On Sunday, September 21, 2014 10:10:42 PM UTC-4, Tim wrote:
SNIP TT Wrote:

I have become very concerned about the overall quality of the US pilots going to the Worlds because we are selecting only from those that have the money and time to drive across the country each year or those that get lucky enough to have contests line up in their half of the country during selection periods.



TT -



I too am very concerned about the quality of the US Teams we are sending overseas. The US Team should be one of the top tier teams and not toward the bottom/middle of the score sheet. It is my opinion that if we continue to use the randomly sited US nationals as US Team selection venues we will continue to get sub-optimum results at WGC's.



While I am not in favor of making the process unnecessarily costly or time consuming if those we send are used to only local, short drive and less costly competition domestically, they are going to be in for quite a shock when they face the cost, complexity, and foreign-ness of going to many a non-North American WGC site.



I thought part of the commitment to making the US team was to make pilots expend the effort to fly in different locales and weather conditions so that they would be better rounded and prepared for the rigors of a WGC. If this effort requires a long-drive, then so be it. I do not like it, but I accept it as part of the "game" and it has made me a better pilot having gone through the rigors of the current system.



As far as East/West Nationals selecting US Teams, I would be very concerned about the qualities of the teams we send if Westerners only race in Western conditions and Easterners only race in Eastern conditions. This does not immediately strike me as sending well rounded pilots to WGC's. I know some top-notch flatland pilots who almost literally s--t bricks at the thought of a mountain site or the eastern ridge sites.



In addition to some of the criteria you are in favor of, I would love to add another one: site the selection nationals in any two year selection cycle at sites that roughly replicate the challenges of the WGC that is being selected for. Or better yet, come up with an appropriately sited "selection contest" that would be held over a two-year cycle. Maybe a selection contest where the top 10 rated pilots in each WGC class would be invited to compete for the team slots in terrain and weather conditions like they will face at the next WGC



For instance, the conditions found at Hobbs for Club Class Nationals in 2015, could hardly be more different from the Lithuanian conditions the US Club Class team will face in 2016. If team selection criteria were being considered, it would make much more sense for the 2015 Club Class Nationals to be sited somewhere East (i.e. Ceasar Creek perhaps?)



I am glad to see the Pan-American contest being organized for next year, just wish it was being held during the summer months when more could attend.



On this one, you are preaching to the choir in my case, as many contests seem to be increasingly creeping into the school year. For those who are unencumbered by the school year, good for you. For those of us who are so-encumbered, and who are probably among the more youthful demographic many of us say we long for in the sport, it puts a serious crimp in plans to compete..



Maybe we should just put all contests in central Kansas and make everyone (except the Kansans among us) feel the pain of the trip and flying in "foreign" conditions :-)



Thanks all for reading my thoughts,

Tim McAllister EY

Tim, There is more to Nationals than just selecting team members. Not everyone wants to go to the worlds.

Andrzej