Wow.
I was going to write a reply to that, but it appears Mark has done it for me. Thankyou!
Firstly, there are a number of reasons that Juniors choose to attend Joeyglide.
Some have aspirations of winning the competition, and they will gear themselves throughout the competition, not drink etc, in order to win. All the pilots are well informed of the problems about dehydration, and I don't think anyone at the last competition was stupid enough to risk their safety for the sake of a drink.
In my own case, JoeyGlide was an opportunity for a SOCIAL week of flying with other pilots my own age. I don't get enough time off during the year to hone my skills thoroughly enough to be up in the top 5, so I go to fly as well as I can, but also to enjoy one of the few holidays I get per year. I've been flying for almost 10 years now, and competition still doesn't rate all that highly for me. I'm stoked if I get in the top 10 on any particular day, but it isn't the only reason to be there!
I'm very much looking forward to this year's Joeyglide, and I'd like to knock off a 500 whilst I'm there, but I'm also looking forward to having a drink or two with the many "characters" that I've met in the past comps. And I'm sure they don't mind the opportunity to heckle me a little either whilst we're all around the bar :-) I don't think we can deny the importance of social interaction in terms of retaining Juniors in the sport. After all, have some of the older members considered that being around people the same age with same interests is one of the prime motivations for going to the club on the weekend?
Anyway, I'll leave it there for now. Bring on JoeyGlide 2006 !
Cheers,
Gus
On 6/5/06, Mark Newton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dav wrote:
> Mark said:
>> perhaps for lots of attendees Joey Glide is more about having fun
>> with friends than about the actual competition...?)
>
> Call me old fashioned, but I thought competition was what a contest was for.
You're looking at it as a one-dimensional axis, where the only important
thing is the competitiveness. I suspect most of the attendees have a mix
of priorities and goals when they attend.
>> When 90% of the pilots attending the comp aren't flying competitively,
>> maybe that doesn't matter so much (see next comment)
>
> Then as I said a regatta/camp style event might be a better option?
Maybe the 95% of pilots who attend who aren't hotshots view it as if
it already -is- a regatta/camp. After all, apart from scale, what's
the difference anyway? Hold a club regatta and hand out bottles of
wine^H^H^H^Hred cordial to the winners; Hold a championship and hand
out trophies and prestige. If you're not standing on the podium during
the presentation ceremony it really makes very little difference.
Not that I'm wanting to suggest that you're usurping the Juniors' abilities
to make their own informed decisions here, but have you actually /asked/
any of them about how highly they rated competitiveness when they
attended? Nothing loses respect more than someone their father's age
telling them what their priorities are supposed to be without listening
to find out what their priorities *actually are*.
You work in a school, so I suspect you know this. But for some reason
that knowledge isn't important to you right now.
>> I also firmly believe that junior events should be alcohol free during the
>> event after experiencing the last Joey glide.
>> Well, gee, that'll see them flocking to the event, won't it?
>
> It won't make any difference to under 18's, of whom 16, more than 30%
> attended the last Joey glide Mark as it is *illegal* for them to drink.
> Unless you think they should be drinking underage?
> Mark, do you think drinking alcohol still at Midnight before a flying
> contest day is appropriate?
What I think about that isn't relevant, because regardless of whether
or not I approve, the attendees will make their own decisions.
Just like they will regardless of whether or not you approve too.
Might I also suggest that in my experience a far greater influence than
money on whether or not a "junior" takes up gliding is the presence or
absence of authoritarian figures expressing disapproval of their culture
and telling them what to do. A teenager will spend a *LOT* of money to
do something they love, but they'll stay away in droves if they're
disrespected while they're doing it. And there's strange about that; I
bet you stay away from places where you're disrespected too.
> Incidentally I am not a wowser; I don't mind the odd drink or 3 myself! Just
> not during competitions by relatively inexperienced pilots, where
> dehydration is an ever present and very real danger. It's the example set to
> under 18s and as a father I feel it is totally appropriate that I comment
> about this matter!
No problem with you commenting on it. And I admire the parental role
you're playing there, and suspect that more kids would be a lot better
off if more parents did precisely what you're doing...
... but we're not really talking about the example you provide to your
son. I think we're talking more about the example you wished everyone else
provided to your son instead.
> And yes some people define fun as drinking Caleb. My concern is the example
> set for under 18s!
Maybe the attendees of the event don't see it as their role to provide an
example to under-18's? Young people these days have enough responsibility
and expectation already without imposing a parental role on them as well.
> I hasten to add it was drinking very late at night rather than a few around
> the bar after flying I thought inappropriate. On 3 occasions I had to get
> out of bed to turn down music which was rattling the walls of my caravan 20
> metres away after midnight!!!!! Perhaps a 10 o'clock bar service curfew for
> competitors would be more acceptable rather than a total ban?
If you want an event that nobody will come to, that'd be a wonderful
idea. But I think before you start talking about curfews and turning
the music down you should watch the movie "Footloose" (in all its highbrow
social commentary brilliance :-)
You've set up your caravan 20 metres away from a bunch of 20 year olds
at an event specifically organized for their enjoyment, then you complain
about the music? Geez, Dave, what the hell did you expect?
Perhaps what you're writing there is evidence of my contention above,
that many of the "competitors" measured their reason for being at the
event as a region in a multi-dimensional space? If a junior wants to
have a hard-core comp where the only important thing is winning they can
go to the club class nationals. If they want a mix of other stuff,
bring on JoeyGlide.
> Fact is the top placed people at the last Joey glide did not drink much at
> all during the comp indicating they were there to compete on the contest
> days, and not party until the end. They wanted to compete and did, strongly.
Sounds like a successful event, then. The ones who wanted to compete
did, the ones who wanted to socialize and do a bit of flying on the
side did, and everyone enjoyed the experience. Well -- Everyone who
didn't set up their caravan 20m from the speakers did, anyway.
There should be more of it. Bring it on.
- mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I tried an internal modem, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton
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