New OLC League Rule!

I received an email from Reiner Rose, OLC Founder, asking me to post a
*New* rule for the OLC Gold League.

In essence, the OLC is requiring ALL League flights to be uploaded
prior to !0:00 AM (local time) on the day following the flight in
order to be counted and scored for the League.

I have protested this change in the rule based on the potential for
pilots who fly in an area such as New Mexico where Internet access is
not as dependable or available as in densely populated areas of
Europe.

A 10:00 AM deadine as opposed to the current midnight (local time)
Tuesday could result in an invalid League claim in the case of poor
Internet access or an invalid IGC file that may only be corrected by
reloading and resubmitting the file.

This rule essentally shortens the flight claim window by 38 hours. The
rule is presently in effect, and unless the OLC considers my protest,
all participating OLC pilots should be aware of the possibility of a
non-scored OLC League flight.

Reiner's reasoning behind this rule change is admirable, as he is
attempting to provide results for the Eurpoean news media on a timely
basis for widespread publication. Unfortunately, due to the time
difference between the western US and Europe, we are forced into a
much abbreviated claim window.

I will keep you informed about the disposition of this rule change,
but if you have an opinion, I urge you to send your thoughts to:

Why not start an American OLC with all the same rules with the
exception of time submission. Base American submissions on the
Mountain Standard Time zone which would give all our folks adequate
time to submit. Both websites would be accessible to all glider
pilots so that comparisons could be made. At the end of the year
compare top performers in each category to see who has bragging
rights.

DMB