From: Jack Iafret <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ...If you do not sandbag... you will probably not have a chance... ... the OVSS...format has evolved over time to be the most fair and really the most fun of any event for a competition sailplane person. ========== and before that, ========= Ray Hayes wrote: > > I have a question, is it really cool for us guys to stand around the winch > waiting for some eager soul to launch and show the air conditions before we > will launch ? Is this a system that will attract new people or is it a > system that will turn off people?
================ and From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I have no interest in competing in a open winch format. If I wanted to just fly against a watch & scores, I could do that from home. ================ Now there are three comments that address the relative fun and attractiveness of MOM and open winch formats. For those who have a bad taste about soaring competitions because they have been exposed only to open winch, give yourself a treat. Fly in a couple of OVSS contests and find out just how much fun you can have in this sport. We at MVSA switched our club contest format to MOM a couple of years ago, and here is what has happened: Participation has increased dramatically, with nearly double the total entries this year versus two years ago. We have attracted several new members. The standard of flying has improved sharply (two of our members won sizeable out-of-town contests this year, yet both of those guys were soundly beaten in the club standings). Activity on non-contest days has grown dramatically, with several members out to practice on just about any sunny day from spring to mid-winter. In short, MOM flying has made our club, and the soaring experience that we as members enjoy, better in every way. As a personal aside, I would add that I hadn't flown in non-club contests for many years, because I felt that in certain cases the reward in open-winch contests is less for flying and more for a certain type of behavior that I didn't want to engage in. After I flew in MOM a couple of times and realized that it was really a test of reading air and flying, I felt my old love of soaring coming back in full measure. Maybe the same would be true for others.
