The 2009 Club Class Waiver

The 2009 Club Class waiver:
A separate Club Class will be allowed in Regional Contests by waiver in
2009. The Club Class is a handicapped class similar to the Sports Class,
but with two differences:
1) Gliders allowed to compete in the Club Class are restricted to US
Team Club Class Team gliders (www.ssa.org Sailplane RacingUS
TeamsSelectionList of Club Class Team Eligible Gliders).
2) Normal Sports Class Regionals rules apply, except that the AST task
is allowed (this is not allowed in the normal Sports Class).
Pilot entry requirements, fees, PRL ranking earned, medallions earned,
are all the same as the normal Sports Regionals. US Sports Class handicaps
are used. The inclusion of a Club Class should be published before the
preferential entry cutoff. The distinction between the Club Class and the
Sports Class should be made clear. The contest sanction application should
treat the contest as a normal Sports Class Regionals. There is a box on the
sanction application form regarding whether a waiver is requested. Answer
"yes" and as a description write "2009 club class waiver".

Ken Sorenson SSA Contest Committee Chairman

I would be very careful about calling this the "Club Class."

The International Club Class uses a different list of gliders and
different handicaps. It also uses "relative" (not absolute) handicaps
to adjust the speeds.

Perhaps this should be called the "US Club Class" to avoid confusion.

On Jan 21, 9:15*am, Sam Giltner wrote:
* The 2009 Club Class waiver:
* A separate Club Class will be allowed in Regional Contests by waiver in
2009. *The Club Class is a handicapped class similar to the Sports Class,
but with two differences: * *
*1) *Gliders allowed to compete in the Club Class are restricted to US
Team Club Class Team gliders (www.ssa.org*Sailplane RacingUS
TeamsSelectionList of Club Class Team Eligible Gliders). *
*2) *Normal Sports Class Regionals rules apply, except that the AST task
is allowed (this is not allowed in the normal Sports Class).
*Pilot entry requirements, fees, PRL ranking earned, medallions earned,
are all the same as the normal Sports Regionals. US Sports Class handicaps
are used. The inclusion of a Club Class should be published before the
preferential entry cutoff. The distinction between the Club Class and the
Sports Class should be made clear. The contest sanction application should
treat the contest as a normal Sports Class Regionals. There is a box on the
sanction application form regarding whether a waiver is requested. Answer
"yes" and as a description write "2009 club class waiver". *

Ken Sorenson SSA Contest Committee Chairman

This is a great news. Thank you!

On Jan 21, 9:15*am, Sam Giltner wrote:
* The 2009 Club Class waiver:
* A separate Club Class will be allowed in Regional Contests by waiver in
2009. *The Club Class is a handicapped class similar to the Sports Class,
but with two differences: * *
*1) *Gliders allowed to compete in the Club Class are restricted to US
Team Club Class Team gliders (www.ssa.org*Sailplane RacingUS
TeamsSelectionList of Club Class Team Eligible Gliders). *
*2) *Normal Sports Class Regionals rules apply, except that the AST task
is allowed (this is not allowed in the normal Sports Class).
*Pilot entry requirements, fees, PRL ranking earned, medallions earned,
are all the same as the normal Sports Regionals. US Sports Class handicaps
are used. The inclusion of a Club Class should be published before the
preferential entry cutoff. The distinction between the Club Class and the
Sports Class should be made clear. The contest sanction application should
treat the contest as a normal Sports Class Regionals. There is a box on the
sanction application form regarding whether a waiver is requested. Answer
"yes" and as a description write "2009 club class waiver". *

Ken Sorenson SSA Contest Committee Chairman

Great News, thank you!

On Jan 21, 1:18*pm, Pat Russell wrote:
I would be very careful about calling this the "Club Class."

The International Club Class uses a different list of gliders and
different handicaps. *It also uses "relative" (not absolute) handicaps
to adjust the speeds.

Dear Pat,

Please expound on the distiction between IGC's use of "relative"
handicaps and US Sports Class use of "absolute" handicaps.

Thanks.

In the IGC rules, the factor applied to your speed or distance is the
ratio of your handicap to the handicap of the best glider at the
contest. In the US Sports Class, the factor is the handicap itself.

The difference causes the boundary between points for finishers and
non-finishers to be shifted. The amount of shift depends on which
gliders show up for the contest (in the IGC case).

-Pat

To change this a bit, has anybody else noticed that the results of the poll
of pilots by the contest committee on this subject were heavily against
changing the sports class and introducing a club class variant?
Does this committee -- or the rules part of it -- take no notice of the
results of these polls, or what?




At 03:20 22 January 2009, Pat Russell wrote:
In the IGC rules, the factor applied to your speed or distance is the
ratio of your handicap to the handicap of the best glider at the
contest. In the US Sports Class, the factor is the handicap itself.

The difference causes the boundary between points for finishers and
non-finishers to be shifted. The amount of shift depends on which
gliders show up for the contest (in the IGC case).

-Pat

On Jan 22, 1:00*am, Howard Banks
wrote:
To change this a bit, has anybody else noticed that the results of the poll
of pilots by the contest committee on this subject were heavily against
changing the sports class and introducing a club class variant? *
Does this committee -- or the rules part of it -- take no notice of the
results of these polls, or what?

At 03:20 22 January 2009, Pat Russell wrote:

In the IGC rules, the factor applied to your speed or distance is the
ratio of your handicap to the handicap of the best glider at the
contest. *In the US Sports Class, the factor is the handicap itself.

The difference causes the boundary between points for finishers and
non-finishers to be shifted. *The amount of shift depends on which
gliders show up for the contest *(in the IGC case).

-Pat

Yes, but how many pilots voted against who never fly in Sports class.

If we had Sports class only pilots voting on this subject the results
would probably be different.

Let's have a contest and we will see how many pilots will show up.

If we had Sports class only pilots voting on this subject the results
would probably be different.

I would like to see this vote taken.


Let's have a contest and we will see how many pilots will show up.

I doubt if the entry list of a single contest would persuade anyone
either way.

On Jan 21, 10:20*pm, Pat Russell wrote:
In the IGC rules, the factor applied to your speed or distance is the
ratio of your handicap to the handicap of the best glider at the
contest. *In the US Sports Class, the factor is the handicap itself.


Pat,

When you say "best" glider at the contest , do you mean the glider
that wins the day/contest, or the glider entry having the most weighty
handicap (newer glider having the best performance capability)?