Wow, what can I say, but bravo, there has been a real change at
the head of the Competition Committee

Bill Hughes, Competition Committee Chairman,
<wjhughesjr> writes:

I've gotten some feedback from people on the issues below, and
here is a quick summary of the consensus, on the issues where one is forming.
Please continue to comment and provide feedback. Many thanks to everyone who
already has.

And if it is not clear to everyone, the issues that I have brought up are not
"my" issues, they are ones that various pilots, meet directors, and BOD members
asked that I bring up for discussion. So in answer to one of bits of helpful
feedback I got, no, I did not take this completely thankless job to kill
competition in the US, those who have come before me have done a fine job of
that already. I'm trying to work with everyone to increase participation in our
competitions, while also being responsive to the input and requests of the
members. Merely mentioning something in an email and requesting feedback on it
is not the same thing as it being a done deal. All constructive ideas on any
topic related to improve the scene are welcome.

1) Lifting the restriction on Open Class Paragliders for 2014: no feedback on
this or consensus yet.

2) National trophies that rotate or stay at USHPA HQ. There is not enough
support for this, so it is dropped.

3) Podium. Several organizers pointed out that USHPA is not even publishing all
of the winner's photos that have been taken and sent in in the past, which is an
excellent point. So the podium issue is dropped at least until we get consistent
publication of winners' photos in the magazine (in whatever form the organizers
take them).

4) There actually already is a banner, but it hasn't been consistently sent or
used. I suggest that USHPA send this to the organizers at no cost with return
postage paid for promotional use as they see fit. Many have said they want to
use their own banners, which is fine, but in most cases it seems that both
banners could be present and visible. Any issues with that approach? This puts
little to no burden on organizers.

5) XContest system. This idea places burden on no one but myself and I received
mainly positive or no feedback on it so I plan on taking this forward if the
budget is approved. I will work with the comp committee and community on the
structure and rules. Dave had a great suggestion that this be broken up by
region so that, for example, people flying Chelan are not comparing themselves
to people flying somewhere back east. I like this idea.

6) Satellite messengers: The consensus seems to be that the hang gliding pilots
see it as an unneeded burden and the paragliding pilots like it, so unless more
input comes we will recommend it stay a paragliding comp requirement but not a
requirement for hang gliding comps.

7) Centralized system for comp registration. On this suggestion I agree with
Davis that we should wait until USHPA has a prototype working that the
organizers can evaluate. So unless there are further comments this is tabled
until then.

8) Mandatory CAT 2 sanctioning: The hang gliding pilots are uniformly against
this, so the matter is dropped for them unless there is further input otherwise.
For paragliding comps there are those that support this and those that think
that it merely needs to clearly be stated in the advertising and website for a
comp whether it will be CAT 2 sanctioned. So this requires further discussion.

9) Bonds for Organizers (new). There is a suggestion that the criteria be
clearly stated for what an organizer must do to get the bond back. I agree, and
like Mike P's suggestion that the criteria basically be that the organizer
adhered to what they stated during the sanctioning process. If someone would
like to draft language I will take it to the team for approval, otherwise I'll
draft something for review by all.

As for the issue of whether all Organizers or just first time Organizers who
have not gone through mentoring should have to pay bonds, there is mixed
feedback. Some believe that the bond is there to ensure that organizers do what
they say they will do, regardless of experience. Others believe that experienced
organizers shouldn't have to put one up. So this requires more discussion and a
consensus/ decision.

One clear bit of feedback I got is that we should strive to help organizers and
minimize their burden, which I generally agree with. So on any issue where there
is lack of consensus, I'm going to recommend the option that favors the
organizers.