Ah... this sounds familiar.
mast up storage = slug factor
Lots of events.... not enough racers with time.

For what it's worth. i think cat fleets supporting existing yacht club events has been a huge winner on the West Coast and the Chesapeake. If the conflicting events are run by cat sailors.... maybe they take a well deserved break and take a shot at sailing the new regatta.

Keeping events fresh and exciting is important in both getting new racers to come out and keeping the old dog's interested. Club's that value mast up storage over the right amount of variety tend to run out steam in a couple of years.