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Good morning Emilis,
I don't see the
problem.
The "Come lately rich users", to use
your terms (& that possibly indicates a bit of an issue in itself) have no
more rights and no lesser obligation than the rest of the
Membership.
There will or should always be a
route into the Sport for those on a budget and those who thrive on Club Life ...
that is a valid way to pursue the sport, just as there should always be
encouragement for the interest in Historics etc. What I do say however, is
that a 12 or 18 month drip-feed Club Training regime is not attractive to
some & possibly many potential new members.
So I'll have a crack at answering
each of your Items:
What's in it for the training organization - Those that
want to learn quickly or intensively or professionally should be encouraged or
directed by the GFA to the organizations that offer that service, and as I have
said yesterday the GFA should promote to attract those people. The Clubs should
continue to teach those that are on a tight budget or who crave the Club
atmosphere ... and the GFA should also continue to promote to those
people.
But I say that the GFA, the Clubs and the Sport as a
whole would benefit if new recruits are trained as quickly as possible, are solo
and are actively flying (be they doing that in Club machines or their own
Gliders) ... and I wonder if reliable figures are available on the drop-out
rate of those that go to the trouble to initially contact a Club and don't
proceed to solo flying.
What's in it for the GFA - More members who do
more flying in the existing fleet & the potential for more ships coming
onto the local register, a more vibrant sport, more volunteers, more fun
and more posts on this forum.
What's in it for the Sport generally short & long
term - More members and more flying is good - whether they are rich or poor.
With the requirements that all members belong to a Club, all Clubs will benefit
from an injection of new members. But more than that .... I reckon that the
trend in Gliding will surely move further to self launchers and unless a
structure is in place to handle and cater for that, with those owners then
wanting to fly from a variety of Clubs & airfields, then the sport will
not benefit.
Re your bracketed Items:
Surely all members will still be required to register
thru a Club and this should always, in my view, be a user pays sport where
the Clubs need to charge accordingly ...... but if you are saying that the only
way the Sport should proceed is that all members must act as field runners etc
for 8 hour/day in return for a 1 hour flight then you are ignoring the fact that
I think is restricting Gliding, and that is that all citizens have extra
pressure on their time than they did 35 years ago .... not to mention that tens
of other sports/activities which offer the quick-fix/get your thrill and go
home, which people demand these days.
Who pays up front - We all do and the lesser the
members that are in the sport the more expensive it will be. The Sport will
decline from lack of members, not an influx from the "Come lately rich users",
to use your term.
Those that are doing it tough - That is no different to
any other of life's circumstances and as long as the controlling body ensures
that all forms of Gliding remain valid then I really don't see the issue. My
experience (albeit limited) has been that the owners of new equipment aren't
trying to push anybody out ... and I think the increased or enhanced use of
Handicaps will see more of the older machines kicking arse. Please provide
examples of where others are being pushed out, because I just haven't seen it
down my way.
What do you propose Emilis ... to
ban self-launchers and anything that reflect the "Come lately rich users"?
Re the Forces of Darkness to which you elude ....
I have to say that from what I have seen from Bob Hart & John Welsh and
others recently, I am optimistic that they are wanting to address their demons
and make progress. If there are issues that are really tearing the sport apart,
then lets have 'em out on the table and address 'em right up front.
I for one am looking forward with
optimism, not only to next summer, but to the future of the Sport.
Regards Geoff
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