Bigger issues--Long as usual from me

[Rcmaster199 at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/19/2003 6:52:04 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
jbudd at QNET.COM writes:


> >Am I getting a signal from this mailing list that we need to remove 
> >ourselves from AMA and do everything ourselves?
> 
> I think the signal (read message) is that the NSRCA 
> Officers/Leadership need to be willing to explore all reasonable 
> possibilities concerning what is best for the NSRCA membership (the 
> entire membership, not just the F3A community).  If that means 
> backing away from SIG status to achieve the results NSRCA needs then 
> that ought to be considered.  I suspect that it won't get that far 
> though - AMA may be slow and bureaucracy laden, but they're not 
> stupid (well... give me that one if only to make my point!).
> 
> Thx, Jerry


Jerry, et al

Not sure how much financial support the AMA gives the various WC Teams; for 
the Pattern Team, Tony should have a pretty good idea.

Besides the insurance deal the AMA provides to all and the support for the 
Team, what other benefit do they provide us? The main one I can think of is the 
160,000 +/-voice lobby in Washington, in regard to flying sites for example. 
In my opinion, breaking totally away from the AMA may not be in our best 
interest in the long run. 

Breaking away from the antiquated rules procedures is in our best interest 
and I would support such a move. 

My thinking is this: if we were to make our own rules and enforce them as we 
saw best, it would require that we ignore only the AMA's Pattern related 
rules. Basically, it would make the AMA Pattern Contest Board totally moot for our 
purposes. Would that make a difference to AMA? I would guess that they 
wouldn't like it due to losing their control over Pattern, but what could they really 
do about it? 

We would still need to abide by all safety related rules, but that's it. 
Obviously, without a flying site, the whole excersize becomes moot. The AMA's 
Washington voice may be feeble, but I'd like to believe that it has helped some of 
us keep some of these.

Contest Directors would still apply for the AMA sanctions as they do now, but 
strictly for safety and insurance concerns. The rules we fly under would be 
totally our own. The events could still attract non-NSRCA members since they 
would still be advertised in the MA magazine.

It seems to me that AMA  policy (lack of monthly reporting and coverage of 
large Pattern events are two very recent examples) has done quite a bit to 
alienate us from the fold. This isn't intended as a means to get even or anything 
silly like that. It seems to me that many of the members are simply fed-up with 
the ancient processes AMA requires, and they (we) want some things done 
better, easier, faster. After all, my car insurer isn't telling me how to drive my 
car. 

Matt K

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