There seems to be a view held by some that competitions only serve the pilots competing.
I also used to have this view since it was put by people I thought should know what they were talking about, but I know now it was naïve and shortsighted. Nothing could be further from the truth. In exactly the same way that local footy clubs would find it harder to recruit new members, most of whom would only ever be recreational players with no chance of getting into the AFL, if the AFL didn't exist. Or we should abandon the Olympics because the chance of anyone actually getting to that level of competition is about zero. Young people see professionals sports people at elite competitions and want to get involved even though few will ever achieve that level. It doesn't matter. It also acts to improve the standards and technology, to the benefit of all members. Especially when you see people like Paul Mander, Bruce Taylor, etc spending significant amount of time putting the skills they have aquired at competitions back into the grass roots membership via coaching. It also helps hosting clubs to generate enthusiasm to improve facilities and earn some money, again to the benefit of the regular members. The 1974 World Comps at Waikerie created huge interest in gliding in Australia at the time, the peak of the GFA membership and clubs, large numbers of gliders imported into Australia, which benefited ALL the 'recreational' pilots for many years to come, not just the 50 odd pilots who competed. The future of gliding in Australia if the effective marketting and promotion of the sport through the wider population, and the development of clubs and other facilities to deliver on the new members expectations when they turn up to give it a try. Competitions or 'sport' is just one element of marketting our sport which allows it to become visable to the wider population and of interest to potential new members. Cheers David -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Newton Sent: Tuesday, 6 December 2005 10:48 PM To: Robert Hart Cc: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] The Future of Gliding Part 2 Robert Hart wrote: >> I think the population of people like that is understated. Terry >> Cubley is promoting the sports side of gliding quite a bit, but only >> about 2% of GFA members seem to front-up to competitions, so I reckon >> his priorities are a tad misguided there. I think the other 98% of >> GFA members are more interested in the social and recreational >> aspects of gliding than its sporting side. > > I'm sorry but that statistic is simply innaccurate. 2% of 3000 > (rounding > the membership numbers) gives us 60 competition pilots. Even if your 15% estimate is accurate, that still means that the intense focus on sports (to the exclusion of "recreation") is misguided. > Furthermore, "sports" does not just mean competitions. Badge flights > are > also part of the sport scene and there are a fair few pilots involved > there. Yup - Pilots in their first few years of gliding. The ones we have trouble retaining. Chasing after the elusive silver or gold badge clearly isn't a significant drawcard for those folks. > I see promoting the competition side of gliding as an important part > of > promoting the sport. Sure -- But at the moment there's precious little focus on anything *except* the competition side. Look at Terry's article from three months ago in Soaring Australia to see what I mean. - mark -------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried an internal modem, [EMAIL PROTECTED] but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 ----- _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.10/189 - Release Date: 30/11/2005 -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.10/189 - Release Date: 30/11/2005 _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
