On Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 1:43:40 PM UTC-5, John Cochrane wrote:
My main objection to unrestricted MATs is that they are boring. The right strategy is to find one good area of sky and then plow around it over and over again. If it gets weak, come back home and stick to the 5 turnpoints near the home airport so you make sure not to land out. Often you can win the day with something more daring, but it's not worth the risk.

They have their place. A bunch of us got about 1000k out of a ridge task at Mifflin. It could not have been done by anything else, and a pity to waste the chance on a short AT because some rule book said we had to.

Like UH says. Talk to the CD and task advisers. CDs and task advisers, talk to the pilots.

We have a huge buffet of tasks available: Long MATs, short MATs, MATs with restricted turnpoints, (nobody has called a three turnpoint only MAT. Might be fun!); TATs with a few big areas ("OLC") TATs with a many small areas, (very close to handicapped assigned tasks), and the AT. We ought to be able to keep people happy!

John Cochrane

My personal favorite is the MAT with no turn points allowed to be repeated. It means you must move around, not flying around in some really good little triangle of air. Some guys don't like it because you have to think and you have to go away a bit to ensure you have a nearer in turn point at the end if you need it to tune up the last part of the flight.
That said, we do need to try for variety which certainly can include an AT or 2.
Note that I said AT. There is no task called an AST in the US contest rules..
UH