[NSRCA-dist8] 2015 contest schedule

[Arthur F. Kelly]

Gordon,

Thanks for raising an important topic. I agree that the current format of contests is too tight (every two weeks +/-). I have no idea of the "perfect" number. This year we had 10 scheduled, so perhaps 7 or 8? And they need to be strategically positioned, on the calendar and geographically.

It's important to consider this question over a period of several years. How will it impact participation? In D-8 we always need to recruit new pilots. (Same in all Districts.)  How far is a pilot willing to drive for h/h first contest? I'm assuming that the D-8 clubs that currently produce the highest number of pattern pilots are tapped out for many more new pattern pilots. And, by extension, I'm assuming that the greatest potential for new pilots is from clubs/areas that don't currently have many. So, strategically positioned contests can do a lot to help recruiting.

For all of us there is a "too far to drive" point. For some it's 50 miles, for some it's 400. (For you, Meri and Rex it's somewhere west of the Mississippi, for which we are all grateful.) Early on in my fragmented pattern career I had the impression that the District Contest was the go to contest, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Under the by-laws it must always be the last contest of the season and it has always been (in my memory) somewhere at the geographic corners of the district. Seems to me that the District Contest should be as centrally located in the district as possible. That way it would fit within the the "not too far to drive" parameters of most D-8 members.  Maybe if D-8 were broken into a few regions we could have 2 "accessible" contests in each region and those who do well would have added incentive to get to a centrally located District Contest? It would be imperative that CD's of regional contests learn the scoring system and matrix process and it's likely that these contests would be Sportsman, Intermediate and Advanced? 

I may be off base, but my two cents worth.

Art

On Jul 22, 2014, at 8:03 PM, Gordon Anderson via NSRCA-dist8 wrote:

> All,
> 
> I would like to make a proposal for the 2015 contest season. This is nothing official its just food for thought as we progress through the 2014 season. I think we have too many contests, the summer is full with events every two weeks. This is a small district and I think we would be better served with fewer contests. My wife Meri had a great suggestion that I think we should consider, lets have one contest per month starting in May and ending in October. This would be 6 contests with several weeks between each contest. This can only happen if all the CDs work together and we develop the 2015 plan soon. So lets start discussing the 2015 schedule!
> 
> --Gordon
> 
> 
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