Not agreeing doesn't make you the authority its only your opinion and you know what they say about opinions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read the ops posts carefully and slowly if you have to. He is interested in competing in scale that means scale like flight as observed from the judges area. Sometimes the wind you are required to fly in is not scale like. Most likely the judges are wanting to see power off flight in something like a fly by, ascending or descending circle which have to be done front and center of the judges with equal and even parts before and after the judges. With a lightly loaded glider type air frame and low penetration this would not be possible without some ballast. This has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with visible representation of scale flight for the judges.

Second of all when talking performance water ballast is often used in full size sailplanes to fine tune the performance. Look up slope and dynamic soaring without ballast the performance they are achieving would not be possible and the amount is adjusted to suit the conditions.

Your statement of a lighter plane always fly's better doesn't ring true in all cases as you would lead us to believe. I have even seen guys flying the 40% in freestyle add ballast to move the CofG back a little further to increase the instability that allows some of the wilder aerobatics when they fly their freestyle routine.

Dennis