OK, before anyone else pulls the martyr card; as evidenced on this site, lots of us spend inordinate amounts of time volunteering for the sport. We may heartily disagree at times, but we all put a lot into this.

I agree that lots of effort needs to be spent on growing the sport in many regions, but that is a totally different discussion than managing this event. Indeed, the USSA Championships aren’t known for having large turnouts, that’s totally not the point.

Obviously, having a larger event helps keep the costs down. I do not think having this as a stand-alone event is a good idea. The best format that I’ve seen is to tie in with an existing, non-cat regatta (such as Lipton Cup at Quincy in Area A). This way, all the cats that show up are there to race the elims, and you avoid the issues of people wanting to not join and sail the “fun event,” etc. As a bonus, we get exposure to the mono world.

I couldn't agree more with Jake. Ding took part of my conversation from the other thread, but left out this exact discussion (overall fairness to those that DO comply, and the notion that this is meant to be a PREMIER event).

My other question still stands. Jake, do you know if USSA membership is required for all crew members for the other USSA Champs elims?

If not, let’s change the rule. Having rules without compliance causes more nightmares and bad PR than you can imagine.

Mike