Andy: Not enough review? RC has been asking pilots for a year for
feedback, we had a poll question, we've assembled all we could learn
about how it worked this year, and I can't tell you how many hours of
discussion went into talking about it.

More feedback is always welcome, but information is most useful when
it comes around poll time and before the annual rules committee
meeting in November. We're now at the stage of finalizing things for
the SSA board. As per minutes, "start anywhere" is scheduled to go to
nationals next year unless there is some nuclear disaster we don't
know about.

I don't understand how giving you credit for the actual distance from
start point to first turn meakes you want to pop the brakes and go
down to start more often. Explain please.

It sounds like you're more upset with start altitudes than "start
anywhere." Start altitudes should be low enough that the last guy to
launch has a reasonable chance to get to MSH before the gate opens.
We're also going to encourage CDs to set start heights at least 500'
below cloudbase to stop this idiotic prestart gaggling in the clouds,
and 500' below dry thermal tops so you don't have to spend 20 minutes
clawing that last few feet before start. With the option to start out
the top in a strong thermal (which was always there) I'm still not
sure what you're unhappy about.

Evan: 10.8.6 was a typo. The intent, and what was programmed into
winscore, is to give you the distance from start point to the control
fix at the first turnpoint. That's what will be implemeted this year.

JJ: There's nothing new about this. Even under the old system,
winscore would have picked out the last start with a penalty, and it
would have been up to you to find the better earlier start. We're
working with Guy Byars to automate this process, which should help
scorers. If your last start has a penalty, then winscore will (we
hope) automatically look for a better previous start. Of course,
nothing beats understanding the rules and checking that you're being
credited for the "right" start, but we're all working on getting it
automated so you don't have to.

More questions please! It's freezing darn cold outside and a great
time for everyone to understand how "start anywhere" will work this
year.

John Cochrane
BB