Another observation is that many new guys see pattern as being all about Master's and FAI and often feel like they are given short shrift at contests. For instance, sacrificing flying the same number of sequences or figures in order to have time for the upper level guys to get their full sequence in. I do however agree that 17 figures is a lot for Sportsman. I can see cutting them to 10 and still being able to start the learning curve. This will likely not save much time at a contest, but it will save a bunch of anguish on the part of a new flyer learning an overly long sequence. I agree with Arch and a lot of what he is saying. But once you get the new guy, you need to make sure you keep him. Using them as the sacrifice to make time for the "real" classes will serve no useful purpose. When I was running the SCAT series I often mentioned that I could care less if I had anyone in Advanced or Unlimited (except of needing judges), but I would be very concerned if there were no Basic or Sportsman pilots.

In D7 this year there have only been 3 Sportsman and 2 Intermediate pilots post scores. That is in contrast to 15 Advanced pilots, 10 Master's, and 7 in FAI.
In 2011 those same classes saw 15 Sportsman, 10 Intermediate, 21 Advanced, 26 Master's, and 9 FAI.
Of course that was the full year and we are only half-way into 2012.

Just my 2 cents from the sidelines.