I find it ironic that after being away from C/L for 45 years, and just now starting to learn the art, that I see this happening. I've spent the last 35 years flying sailplanes, and still enjoy that competition tremendously. What brought me back to C/L is the beauty of actually building again. My competition sailplanes all come out of hard tooling, c/f, kevlar, and f/g. Things of beauty, no way a hand built airframe can beat them in competition. Load up the radio gear, set the programing, trim fly a bit, and enjoy. But no real building... I admit to having a couple of consumables (ARFs) to get me down the learning curve a bit sooner, but for me there's no substitute for the satisfaction of cutting and sanding balsa. Last year I went to the VSC to watch the skill, enjoy the sound and smell, and even ran into a fellow that had tried to help me learn c/l in Kentucky back in the early sixties. What a thrill. I'm sorry that it may not continue until I can get to a skill level that I can compete. It's sad to think that this hobby may die a premature death from the inside, since it is already under pressure from many outside aspects. Maybe I got back too late. Or, maybe I'll skip work and go practice tomorrow!
(Mike, The Radian is a hoot and will actually thermal quite nicely. Be careful, you may get hooked. Thermals!)