To John Cochrane, Uncle Hank....and all the guys on the Rules Committee.

Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), and you're donating your time and doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the flying
aspects too much. Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs to
professionals who are better qualified than I. Charlie Spratt once told me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". I'm thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this all
the time when you're kicking our asses? You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they just
landed.....and they did. The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes it
worth doing. May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). Kill all the (soaring) lawyers.
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, less penalization for landouts, less rules, less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for them
and fare better in those results.


J4

On Jan 24, 8:39*am, "John Bojack" wrote:
Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), *and you're donating your time and doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. * Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the flying
aspects too much. * *Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. * * *I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs to
professionals who are better qualified than I. * Charlie Spratt once told me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". * I'm thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this all
the time when you're kicking our asses? *You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. * A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they just
landed.....and they did. * *The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. * * Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. *Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) *said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes it
worth doing. * May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). *Kill all the (soaring) lawyers..
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, *less penalization for landouts, *less rules, *less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. * While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for them
and fare better in those results.

J4

It's interesting that the example you provide is a scenario that
doesn't happen now because the RC revised day devaluation in a way
that eliminates day killing by guys who choose not to go on course.
Should we have stopped improving the rules and skipped this change?
As we all learn, and the sport evolves, the rules do change, but these
are not massive. It takes the same skill sets to win today as it did 5
yr ago and the same skill sets to compete at the world level.
Re WGC rules; They use a combination of common rules and some "local"
rules which we don't. They also have stewards on site to interpret and
apply them. Pilots have ground folks to provide tactical advise as to
how to take advantage of subtleties in scoring such as when you get a
higher score if you land out than if you finish. Our scoring formulas
have evolved to be closer to WGC in terms of distance vs speed. This
has reduced the "penalization" for landouts.
Task selection is according to the guide to the rules, supposed to be
a mix of task types. It is up to the CD's and task advisors to apply
this correctly. At one time we considered a hard rule to enforce this,
but abandoned it due to the high likelyhood that contest days would be
lost due to failure to comply with the hard mix specified.
We get about 50-60 suggestions for changes from pilots and organizers
each year. Each is considered. Some are good ideas which we try to use
to make the sport better for all of us. Most go in the scrap bin. We
consider changes carefully. Sometimes we miss the mark. But we do not
tyhink that we should just stop trying to make the sport better.
There will always be a few vocal critics that won't agree with our
actions. This forum provides a great place for them to vent. Just
because they are loud or angry however, doesn't make them right.
Our basic philosophy is and will remain that out rules are very good,
though complex just below the surface, and that they should evolve
through small change.
Thanks for your comments- we do take them seriously.
UH

On Jan 24, 7:17*am, wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:39*am, "John Bojack" wrote:



Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), *and you're donating your time and doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. * Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the flying
aspects too much. * *Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. * * *I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs to
professionals who are better qualified than I. * Charlie Spratt once told me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". * I'm thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this all
the time when you're kicking our asses? *You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. * A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they just
landed.....and they did. * *The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. * * Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. *Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) *said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes it
worth doing. * May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). *Kill all the (soaring) lawyers.
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, *less penalization for landouts, *less rules, *less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. * While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for them
and fare better in those results.

J4

It's interesting that the example you provide is a scenario that
doesn't happen now because the RC revised day devaluation in a way
that eliminates day killing by guys who choose not to go on course.
Should we have stopped improving the rules and skipped this change?
As we all learn, and the sport evolves, the rules do change, but these
are not massive. It takes the same skill sets to win today as it did 5
yr ago and the same skill sets to compete at the world level.
Re WGC rules; They use a combination of common rules and some "local"
rules which we don't. They also have stewards on site to interpret and
apply them. Pilots have ground folks to provide tactical advise as to
how to take advantage of subtleties in scoring such as when you get a
higher score if you land out than if you finish. Our scoring formulas
have evolved to be closer to WGC in terms of distance vs speed. This
has reduced the "penalization" for landouts.
Task selection is according to the guide to the rules, supposed to be
a mix of task types. It is up to the CD's and task advisors to apply
this correctly. At one time we considered a hard rule to enforce this,
but abandoned it due to the high likelyhood that contest days would be
lost due to failure to comply with the hard mix specified.
We get about 50-60 suggestions for changes from pilots and organizers
each year. Each is considered. Some are good ideas which we try to use
to make the sport better for all of us. Most go in the scrap bin. We
consider changes carefully. Sometimes we miss the mark. But we do not
tyhink that we should just stop trying to make the sport better.
There will always be a few vocal critics that won't agree with our
actions. This forum provides a great place for them to vent. Just
because they are loud or angry however, doesn't make them right.
Our basic philosophy is and will remain that out rules are very good,
though complex just below the surface, and that they should evolve
through small change.
Thanks for your comments- we do take them seriously.
UH

Warren Buffet famously says he won't invest in any company whose
business he doesn't understand.

It seems there are pilots who won't fly in contests whose rules they
don't understand.

Simplicity is beauty.

Bill Daniels
(Who remembers contest rules from 1960)

"bildan" wrote in message
...
On Jan 24, 7:17 am, wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:39 am, "John Bojack" wrote:

Warren Buffet famously says he won't invest in any company whose
business he doesn't understand.

It seems there are pilots who won't fly in contests whose rules they
don't understand.

Simplicity is beauty.

Bill Daniels
(Who remembers contest rules from 1960)


I used to enjoy soaring contests, from the ground. Watching the gliders come
home, distant gray plumes of no longer needed water, then the whistling
sound as they'd come blazing through the gate to the cheers of those
gathered. All gone in the name of safety.

How do you promote something the public can't even see? Some have tried
making it a "video game" to watch on TV - - that's good too, but hollow
without the visceral experience of the old finish gate.

bumper
zz
Minden
QV & MKIII (the best cheapest toys for you glider)

In article ,
"John Bojack" wrote:

Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), and you're donating your time and doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the flying
aspects too much. Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs to
professionals who are better qualified than I. Charlie Spratt once told me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". I'm thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this all
the time when you're kicking our asses? You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they just
landed.....and they did. The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes it
worth doing. May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). Kill all the (soaring) lawyers.
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, less penalization for landouts, less rules, less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for them
and fare better in those results.


J4

Well said J4!

WB

There is a process for changing rules and changes are not based on some whim
of a rules committee member. One of the steps in this process includes an
annual competition pilots poll and it is rare to never that a significant
change is adopted where the pilots voted against it. The bottom line is that
most pilots want these changes.

As for bringing back "the good old days"- no thanks. Cameras and film
developing, daredevil starts, AT's with their mass landouts and thunderstorm
probing are not for me ( anymore).

As to the increased fees mentioned by Chip, factor in inflation and there
has been no increase.

It is easy to fire off a post about putting "fun" back in competition or
making the rules simpler. But without a suggestion about how to achieve
these goals the writer is engaged in idle, cabin fever chatter. This will
evaporate in April.

For those pilots who think the rules are too complicated (and have read
them, which probably eliminates the majority) what specific rule would you
suggest eliminating/simplifying?

Another aspect of rules writing that can make them seem complicated and be a
turn off to the rulees is the amount of verbiage used. The SSA contest rules
could probably be dehydrated down to half the current content, but the cost
would be an increase in interpretation required in the field. On the other
hand, there are rules that could use even more specificity. In the end it is
guess at what seems practical.

One item that has been incorporated into nationals this year (regionals last
year) is the "start anywhere" rule change favored by a majority on the pilot
poll. In an effort to simplify it "anywhere" has been defined as the front
half of the cylinder. Still, this adds a new (and interesting) dimension to
the task which some may find unwelcome.

As pointed out earlier, the aspect of whether competition is growing or
shrinking depends on how the stats are arranged. However, attendance at
contests has not shrunk to the same degree as SSA membership in the last 25
years as it has gone from 18,000 to 12,000. By this measure contest flying
is a shining example of success. It will be interesting to note any impact
of the current economic blowout on contest attendance.

Karl Striedieck




"bildan" wrote in message
...
On Jan 24, 7:17 am, wrote:
On Jan 24, 8:39 am, "John Bojack" wrote:



Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this
rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), and you're donating your time and
doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the
flying
aspects too much. Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he
never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's
complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs
to
professionals who are better qualified than I. Charlie Spratt once told
me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". I'm
thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight
trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up
and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another
sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this
all
the time when you're kicking our asses? You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough
day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on
the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they
just
landed.....and they did. The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed
with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes
it
worth doing. May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted
pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). Kill all the (soaring) lawyers.
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, less penalization for landouts, less rules, less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for
them
and fare better in those results.

J4

It's interesting that the example you provide is a scenario that
doesn't happen now because the RC revised day devaluation in a way
that eliminates day killing by guys who choose not to go on course.
Should we have stopped improving the rules and skipped this change?
As we all learn, and the sport evolves, the rules do change, but these
are not massive. It takes the same skill sets to win today as it did 5
yr ago and the same skill sets to compete at the world level.
Re WGC rules; They use a combination of common rules and some "local"
rules which we don't. They also have stewards on site to interpret and
apply them. Pilots have ground folks to provide tactical advise as to
how to take advantage of subtleties in scoring such as when you get a
higher score if you land out than if you finish. Our scoring formulas
have evolved to be closer to WGC in terms of distance vs speed. This
has reduced the "penalization" for landouts.
Task selection is according to the guide to the rules, supposed to be
a mix of task types. It is up to the CD's and task advisors to apply
this correctly. At one time we considered a hard rule to enforce this,
but abandoned it due to the high likelyhood that contest days would be
lost due to failure to comply with the hard mix specified.
We get about 50-60 suggestions for changes from pilots and organizers
each year. Each is considered. Some are good ideas which we try to use
to make the sport better for all of us. Most go in the scrap bin. We
consider changes carefully. Sometimes we miss the mark. But we do not
tyhink that we should just stop trying to make the sport better.
There will always be a few vocal critics that won't agree with our
actions. This forum provides a great place for them to vent. Just
because they are loud or angry however, doesn't make them right.
Our basic philosophy is and will remain that out rules are very good,
though complex just below the surface, and that they should evolve
through small change.
Thanks for your comments- we do take them seriously.
UH

Warren Buffet famously says he won't invest in any company whose
business he doesn't understand.

It seems there are pilots who won't fly in contests whose rules they
don't understand.

Simplicity is beauty.

Bill Daniels
(Who remembers contest rules from 1960)

On Jan 24, 9:28*am, Berry wrote:
In article ,
*"John Bojack" wrote:



Are you guys getting the message that we're tired of the constant rule
changes?

Listen...admittedly you guys are brilliant minds, leaders in your
professions (which are also related tecnically to this rules/mathematical
interpretation of soaring-thing), *and you're donating your time and doing
what you think is best to improve soaring contests. * Thank You!
But.....

Perhaps this constant tweaking and re-creating is de-emphasizing the flying
aspects too much. * *Analagous to the days of pre-GPS where a good map
reader could best another (superior flying) pilot simply because he never
got lost....now one can best another pilot simply (no....it's complicated)
because he interprets and uses these (complex) rules better. * * *I don't do
my own taxes, nor take out my own gall-bladder.....but defer these jobs to
professionals who are better qualified than I. * Charlie Spratt once told me
"These guys STUDY the rules and USE them to their advantage". * I'm thinking
of hiring a "soaring contest analyst advisor" who I can hand my flight trace
over to upon landing and then be advised by them to drop a day, claim
whatever various bonuses I may have qualified for, or to just give up and
go home because I have no statistical chance of winning.... (another sore
spot--- come on you big guns, poor sportsmanship to just leave when you
can't win.....what if the rest of us, your usual cannon-fodder, did this all
the time when you're kicking our asses? *You'd be left all alone in your
sand box.)

Back to the rules....

Example....flying at a past Newcastle contest one year there was a tough day
when only one pilot (a local guy flying a 1-35) got around the course. * A
gaggle of his fellow-class competitors counted the number of gliders on the
ground while rounding the second (airport) turnpoint, clandestinely
conferred, and realized there wouldn't be a valid contest day if they just
landed.....and they did. * *The finisher got ZERO credit/points/recognition
for his effort. * * Your rules sometimes reward the wrong pilots. *Granted
this is a simplified example and it was probably safer to have landed with
everyone else, but it makes a point.

Henry (Romeo) *said it well.....it's a tough sport, but that's what makes it
worth doing. * May the adventuresome, supremely-skilled and undaunted pilots
amongst us prevail (safely, of course). *Kill all the (soaring) lawyers.
(also Shakespearean, R).

Less TATs, *less penalization for landouts, *less rules, *less rule
changes.....PLEEEEEASE. * While at it, let's align the USA contests more
with the world championship competitions so we can get practiced for them
and fare better in those results.

J4

Well said J4!

WB

Hmmmm...

I think it's important to separate out disagreement about any
particular rule versus whether the rules should be "frozen" in some
state. I for one LIKE the idea that the rules evolve - not because I
think it confers some advantage to students of the rules, but because
it improves the sport over time. I, too, remember the days of
Instamatic cameras, visually sighted start and finish gates (with and
without speed or height limits) and getting hopelessly lost in haze so
dense you could barely make out the ground directly beneath you. I
still miss the "worm burner" finishes, but you can have the rest - and
a lot of people think you can take the worm burners too (JJ? ;-))

Obviously, technology like GPS has made a huge difference. Few would
argue that the associated rule changes to support GPS are bad, and we
are now seeing introduction of new technologies like SPOT and FLARM
that could change things for the better in unforseen ways if we have
the vision to take advantage of them. But, put aside for the moment
the big technological shifts. You only need to go back a few years to
find things like changes in the finish rules that took a few years to
evolve, but have lead to rules that are simpler, fairer, safer and
easier to manage in the cockpit.

Given the issues of safety and fairness it seems prudent to evolve the
rules slowly over time - with due consideration for unnecessary
"churn" in rulemaking. I haven't seen the net benefit of a few recent
changes and proposals, but I see the value in letting the process play
out.

These aren't massive changes that require wholesale re-thinking of
racing strategy, but we also all know soaring has always had a
significant mental element. It's what so many people like about racing
- it makes you think really hard. I find a few things new to think
about every year - even without changes in the rules. Yes, by studying
the few changes in rules every year you might be able to figure out
something to save you a couple of minutes on course - maybe,
sometimes. I'd observe that the RC is trying hard to take those sorts
of thing out of the rules - balanced against considerations about
complexity.

That said, things can go overboard which is why speaking up is
important. I just think we should all think carefully about exactly
what it is we are asking for before we ask them to close the patent
office.

9B

On Jan 24, 11:04*am, "Karl Striedieck" wrote:

One item that has been incorporated into nationals this year (regionals last
year) is the "start anywhere" rule change favored by a majority on the pilot
poll. In an effort to simplify it "anywhere" has been defined as the front
half of the cylinder. Still, this adds a new (and interesting) dimension to
the task which some may find unwelcome.

My understading of the rules process is that before a rule is
implemented at Nationals it is first tried out at Regionals for a
year. The start anywhere rule was tried in 2008 at Regionals, but the
rule that was evaluated is not the rule that is proposed to be applied
at Regionals and Nationals for 2009.

My understanding is that the start anywhwere rule that was evaluated
at Regionals was modified, not to simplify it (which it certainly does
not), but to discourage starts from the back, even though there
appears to be no evidence from 2008 Regionals that there is a
problem.

If the rule is to be changed from the one that was evaluated doesn't
the rules process require a further year of evaluation at Regional
level before it is applied at Nationals?


Andy

On Jan 24, 11:04*am, "Karl Striedieck" wrote:
There is a process for changing rules and changes are not based on some whim
of a rules committee member. One of the steps in this process includes an
annual competition pilots poll and it is rare to never that a significant
change is adopted where the pilots voted against it. The bottom line is that
most pilots want these changes.

KS,
"Most pilots" is made up of gray haired (me included) pilots that vote
to make rule changes to fit their age. The rules are thus biased
towards old timers that can't see so well anymore, don't have the
quick minds anymore, don't have the staminal that we did when we were
young, don't have the competitive drive to push for hours anymore,
etc. I don't have the perfect answer but I'm not racing simplying
because the fun of racing isn't there anymore. I can blame the rules
or my lack of spunk that I had 30 years ago to go diving through a
limbo gate and worm burner finishes. I remember seeing you making it a
point of finishing at the same time as another pilot and being even
lower! Why did you do this? Simple, it was fun for you and all of us.
We eliminated because we got older (and not that much smarter),
simple. That was fun and exciting when we were all younger. So now the
rules have evolved to support the old folks. No wonder the lack of
participation and the so called safer rules are being discussed. It's
time to step aside and somehow get the excitment back for the younger
pilots AND put the spectator back in the sport. The thrill for the
younger pilots (like we were a long time ago) will stimulate the cycle
from the bottom up.
OF

On Jan 24, 1:04*pm, "Karl Striedieck" wrote:

It is easy to fire off a post about putting "fun" back in competition or
making the rules simpler. But without a suggestion about how to achieve
these goals the writer is engaged in idle, cabin fever chatter. This will
evaporate in April.

For those pilots who think the rules are too complicated (and have read
them, which probably eliminates the majority) what specific rule would you
suggest eliminating/simplifying?

Another aspect of rules writing that can make them seem complicated and be a
turn off to the rulees is the amount of verbiage used. The SSA contest rules
could probably be dehydrated down to half the current content, but the cost
would be an increase in interpretation required in the field. On the other
hand, there are rules that could use even more specificity. In the end it is
guess at what seems practical.

One item that has been incorporated into nationals this year (regionals last
year) is the "start anywhere" rule change favored by a majority on the pilot
poll. In an effort to simplify it "anywhere" has been defined as the front
half of the cylinder. Still, this adds a new (and interesting) dimension to
the task which some may find unwelcome.


Karl Striedieck

Karl,

We can debate whether it's the rules themselves, the verbiage used, or
something else, but we have to admit that certain aspects of the rules
are more-or-less inscrutable to someone who has not actually flown in
a contest. In fact, I'd bet that there are a handfull of rules that
fall into this category even for veterans. Just on example:


11.6.3.2 ‡ For finishers whose TOC is less than MINTIME:
STOC = MINTIME - (MINTIME - TOC) * UTFACTOR
For a Turn-area task:
UTFACTOR = 0.1 + 6 * ((DIST / MAXTATDIST) - 0.85) (but not less than
0.1, nor greater than
1.0) otherwise, UTFACTOR = 0.1

Several of the scoring formulas, if left to stand on their own, are
almost impossible to understand without real examples in front of
you. As a sometime scorer, I understand them, but ask even the
slightly above average racing pilot...the vision of a dog looking at
thunder leaps to mind.

Other examples that impact strategy include:

- From the existing start cylinder rule, the interpretation of what
happens if you start out the top but nick the cylinder again on the
way out on course. How many pilots know how to check their score to
see if they have been penalized incorrectly. I haven't yet got my
hands around the new rule.
- The strategy around finishes when comparing the possibility of
performing a rolling finish vs. trying to climb up to bottom of the
finish cylinder.
- Safety finishes.

Now, in some cases, the appendix to the rules helps (to a greater or
lesser extent). BUT, even here, there's room for improvement; many
of the explanations assume that the reader already has the basic
context, when in fact that's often exactly what's missing (I think the
academics call this cognitive dissonance).

One obvious problem is the fact that the SRA Guide to Competition is 5
years or more old and thus completely outdated. Fixing this would be
one huge step; I'd volunteer to add content except that I'm not sure
I exactly understand some of the rules :-) Seriously though, the
primary updates that impact the "fun factor" revolve around start
strategy and finish strategy with maybe one or two other minor points,
so this isn't as daunting as it sounds.

Another potential step would be to require that the Appendix itself be
a part of the rules change process (such that the wording of the
Appendix is part of the rule). We can/should require a "plain
English" interpretation of any rule that impacts scoring/strategy.
Certainly, the impact of any action that a pilot can control needs to
be pointed out.

Finally, the frequency of rules changes really is an issue. It's not
just the burden on pilots to read the rules (it's a toss-up between
doing that and getting started on my taxes). No, the real issue is
that we are layering more and more complexity on both the scoring
software and the in-flight navigation software upon which we have
become 100% reliant. Anyone who has scored a contest lately or who
has looked under the covers of Winscore will tell you that it is
amazing that we actually get accurate scores out at all (which is, in
fact, not always the case). Not because Guy hasn't done yeoman work
(he has), but because there are so many IF/THEN/ELSE clauses that
have to be updated every time something changes. IMO, we could
easily move to alternate year rules updates with the proviso to allow
an "emergency modification for safety" under tightly controlled
situations (e.g. the rule created a glaring safety issue which was
demonstrated in the prior season).

So, to summarize, three things we could do to make the rules less
opaque:

1. Change them less frequently.
2. Require the appendix to provide plain English interpretations of
all formulas.
3. Update the SRA Guide to the Rules.

Respectfully,
P3