Mark my friend, I could kiss you :-)
And on another note, give me my beat up rating or i'll threaten to kiss you!
Dave has been sending som rather fun private emails too. I'll be interested
to see if he is welcome in 'team SA' this year.
Tom :-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Newton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Dav" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'"
<aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net>
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] WC team
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
----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 -----
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