US Rules for 2011

[John Cochrane[_2_]]

I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
webpage,

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_11.html

I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
things you need to know!

John Cochrane

[Mike the Strike]

On Feb 14, 10:29*pm, John Cochrane >
wrote:
> I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> webpage,
>
> http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> things you need to know!
>
> John Cochrane

John:

You've definitely addressed some of the issues that some of us have
been griping about, but I wonder if it doesn't introduce even more
rule complexity? One thing we hear from newcomers is that you never
know who has won until the scorer completes his task. Even then, we
have found mistakes to occur through the sheer complexity of
everything.

While I am looking forward to Flarm as a leeching tool, I doubt that
it will be very useful out west. I have often flown towards a couple
of rapidly-rising sailplanes to find that there is little lift beneath
them. If you don't catch the thermal main bubble out here, you're
often too late. I suspect that it won't be much of a game changer, at
least in our region.

I have never understood why Americans have been so singularly against
team flying, especially when it is an important tool used at World
competitions that puts the USA at a distinct disadvantage. I don't
know about your club, but our informal cross-country flights are very
cooperative and don't jam the radio with chatter.

Tucson Soaring Club is hosting a cross-country camp in May to
encourage and mentor new pilots and to provide a non-competitive (and
less confusing) venue than a contest. It isn't intended to replace
contests but complement them. We'll let you know how it goes.

Mike

[John Cochrane[_2_]]

On Feb 15, 9:00*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
> On Feb 14, 10:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> wrote:
>
> > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > webpage,
>
> >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > things you need to know!
>
> > John Cochrane
>
> John:
>
> You've definitely addressed some of the issues that some of us have
> been griping about, but I wonder if it doesn't introduce even more
> rule complexity? *One thing we hear from newcomers is that you never
> know who has won until the scorer completes his task. *Even then, we
> have found mistakes to occur through the sheer complexity of
> everything.
>
> While I am looking forward to Flarm as a leeching tool, I doubt that
> it will be very useful out west. *I have often flown towards a couple
> of rapidly-rising sailplanes to find that there is little lift beneath
> them. *If you don't catch the thermal main bubble out here, you're
> often too late. *I suspect that it won't be much of a game changer, at
> least in our region.
>
> I have never understood why Americans have been so singularly against
> team flying, especially when it is an important tool used at World
> competitions that puts the USA at a distinct disadvantage. *I don't
> know about your club, but our informal cross-country flights are very
> cooperative and don't jam the radio with chatter.
>
> Tucson Soaring Club is hosting a cross-country camp in May to
> encourage and mentor new pilots and to provide a non-competitive (and
> less confusing) venue than a contest. *It isn't intended to replace
> contests but complement them. *We'll let you know how it goes.
>
> Mike

Scoring complexity and obscurity is on the agenda. No change for this
year, but the stew is simmering
John Cochrane

[Ron Gleason]

On Feb 15, 8:29*am, John Cochrane >
wrote:
> On Feb 15, 9:00*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 14, 10:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> > wrote:
>
> > > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > > webpage,
>
> > >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1....
>
> > > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > > things you need to know!
>
> > > John Cochrane
>
> > John:
>
> > You've definitely addressed some of the issues that some of us have
> > been griping about, but I wonder if it doesn't introduce even more
> > rule complexity? *One thing we hear from newcomers is that you never
> > know who has won until the scorer completes his task. *Even then, we
> > have found mistakes to occur through the sheer complexity of
> > everything.
>
> > While I am looking forward to Flarm as a leeching tool, I doubt that
> > it will be very useful out west. *I have often flown towards a couple
> > of rapidly-rising sailplanes to find that there is little lift beneath
> > them. *If you don't catch the thermal main bubble out here, you're
> > often too late. *I suspect that it won't be much of a game changer, at
> > least in our region.
>
> > I have never understood why Americans have been so singularly against
> > team flying, especially when it is an important tool used at World
> > competitions that puts the USA at a distinct disadvantage. *I don't
> > know about your club, but our informal cross-country flights are very
> > cooperative and don't jam the radio with chatter.
>
> > Tucson Soaring Club is hosting a cross-country camp in May to
> > encourage and mentor new pilots and to provide a non-competitive (and
> > less confusing) venue than a contest. *It isn't intended to replace
> > contests but complement them. *We'll let you know how it goes.
>
> > Mike
>
> Scoring complexity and obscurity is on the agenda. No change for this
> year, but the stew is simmering
> John Cochrane

John thanks for the summary. I am looking at this from the scorers
stand point as I will be scoring the 15 meter Nationals and the
regional competition that will be running along side it. Can you shed
any light on how WinScore will be changed to handle multiple sets of
handicaps? We will set it up similar to when we combine standard, 15m
and 18m ships in a single class?

Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you in Logan this
year!

Ron Gleason

[Tony[_5_]]

On Feb 14, 11:29*pm, John Cochrane >
wrote:
> I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> webpage,
>
> http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> things you need to know!
>
> John Cochrane

Thanks for the clarifications John. I'm looking forward to my first
contest this summer.

[John Cochrane[_2_]]

On Feb 15, 9:43*am, Ron Gleason > wrote:
> On Feb 15, 8:29*am, John Cochrane >
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 9:00*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 14, 10:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> > > wrote:
>
> > > > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > > > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > > > webpage,
>
> > > >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> > > > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > > > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > > > things you need to know!
>
> > > > John Cochrane
>
> > > John:
>
> > > You've definitely addressed some of the issues that some of us have
> > > been griping about, but I wonder if it doesn't introduce even more
> > > rule complexity? *One thing we hear from newcomers is that you never
> > > know who has won until the scorer completes his task. *Even then, we
> > > have found mistakes to occur through the sheer complexity of
> > > everything.
>
> > > While I am looking forward to Flarm as a leeching tool, I doubt that
> > > it will be very useful out west. *I have often flown towards a couple
> > > of rapidly-rising sailplanes to find that there is little lift beneath
> > > them. *If you don't catch the thermal main bubble out here, you're
> > > often too late. *I suspect that it won't be much of a game changer, at
> > > least in our region.
>
> > > I have never understood why Americans have been so singularly against
> > > team flying, especially when it is an important tool used at World
> > > competitions that puts the USA at a distinct disadvantage. *I don't
> > > know about your club, but our informal cross-country flights are very
> > > cooperative and don't jam the radio with chatter.
>
> > > Tucson Soaring Club is hosting a cross-country camp in May to
> > > encourage and mentor new pilots and to provide a non-competitive (and
> > > less confusing) venue than a contest. *It isn't intended to replace
> > > contests but complement them. *We'll let you know how it goes.
>
> > > Mike
>
> > Scoring complexity and obscurity is on the agenda. No change for this
> > year, but the stew is simmering
> > John Cochrane
>
> John thanks for the summary. *I am looking at this from the scorers
> stand point as I will be scoring the 15 meter Nationals and the
> regional competition that will be running along side it. *Can you shed
> any light on how WinScore will be changed to handle multiple sets of
> handicaps? *We will set it up similar to when we combine standard, 15m
> and 18m ships in a single class?
>
> Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you in Logan this
> year!
>
> Ron Gleason

No, the "multiple handicapped" classes use standard handicaps, not the
fixed 2% of "combined FAI" classes. The mulitple classes are run
exactly on sports class rules, so winscore should be simple. If water
is allowed in a handicapped class, you use the scratch handcap with no
weight adjustment.

Have fun scoring, and thanks for volunteering!

John Cochrane

[jcarlyle]

Thanks very much for posting this now, John. There are a lot of
changes, and I appreciate the "heads-up".

-John

On Feb 15, 12:29 am, John Cochrane >
wrote:
> I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> webpage,
>
> http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> things you need to know!
>
> John Cochrane

[noel.wade]

Good stuff, thanks John!

On Memorial Day Weekend, the SGC Soaring Foundation (Region 8 -
Ephrata, WA) is going to be putting on a 3 day "contest" event called
the "Ephrata Dust Up" ( http://www.dustup.org ). Its designed to ease
newcomers into contest soaring, and provide mentor opportunities
between those folks and some of the contest gurus we have in our
Region. We intend to follow the Regionals rules as much as possible,
so some of these changes (like multiple handicap classes) are welcome
additions (i.e. we can now have a "beginner" and "advanced" class
while still ostensibly running things under Sports Class rules).

Next step: Rules simplification (where possible). Let's keep
knocking down these barriers to contest flying where practical, and
hopefully show more folks that contests are fun and exciting - not
scary or dangerous or overly-complex!

Take care,

--Noel

[noel.wade]

John -

I just saw this: http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/us-contest-scoring-analysis/

If you've had a chance to see the presentation, can you explain
whether it jives with the rules changes you've written about? Do you
and Frank share the same opinion about their effects, or do you have a
different perspective?

Thanks,

--Noel


On Feb 14, 9:29*pm, John Cochrane >
wrote:
> I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> webpage,
>
> http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> things you need to know!

[John Cochrane[_2_]]

> John -
>
> I just saw this:http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/us-contest-scoring-analysis/
>
> If you've had a chance to see the presentation, can you explain
> whether it jives with the rules changes you've written about? *Do you
> and Frank share the same opinion about their effects, or do you have a
> different perspective?
>
> Thanks,
>
I haven't seen anything in Frank's presentation to disagree with. He
presents the new TAT MAT rules accurately.
The big issues is, what are the strategic implications of the day
devaluation formulas. Here Frank is ahead of me.

John Cochrane

[[email protected]]

On Feb 17, 5:33*pm, "noel.wade" > wrote:
> John -
>
> I just saw this:http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/us-contest-scoring-analysis/
>
> If you've had a chance to see the presentation, can you explain
> whether it jives with the rules changes you've written about? *Do you
> and Frank share the same opinion about their effects, or do you have a
> different perspective?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Noel
>
> On Feb 14, 9:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > webpage,
>
> >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1...
>
> > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > things you need to know!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

One example in Frank's presentation was based upon an incorrect
interpretation of the rules. Frank did not understand that
when the winners time is below the minimum of 2 hr for Regionals and 3
hr for Nationals, that the maximum daily points are proportionately
reduced. His analysis seemed to conclude that it really pays to kill
time to finish above those minimum times.
In reality, it is unlikely to be worth trying. Just finish the flight
as fast as possible and depress the other guy's scores.
A better use of time would be to work on flying faster and worry less
about what the rules or scoring program do.
UH

[Mike[_8_]]

On Feb 17, 5:00*pm, wrote:
> On Feb 17, 5:33*pm, "noel.wade" > wrote:
>
>
>
> > John -
>
> > I just saw this:http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/us-contest-scoring-analysis/
>
> > If you've had a chance to see the presentation, can you explain
> > whether it jives with the rules changes you've written about? *Do you
> > and Frank share the same opinion about their effects, or do you have a
> > different perspective?
>
> > Thanks,
>
> > --Noel
>
> > On Feb 14, 9:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> > wrote:
>
> > > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > > webpage,
>
> > >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1....
>
> > > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > > things you need to know!- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> One example in Frank's presentation was based upon an incorrect
> interpretation of the rules. Frank did not understand that
> when the winners time is below the minimum of 2 hr for Regionals and 3
> hr for Nationals, that the maximum daily points are proportionately
> reduced. His analysis seemed to conclude that it really pays to kill
> time to finish above those minimum times.
> In reality, it is unlikely to be worth trying. Just finish the flight
> as fast as possible and depress the other guy's scores.
> A better use of time would be to work on flying faster and worry less
> about what the rules or scoring program do.
> UH

"A better use of time would be to work on flying faster and worry less
about what the rules or scoring program do."

Ahh, at last something I understand.

[Andrzej Kobus]

On Feb 17, 7:00*pm, wrote:
> On Feb 17, 5:33*pm, "noel.wade" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > John -
>
> > I just saw this:http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/us-contest-scoring-analysis/
>
> > If you've had a chance to see the presentation, can you explain
> > whether it jives with the rules changes you've written about? *Do you
> > and Frank share the same opinion about their effects, or do you have a
> > different perspective?
>
> > Thanks,
>
> > --Noel
>
> > On Feb 14, 9:29*pm, John Cochrane >
> > wrote:
>
> > > I wrote a "contest corner" for April Soaring Magazine explaining some
> > > of the contest rules changes for 2011. You can see it now on my
> > > webpage,
>
> > >http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/rules_1....
>
> > > I hope this clarifies some of the things that we're trying to do this
> > > year, and raises awareness of some of the changes. There ARE some
> > > things you need to know!- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> One example in Frank's presentation was based upon an incorrect
> interpretation of the rules. Frank did not understand that
> when the winners time is below the minimum of 2 hr for Regionals and 3
> hr for Nationals, that the maximum daily points are proportionately
> reduced. His analysis seemed to conclude that it really pays to kill
> time to finish above those minimum times.
> In reality, it is unlikely to be worth trying. Just finish the flight
> as fast as possible and depress the other guy's scores.
> A better use of time would be to work on flying faster and worry less
> about what the rules or scoring program do.
> UH

Does is it mean we need another document with rules interpretation for
a smart pilot.

What about a computer based decision support system in a glider
cockpit evaluating your score potential :)