There's been a whole bunch of traffic on RCSE about the LSF lately.
I won't attempt to comment on it all, but as a candidate for the presidency of
the LSF there are a few things that I'd like to say. I'll ramble a bit, so if
you're in a hurry you may want to dump this message.
First off, I think that the level of interest is great. I have
been a member of the LSF and a participant in RCSE for many years now. This is
the most activity regarding the LSF that I can recall, by far. It indicates to
me that the LSF members care about their organization and are actively
thinking about where they want soaring to go and what they want it to look
like when it gets there. I hear that folks are even exercising their right to
vote. As my hero Homer says, Yipee!
On voter qualifications: Anybody is qualified to vote who has achieved
Level 1 or higher and corresponded with the LSF within the past 24 months. You
don't even have to pay dues. You do have to pay enough attention to remember
to send the LSF a note with your name and address on it once every couple
years. I personally think that this is liberal enough. If you really wanted to
vote and are ineligible I'm sorry, but we gotta draw a line somewhere and this
one is drawn pretty loosely. I guess if we charged annual dues we could put an
end to the controversy, but I don't really want to go there.
On changes to the Soaring Accomplishment Program: I do not believe that
the current soaring accomplishment program should be changed. The LSF was
started with the sole intent of administering this program, and I believe that
the program is still valid and challenging. I will agree that it's not
something that everybody wants to do. I further believe that not everybody is
capable of doing it. That's what makes it special. If the LSF starts to push a
different program then they are competing with themselves. Doesn't make
much sense to me. What I do see is that the program has grown a set of
dedicated people who are competent enough that the rest of the soaring
community and the AMA are looking to them for leadership. That's pretty
impressive.
On non competitive events: I agree that there is a lot of room for non
competitive or non traditional events. They are a lot of fun, and I enjoy them
a great deal myself. I don't understand why folks don't have more of
them. The LSF officers can encourage folks to hold events (traditional or
otherwise) but the LSF doesn't actually do anything to make them happen. There
is only one event per year that the LSF actually has much of a part in, and
that is the soaring Nats. The LSF will sell you some nice mugs that make dandy
trophies, but that's about all they do. Anybody who wants to hold a non
competitive event just needs to fill out the CD's form and call the event a
Fun Fly, and send it through the usual channels. Show up with your buds and
fly cross country, duration events, inverted limbo, or whatever you think is
fun. All of the events we have, with the exception of the Nats, are locally
run by local clubs and local individuals. If I can give anybody a hand I'd
love to help, I can shag chutes and drink beer with the best of them. But the
simple fact is that the LSF probably won't show up at your field with a
truckload of winches and a busload of volunteers and run your event.
On competitive events: I realize that some folks don't like to compete,
or at least think they don't. When I go to a soaring event I compete with
exactly one person, and that is me. I compete with the same guy when I fly
every time, at a contest or not. Sometimes I whup up on him, sometimes he
beats me. If I'm at a contest then I have a bunch of other folks to socialize
with and learn something from, which is great. The first year I attended
the LSF/AMA Nats I distinguished myself by losing site of my plane and
planting it in a bean field. Mike Stump proclaimed me to be the Mayor of the
Bean Field. If I'd had thin skin I'd probably have left and never come back.
But I figured out that Mike was having fun and I could join him if I chose to.
I decided to hang around and enjoy the abuse, probably one of my better
decisions. The guys that you meet and fly with at contests are a great group
of folks and we all have a ball. Most of us have figured out what is important
at a contest, and it isn't really the trophies. It's the Fun!
happy trails - Rob Glover
