may
be like comparing hunting rabbits with hunting tigers.
I have flown many GTAs since 1995, so I am very familiar with the
format.
Let's talk---send me an email and I'll send my phone # back to you.




On Jun 17, 2:37*am, Scott Alexander
wrote:
On Jun 16, 9:25*pm, Hartley Falbaum wrote:

Having managed four consecutive contests at Cordele, two Nationals,
and 4 Regionals (the nationals had concurrent Regionals), I like some
of your ideas, but others show evidence of unfamiliarity with the
subject. Especially the financial aspects. We spent a great deal of
time before and during the contests trying very hard to break even.
Cordele has no ongoing soaring operation, so all towpilots must be
imported, as must the towplanes. Thus ferry fuel and housing are an
expense. No tow operation will give up their Pawnee for a week and two
weekends without a guaranteed income--tow or no tow. Are you aware of
the cost of operating a Pawnee, per tow?

Hartley, having created and co-managed a small first time contest with
19 pilots that profited over $5,000 in one week, I do in fact
understand the process very well. *Sounds like Cordele is in a
location that ends up being a costly event. *Glad it has somebody like
you to iron out the wrinkles. *GTA races continue on and on without
any cost other than tows. *Does that surprise you? *Yet everyone has a
blast, and they have been going on now for over a decade. *Contests
should be the money maker event of the year, not a loss and not a
break even. *Creativity and a penny pinching mindset is key. *Yes I am
fully aware of the cost of operating a Pawnee, and fully aware that
the contest tow rate of $52 is much higher than most soaring clubs in
the USA.

As to meals, well, for $10 what can you get? Do you import volunteers
to cook burgers? Every day?

Think outside the box. *What do you spend on a normal meal? *Be
realistic. *Try this approach: get a head count at the pilot meeting
for total number of people that will attend the dinner. *Send someone
in to town to pick up a pre-ordered carry out catering meal. *Don't go
to Texas De Brazil, go to a Mom and Pops inexpensive restaurant. *I
did this at a pilot safety meeting I hosted and it cost $5.25 per
person for a total of 40 people ($210 total). *We had BBQ pulled pork,
coleslaw, toast, french fries and a drink from the local BBQ
restaurant. *Charging $10 ($400 total revenue) and it's a $190
profit. *With a meal purchase of a large quantity that all 40 meals
are the same order, there is typically a discount from the normal
price.

Other nights you can do a potluck dinner. *For my family of 4, we
could bring a a homecooked tray from the RV of something for a cost of
$15-20 perhaps....much less than $68.

And just like GTA events do occasionally is reserve a room at a nearby
restaurant. *Remeber this from the Sunship Game? *Then each person can
order food that they have options to pick from. *Burger, fries, & a
tall glass of ice water typically cost no more than $10. *Call up the
local Golden Corral or Mexican joint, ask them what night has the
least amount of business. *Then work out a deal to reserve a section
for your group. *People like me on a budget will order something waaay
less than $17 per person.

On the ground you need a CD, CM, Dir Ops. These people must be fully
familiar with glider contest operations. You might be able to get WX
and Scorer remotely, but on site is much better. So--food and housing
for these.

I agree for a nationals. *For a regional, you can get by with much
less. *It's been said many times before, that having a weatherman is
for pure entertainment. *Your going to launch the sniffer anyway, then
go from there. *Now that everyone has XCSkies and Dr Jacks Blipmap via
their iPhone, we all know what the weather forecast is. *And even if
the forecast is no good, were going to attempt to get in a contest day
anyway! *Dir Ops? *Do you really truly need one?

You must have a competent Retrieve Office. They need an office, phone
lines, internet

While this is very charming and super cool to have this. *The
smartphone is an office, phone line & internet. *This is in everyones
pocket. *You really can do without it thanks to SPOT tracking. *This
sport has kind of outgrown this as a need. *Now it's a luxury. *Now
every pilot has a GPS, cell phone and SPOT tracker connected to
Facebook. *The SPOT tracker lets the social media website Facebook
know where you landed and if you need help. *Also, with GlidePath, my
flight is uploaded to the OLC and posted to facebook before I even
climb out of the cockpit (takes about 5 seconds). *Just about every
car has a GPS too, so it's easy to text message your Lat & Long for a
seamless transition from the gliderport to your off field landing
site. *While there isn't a need to develop turnpoint photographs all
night long to verify correctly rounding each turnpoint, there isn't
much need for a retrieve office anymore either. *Technology is freeing
up the retrieve office personell.

I could go on and on, but my fingers are tired, and you get the idea.
We filtered a lot of money, and worked hard for very little profit. If
we got paid $1.00 per hour we would be way ahead!

Hartley, sorry you didn't make that much money, you deserve waaay
more. Your contest prevailed $18,685 in entry fees and probably more
revenue considering T-shirts, RV hookup fees, meals, extra tows, aero-
retrieves, etc. *It's sad to hear that with all that revenue your
contest barely broke even. *But glad that your able to make it happen..

Go talk at length to someone who has done this a few times.

Why don't you talk to me to find out how our contest was so
profitable? *Come on over and I'll grill you a steak on the gianormous
stainless steel grill that was bought and given to me as a thank you
gift for all of my hardwork to run the contest. *I joined the SSA in
1996 and have attended 2 nationals, and a half dozen regionals varying
as a pilot, crew and once co-manager. *Charlie & Micky Minner were
gracious enough to bring me under their wing and teach me to have a
mindset of penny pinching. *The GTA racing community has this mindset
and all they charge is for tows, yet they keep on having races! Keep
in mind, this is a volunteer sport and needs to be encouraged to stay
that way. *When I'm called upon to volunteer a weeks time to help
operate a race, I will be happy to do so.

Contest profitability and contest participation go hand in hand. If
contests were cheaper, more profitable, then participation would
increase.

Paying $225 a tow ($450 contest fee with 2 days of flying) and $68/
night for dinner (family of 4 @ $17) doesn't really promote racing too
well.

That's my point.