As these other sports industries increased, we have seen participation in our own sport drop significantly. Neither our members, nor even our boat builders have the budget to compete with these other sports. Conversely, when it stops becoming fun, and starts becoming work, most people will find something a little more fun to do. Winning, is harder still, and winning consistently may be the hardest thing many people will ever try to accomplish. If your fleet puts most of its emphasis on winning, it is probably either losing members, or not living up to its full potential.
Sailboat racing is the core our class, and winning is the reason for racing.
But fun is still the reason we are all here. We need to make our sport fun for ALL participants. Most of us will be making-up our fleet schedules in the near future. A great idea with a poor sales pitch and poor implementation. Mandatory spliting of fleets above 50 boats gets like-talented sailors sailing against each other for something, not just 65th place out of 91 boats.