<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On Feb 1, 2009, at 1:11 PM, Matthew Frederick wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div bgcolor="#ffffff"><div><font face="Arial">It may very well be in pattern's interest that the NSRCA remain healthy, but I am my own driving force. I don't fly to win the district championship, and I don't attend the Nats at this point. Before the NSRCA came around, there were still AMA rules for pattern. Contests were held. I could make an argument that the NSRCA in it's current form is the reason that pattern struggles. I'm not saying that, but evidence exists to support the claim. </font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I'd be interested in hearing that argument. Really - I would. I have my own ideas as to what the problem is, but it's always good to get another opinion.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div bgcolor="#ffffff"><div><font face="Arial">I tried to go read the history of the NSRCA to find out exactly what year the organization was formed, but the link to the NSRCA history article is not working. </font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>IIRC it was around 1973. Rhett Miller was the first president. Long before the fall-off in pattern started. I joined in ~ 1982 or 83, Larry Ott was president then. The K-Factor was about 8 half-sized pages written on a typewriter and copied off on a Xerox machine. What few illustrations it had were hand drawn. I think dues were $20 or something like that. I joined because it was the only way to know what was going on around the country (my phone bills were a lot higher back them).</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div bgcolor="#ffffff"><div><font face="Arial">All I know is when I first started in pattern in 1990, the NSRCA was hardly around, and I frequently attended contests with 40 - 50 contestants.</font></div><div><font face="Arial"></font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>True enough, the contests were a lot bigger back then. And then the advent of the turn-around patterns into the AMA classes occurred (1989). Almost overnight participation dropped to about half, and it's never recovered from there. Anybody remember the divide in the membership in the 86-87 timeframe about the AMA classes going turn-around? There was a guy on the AMA Contest Board from Kansas named Jim Mowrey who was ready to succeed from the union (and take half the membership with him) if that happened. I don't know where he disappeared to but I'm not so sure he wasn't right.</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div bgcolor="#ffffff"><div><font face="Arial">I've been holding my thoughts on this, but I think it needs to be said: the thought of the AMA allowing the NSRCA to make changes to schedules or rules without going through the AMA rules process scares me. Although I have been an NSRCA member for 2 years, I never once felt that the NSRCA leadership was really looking out for my interests. If the rules proposal comes up to allow the NSRCA to have that level of control, I will vehemently oppose it with the AMA, and encourage all of my friends to do the same.</font></div><div> </div><div><font face="Arial">Matt</font> </div><div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font></div></div></span></blockquote><br></div><div>Actually, I've been wondering the opposite. What is the added value in having AMA involved in the process? Or lets put it another way - do you really need an AMA Sanction to hold a contest? I submit that if the contest site is at an AMA charted club field the answer is no, the sanction is of no added value.</div><div><br></div><div>Keith Hoard, here's a good one for you to stir the pot with. What say you? : )</div><div><br></div><div>Jerry</div><div><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">Budd Engineering</div><div><a href="mailto:jerry@buddengineering.com">jerry@buddengineering.com</a></div><div><a href="http://www.buddengineering.com">http://www.buddengineering.com</a></div></div></body></html>