TOPIC: The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants?

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #791

  • WAYNE NORRIE
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Jim, has the LSF board ever considered making the NATS a series of one day events? It might be more attractive for attendees if, let's say, unlimited consisted of two 1 day events. There would be two opportunities for level 5 wins and you could always announce an overall 2 day winner for bragging rights. Fewer rounds would mean a lower winning score each day so your contest points would be lower but two chances for a win might bring in more contestants.

It would also allow people who cannot stay for 4 days straight to participate in more than one event. I could schedule two days at the NATS and still be able to fly two different disciplines depending on the days I selected.

Wayne

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #792

  • Tom Kallevang
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Wayne,
When I was LSF President, I changed events to make them all two days for a reason, it's seldom a rainout for more than one day ... we had situations where we only flew three rounds of RES on the first day of Unlimited because RES day was rained out.

Maybe XC racing with Radians and golf carts could substitute for the old HL Golf days ... those were fun but I don't see many guys risking $1,000 DLGs trying to knock a bottlecap off a bottle nowadays.

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #793

  • RYAN WOEBKENBERG
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Wayne,

Personally I would much rather have 2 single day events instead of 1 two day event. So I am with you on that idea. But I also know that we are in the vast minority. Most pilots seem to want two day contests.

Jim, I think a mini radian event would be very cool. Maybe Horizon could kick in some kind of prize like they did in the past for some of the Radian events when that was new. My 2014 Nats plans are pretty much set (I'm doing RES and Nostalgia) and I don't know I can do anything else this year though.

Ryan

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #794

  • WAYNE NORRIE
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TK, I was not suggesting that the classes be switched to only one day total. Classes would still fly two consecutive days, it would be back to back 1 day contests with a winner for each day. I would like to think that 2 chances for a level 5 win within each division, (RES, NOS, 2M, Unlimited....) would be a reasonably big draw.

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #795

  • Tom Kallevang
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Might be a tough sell to AMA, they furnish the trophies based on pre-registrations, then LSF pays for additional places if the Board decides to go deeper than AMA's formula allows.

This wouldn't interest me so much, consistency over a couple of days is, to my mind, a better measure, but I'm not so concerned about the hardware as much as relative performance against a group of peers ...

OVSS uses that format, two single-day contests per weekend ... but if a day gets rained out, too bad? If the organization has to refund for a canceled event, that could have a severe impact to the bottom line ... and the Nats is the primary source of revenue for LSF.

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #796

  • RYAN WOEBKENBERG
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I don't think many people are interested in single day contests (I definitely am though. I would absolutely love single day Nats events) but surely awards either are or could easily be a fairly minimal part of the equation. Or at least it should be fairly easy to tweak the contestants to awards ratio to make it work out.

Ryan

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 8 months ago #797

  • WAYNE NORRIE
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Well I'll keep throwing out ideas as I have them.

Wayne

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 2 weeks ago #831

  • GORDY STAHL
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Jim,
We don't need prizes and we sure as heck don't need a square dance after a long day of soaring.
We need LSF Members so....
This one is simple. Make it actually an LSF based event.

You guys call it the LSF Nats, but not once during the start of a class contest, at the pilots meeting have you or anyone else started with a recap of what the LSF is and about, as in how and why it was formed, who the founders were. Not once have you guys taken a minute 'at the start of the pilots meetings' to read of a list OR posted a list of pilot's level completions who were attending the Nats.... or couldn't because they are out of work, in ill health, or lost their homes do to losing their jobs?

Or posted a list of ALL members and their levels, on the board at the NATS?

Or done anything to promote LSF participation while at the NATS.

The current board is nothing more than the LSF Contest committee, it is not the LSF Board elected to promote the LSF Program.
How many new LSF program pilots have you guys signed up at the NATS during your administration. That's not a rhetorical question, I want to know how many? Did you post a note in your newsletter after each Nats stating how many were signed up? Or how many pilots completed levels by attending?
Want more LSF members to attend the NATS, make it about the LSF.
When I mentioned I might consider President of the LSF at the last Toledo show, your response was that I wasn't experienced enough, that I would have to have Nats management experience. You are wrong. If the NATs didn't happen the LSF Program would still continue.... but you guys wouldn't have a week of "Glider Camp".
Name a single rc soaring pilot with more experience with rc soaring in the world, and mentoring LSF program pilots than me. Now name one that's also an LSF5.
Yup I said that.
Gordy

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 2 weeks ago #833

  • JAMES C. DECK
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Years ago, the LSF stepped in to organize and run the AMA R/C soaring event and has done its best to make the AMA NATS one of the nation's premier events. It offers R/C soaring events across the spectrum of R/C soaring embraced by the LSF. Does it take up a lot of the LSF officers' time? Yes, it does but the contribution to the whole R/C soaring community is worth it.
As for promoting the LSF at the NATS, over the years I was LSF Secretary, I enrolled several new members during the NATS. Probably as many as I did during stints in the LSF booth at Toledo. Two years ago, the LSF NATS "Spirit of Soaring" award went to a young man who signed up as an aspirant his first day there and managed to complete all of his Level I tasks while competing in events at that NATS.
LSF officers attend the NATS at their own expense often arriving a day early to ensure everything is in order and helping out on days they do not compete. By the way, CD's at the NATS are not allowed to compete in the event they CD. They come at their own expense and donate two full days of their time to help others enjoy the NATS experience. All of the NATS volunteers do the same. As all of them are LSF members, it's a demonstration of how much the LSF supports R/C soaring.
The camaraderie of LSF members at the NATS is as important as the competition and the opportunity to earn LSF competition points. It's my personal feeling that NATS attendees know that it's put on by the LSF and they don't need their precious time there interrupted by LSF commercials

The LSF NATS - how can it attract more entrants? 9 years 2 weeks ago #834

  • RYAN WOEBKENBERG
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One of the drivers in contest participation is attendance of the best of the best. When the best of the best attend a contest that for whatever reason drives others excitement about attending the contest. It seems to have a snowball affect. When one elite pilot attends then that gets other elite pilots interested which gets more of the regular pilots interested and the whole thing snowballs. To that end one idea to entice participation of the best of the best is to offer some kind of travel support funding.

Ryan
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