It' s not tearing everyone down, Bill. I' ll admit I' m pretty negative, though, watching the recurve unaided class go down the tubes like this, though. 90+ in 2001, 65 in 2002 and with the addition of the new HR class, 27 in 2003. I don' t think we have to confer with Nostradamus to see what' s happening. Recruiting new shooters? Damn, I' ve been doing all I can. Jade Smith showed up after I recruited him into the class and took third place for his efforts but that bumped the class up from 26 shooters to 27 shooters.

Being able to say " I told you so" isn' t much of a consolation. And I won' t be the one declaring the end of the RU class. Ken will. That' s what happens when there' s no interest in the class and the rule changes in 2002 that I predicted would turn the RU class into a skeleton crew did exactly that and it wasn' t me that " tore it down" .

It doesn' t matter how optimistic and positive someone is. If they look at a completely empty glass and still insist it' s " half full" , they' re beyond optimistic - they' re deluded. I was considering taking vacation time and days of travel to compete in all three of the " triple crown" events as well as the Worlds next year. But after seeing that the RU class was reduced by 70 percent of an already skinny roster in the space of one short year, it simply isn' t worth it. And I know I' m not the only one that feels that way.

I guess I should be dancing for joy, Bill, but I can' t seem to find the rose colored glasses I need to see how wonderful this is.