handicap for olc club scores based on # of soarable days?

The clubs in the southwest have a clear advantage and will always win OLC. Should there be a handicap system like we have for our gliders based on geographic location?

That's why there is scoring for each SSA Region

Have you really looked at the weather in Houston? It's not particularly good at all, yet the Soaring Club of Houston does well on OLC nearly every year.

On Monday, 27 March 2017 02:26:47 UTC+2, Blake Seese 3Y wrote:
The clubs in the southwest have a clear advantage and will always win OLC.. Should there be a handicap system like we have for our gliders based on geographic location?

This has been discussed here before. Such a scoring system would be too onerous to manage. Just think for a moment:
How would one score a soaring club which lives near a mountain range and normally flies in ridge lift or wave vs a flatland club that relies solely on thermic lift?
Who records the number of windy days, the strength and direction of the wind and computes a daily handicap for a specific club? How will winds aloft be recorded if they diverge from forecast models?
The same goes for flights using thermal activity ... how strong are the thermals, how high is the cloud base, etc.

OLC is nice for checking out what soaring activities are taking place around the world but it's by no means a fair, comparative scoring system and it never will be. That's what gliding competitions are for (everyone flies on the same day in the same weather conditions).

On Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 7:35:14 PM UTC-5, Tony wrote:
That's why there is scoring for each SSA Region

What Tony said. Just concentrate on winning the Champion and Speed Champion position in your Region. They seem to have been selected to have fairly uniform weather conditions.
Herb

Yeah - Except for that north / south thing

Lou

On Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 7:56:54 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Have you really looked at the weather in Houston? It's not particularly good at all, yet the Soaring Club of Houston does well on OLC nearly every year.

It may not be all that tall, but it is much more consistent than you give it credit for being. Try competing with them when flying in Kansas on equal years and you will see what I am talking about. Their days start much earlier and last at least as late. SCOH does well because they have a good group of pilots that can and do fly a lot.

But, OLC is really not a "contest". It is a place to share what you have done. Fly and enjoy!

Steve Leonard