Why is the attendance at SxS events down?

[Craig Larter]

It seems to me that the attendance at the SxS events I attend have been steadily gone down the last few years. I realize the scheduling conflict this last weekend played a role but many regulars did not attend either event. My take is a couple of issues. The events have become more focused on competitive events over the years in my opinion. That is great if you are a top shooter but most are not. The same 5 or 6 guys compete and the rest sit and cheer our favorite manufacturer. I think many average shooters don't want to spend $1.00 per target knowing they will never qualify. I think a not for score rate with self pulled targets for the first day would encourage more shooter/attendees to participate. Fewer competitive events/classes/gauges/gun styles would make the remaining events more important.
I would also like to see some new guns displayed by the Collector Associations. The same guys keep displaying their guns event after event. How about a display of fresh guns from an individual collector by association and a vote by all attendee's of the best display across all the Collector Associations.
Four day events are way too long for most folks and the cost becomes prohibitive for folks traveling. I think 2 day events would be better for vendors and most traveling shooters.
What say you????