[NSRCA-discussion] Future of Pattern

[Keith Hoard]

Mike,

    The bottom line is that it is impossible to simply "encourage" someone
to join the pattern ranks and have them hang around for years.  It requires
that the new guy have that internal drive to want to acquire all of the
specialized skill sets and equipment ON HIS OWN to make that transition
from sport flyer to pattern flyer.  All we can do is cheerfully provide
guidance on the way.
    If you look at the rise and fall of IMAC, ask yourself what was behind
the motivation to join their ranks on the way up?  Like you said, the cost
of entry is way beyond pattern - $13,000 150cc plane + $5000 trailer +
$XX,XXX vehicle to haul trailer + Travel costs to "Huckfests", Contests,
Ect. . . . At the lower end, where most guys started, what did you always
hear the IMAC guys say?  "Hey, anyone can enter Unlimited and win with a
50cc airplane" . . . Sound familiar?   The masses join, travel around to
contests, get their butts kicked flying their 50cc / 100cc airplanes, look
down the flight line to see who's winning / getting all of the attention
that they thought they'd be getting (its the 150cc + Bling Guys), decided
that its not worth it, then stop going to contests.
    Now in both the IMAC and Pattern examples, I would argue that we could
give those guys a full set of top of the line equipment and they still
wouldn't be able to win and would leave anyway.  You guys need to realize
that it takes a very, VERY specialized person to do what we do and keep
doing it year after year.  The real story here isn't that the pattern ranks
aren't growing, but that we still have as many guys doing this for as long
as we've been doing this in the first place!!  If someone has the skill set
and motivation to join us, they will join us no matter what the obstacle -
financial or otherwise.  The opposite is also true, you can "drag /
encourage" someone into pattern, give them all of the equipment free of
charge, provide all of the top notch coaching, but if they don't have that
internal drive to push themselves to continue, they will drop out.
    Now it seems that for some reason those of us who remain tend to "feel
bad" when that happens.  Perhaps you feel that the pattern community did
something wrong to chase that person away, when actually the opposite was
true.  That person dipped their toe in the pattern pond and decided that
they weren't a fit.  It looked good from the outside but they just couldn't
hang.  Most choose to leave quietly, while others bray like a donkey on
their way out, or linger and take cheap shots from the peanut gallery.
Back when pattern guys were considered "elitists", you still had guys
joining the ranks and pattern was growing, right?  Now that the word is "be
a nice guy to the sport flyers", our ranks are level / declining.  Perhaps
bringing back a dash of elitism to pattern may not be a bad thing.
    The bottom line is that no amount of "tweaks" to the rules are going to
either increase of decrease pattern participation.  If a guy wants to
participate in pattern and go to contests, he will do whatever it takes to
get there.  *Everything else is just an excuse / whining.*  If we eliminate
the weight rule, they they will then say they can't go to contests because
of "judging bias".  If we implement electronic judging, they then will find
some other rule to complain about, ad nauseum.
    I think we've gone more than the "extra mile" to encourage
participation.  Its time to concentrate on perfecting the rules for the
guys that are actually participating and not worry about changes that "may"
encourage some "theoretical" newcomer.  They will join if they want to,
guaranteed.

    Oh, and by the way, sometimes the best action to take is no action at
all.

Keith Hoard
Collierville, TN
khoard at gmail.com

. . .<snip>. .

>  I can't see great numbers of newbies flocking to join our ranks. I think
> it is what it is. I'll strive to see small gains and little victory's when
> we get someone new to enjoy the sport.. .<snip>. . .
>  Now lets see how we handle $6 gas.  Mike Mueller
>
>   **
>
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