Andy - Standard Class gliders have always had the ability to race in 15
m class contests.

Mike I Green

On 7/16/2014 9:17 AM, wrote:
I need to go crunch some numbers but one thing is like to see is greater depth of the competitive field at nationals. One way to do this (a more radical pivot I know and maybe people don't want to think this differently) is to have the handicaps overlap so that the large numbers of gliders in the middle handicap ranges have more than one place to go. Allowing standard class gliders into both 15m and Club would significantly expand the depth of the field in both. I don't see much point in trying to include ultra low performance gliders in Club. They are better suited for Sean's idea of OLC where you could make tasking much more flexible.

The BIG problem this solves is giving pilots on either coast a real competitive contest for their glider without driving 3 days. Fewer classes ensures that you can sustain an east/west strategy. Handicapped classes and east/west pairing need to go together - without some handicap overlap you are likely to drive participation down rather than up.

I think the idea of making the OLC camp a fun and friendly entry into course racing is a very interesting, but at the risk of sounding too beholding to the preferences of pilots, I would suggest we figure out what changes would really represent an enhancement to the pilot enjoyment of what is a very popular and enjoyable format before inflicting a new vision on them. It is quite possible that Nephi OLC camp caters to people with very different competitive juices. I personally interviewed a number of pilots from last year's event and it was clear that for many head-to-head, multi-day cumulative scoring racing events were not appealing - at least not at the time.



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