"Duane Eisenbeiss" wrote in message news:djXSb.194193$I06.2144317@attbi_s01...
By the lack of discussion I assume that not many RASer have read the
Proposed Changes for Contest Rules For 2004.
The proposed changes can be found at:

http://www.ssa.org/contests/ContestRules.asp

The pdf file has a date of 01/03/04

Some of you might even like some of the proposals.
Lets have some discussion.

Duane

I'll bite. My comments are, like the rules changes, tiny in overall
impact.

1) For good or bad, rules changes 16 and 17 make weak PST days a
slightly bigger crapshoot than they were already.

There is the curious situation now that if you do 60 miles (one
turnpoint) in a four hour PST on a booming day, you are guaranteed 600
points. That has been raised to 630 points in the new rules. He beats
a guy who goes 400 miles but lands a few miles short.

That's extreme of course. The more routine situation is that there's a
half hour to go; lift is weak but not absent. You are in gliding range
of the airport. Do you try to add another 20 miles or so, or do you
land with a half hour or more still on the clock? You might add 30-40
points by going on, but if you land out, it will cost 400 at least,
ending your chances in the contest. This is a BIG decision, and making
it right is crucial for winning contests.

Most pilots play it safe, and also realize that everyone else will
make the same decision so that the day will be undervalued. The result
is the mass of undertime finishes we see on PST and TAT days. These
days are not unsoarable, and most pilots would continue on and make it
on an assigned task. But once lift is down to the sketchy 1-2 knot
range, they head for home.

Raising the guaranteed points for "finishing" makes finishing way
undertime more attractive. But lowering devaluation has the opposite
effect. Now, the lone eagle will get a lot more points if he makes it.

The net effect is probably not so much to make one strategy (finish
way early, vs. perservere and try for the big win) more attractive,
but it raises the number of points at stake; it makes this decision
more crucial, and raises the effect on the overall contest of whether
the lone eagle gets lucky or not.

2) You now get 1/10 of your time when you finish undertime. One
intention was to stop smart guys from waiting around outside the
finish circle so they don't contribute to day devaluation and get
their full points for winning. But it doesn't really stop it, it
raises the calculation bar. Say you get back 1/2 hour early, you've
done all the turnpoints in the turn area task, and you know everyone
is way behind you (John Seaborn, 2001 Region 7). Do you finish now,
and get 1/10 of your time? Or do you wait and make sure not to devalue
the day? Better get out your rule book and calculator!

3) The 20 meter class includes motorgliders, but bans water ballast.
If the class ever gets serious, this means guys with the motors get to
fly at a much bigger wingloading than guys without. Better yet, I
guess, to be competitive you want a light pilot 1 and a range of guys
in the back seat from 100 to 300 pounds. (Maybe give them a parachute
so you can get rid of them when the lift gets weak!) Water ballast may
be a pain, but it does even out wingloadings.

4) Rest In Peace the 15 minute time addition. Time to upgrade your
software, and really learn to use it so you can nail the exact finish
time.

John Cochrane
BB