Time to chime...
IMO, sport kite competition these days is driven mostly by the competitor community. After all, they pay most of the way, so why shouldn't their needs come first and foremost?
As much as this statement sounds reasonable, it's really self-limiting. Take awards banquets for instance...who attends them? Mainly the same group of kite people...so in effect any gains for the promoter could have easily been done by raising the competition fees or other such method...sometimes I get the feeling that, for whatever reason, we don't want 'outside' influences on the sport. Heck, didn't I hear grumblings & rumblings last year at an event when the raffle kite was won by a spectator instead of a competitor?
As for judging...this sport will *never* be taken seriously outside of our own little community until there is some formal recognition of a judge's abilities & integrity outside of the 'friends/family/fellow competitors' network. The quality and organization of sport kite judging is IMO, the single most important issue today (even more than getting new fliers in) because, as Bill paraphrases, if you don't trust what the judges do, then what's the point of competition in the first place...
Regards,
Cal