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#31
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A fair opportunity to compete?
Wow, Dave thats beautiful. Was that taken on day 3 returning from
Kanosh Canyon? Thanks for sharing, JJ dave wrote: Here's to better times JJ http://www.pbase.com/plane_pictures/...0/original.jpg dave |
#32
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A fair opportunity to compete?
JJ
I spent most of day three waiting for a retrieve from the dry lake, so that can't be it. I think that it was taken running up North on day 4 toward Milford. Glad you liked it dave. On Jul 9, 12:32*pm, JJ Sinclair wrote: Wow, Dave thats beautiful. Was that taken on day 3 returning from Kanosh Canyon? Thanks for sharing, JJ dave wrote: Here's to better times JJ http://www.pbase.com/plane_pictures/...0/original.jpg dave- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - |
#33
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A fair opportunity to compete?
On Jul 6, 4:55*am, wrote:
On Jul 4, 11:48*pm, JJ Sinclair wrote: (US) rule 11.1.1 states; A valid competition day is one in which every regular entrant is given a fair opportunity to compete. What is the definition of fair? I can tell you what I have used as CD in 3 nationals and several regionals over the last 35 years. The launch should go without interuption. All contestants should be towed to 2000 feet in the designated release area. That's it, you are on your own after release! There is no guarantee that you will find lift. On day 3 at parowan this year, the launch went without delay and all were released in the designated area at 2000 feet. Several pilots didn't find lift and landed back. Some took re-lights and one landed on the dry lake in the release area. About half the class found that all important first thermal, the gate was opened 15 minutes after the last scheduled launch and most completed the assigned task. Data loggers were evaluated, scores computed and day 3 was a valid contest day, right? Not so fast! Two pilots protested that they hadn't been given a fair opportunity to compete. The competition committee met and threw out day 3. Their ruling may seem fair to the 2 protesters, but it was unfair to the remaining 25 pilots in the class. The CD even went so far as to state; If one of the protesters had found lift, he would have come in 3rd for the day! *Unbelievable! *Just how he determined that remains a mystery? *There was one contestant who did place 3rd on that day, but his performance was ignored. I tried to talk to the CD with no response other than; You have the right to protest my ruling. If my 3rd place had counted, I would have been 5th overall and 19 points out of 4th. I withdrew from the contest in disgust! *What has our competition come to? Are we all guaranteed lift? Who is to decide if the actions taken by the pilot after release were the correct ones? *If you don't find lift, simply land back and file a protest! I will turn 75 next month and Pat and I have been asking ourselves just how much longer all this will be considered fun? *In the words of an old country song; That just about does it, Don't it? Pat & JJ Sinclair FWIW This is a good example of where use of the advisors is invaluable. They are in the air and can afdvise whether the day meets the "fair and safe" criteria. If it does not, they are obligated to say so and advise either holding the opening or not opening the task. If the task is opened, they day should go on, unless the CD cancels they day due to safety concerns, which he is permitted and encouraged to do under the rules. All that said, don't quit JJ. We like having your grumpy self around to make us laugh and keep us honest. UH Sorry you felt compelled to withdraw JJ - I like having you and your bat-plane on the grid. I was one of the handful of 15M launchers that day and after thrashing about in +/- 50 fpm made a nail-biter of a return back to the field rather than put it into the dry lake 5 miles west of the field. FWIW there was no climbing out after a certain time that day unless you wanted to risk an outlanding in the open desert in order to do a dead- glide to the sunlight 10 miles west of the field. If I recall correctly the protester in this case did land in the dry lake prior to taking a start - a consideration of some consequence as an outlanding ends your day whereas a relight doesn't. I don't know if I agree that once the gate opens the task should count no matter what, though I do think this should be the strong bias. Whether it should be incumbent on the CD to poll the last launchers in each class to ensure they are getting up before opening the gate, or if it should be the responsibility of the individual pilots to call this out to the CD (my preference) should probably be clarified. If you can't climb you should make that clear before the gate opens so the CD has the option of delaying/canceling the opening of the gate or chalking it up to poor piloting. One such request was granted later in the contest and I have made such requests myself in the past. I do wonder whether pilots should forfeit their right to protest the start later if they don't make the call in real time. I suspect a future version of the rules could clarify the procedures and recourse as it seems this sort of thing happens a couple of time each year. 9B |
#34
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A fair opportunity to compete?
Whether it should be incumbent on the CD to poll the last launchers in
each class to ensure they are getting up before opening the gate, or if it should be the responsibility of the individual pilots to call this out to the CD (my preference) should probably be clarified. If you can't climb you should make that clear before the gate opens so the CD has the option of delaying/canceling the opening of the gate or chalking it up to poor piloting. One such request was granted later in the contest and I have made such requests myself in the past. I do wonder whether pilots should forfeit their right to protest the start later if they don't make the call in real time. To avoid setting off anguished howls of "I can't climb, you gotta delay opening the gate!", I don't radio the CD when faced with this kind of problem. I have, however, called my class advisor on more than one occasion and let him/her decide to call the CD with an official, authorized communication. I recognize, of course, that my request--"[task advisor ID], go to 123.5"--is tantamount to inviting the world to listen in. It's tough to judge from afar but it sounds like the task shouldn't have opened. How to prevent situations like this in the future is tougher, as is how to deal with them once they've occurred. I'm strongly of the mind that once the task is open, it should not be cancelled or invalidated. I don't want to have to judge whether to go 100% and risk a landout knowing the CD might change his/her mind, and soaring is full of historical situations where nearly no one thought the task possible but some intrepid pilot proved them wrong. But there are valid exceptions to every rule in the interests of fairness and/or safety. Defining those exceptions is difficult, which is why we value the good CDs so highly. Rest in peace, Charlie Spratt; you made a few mistakes but far fewer than anyone before or since, given the number of contests you CD'd. Finally, there shouldn't be any stigma associated with protesting what a pilot believes is an unfair outcome. I'd hate to see competition soaring turn into the US tort system but there is some merit in raising the protest and having all the facts come out for an impartial jury to review and decide. It is partly through this kind of exchange that we will arrive at a better system in the future. Although I still hope the Rules Committee keeps future Rules changes to a bare minimum! Chip Bearden ASW 24 "JB" USA |
#35
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A fair opportunity to compete?
I figured I better let some time pass before I chimed in since I was on the
short end of the ruling at Parowan. 1 - I have no problem with the protest since the rule allowed it. 2 - I have no problem with the decision of the committee and felt they upheld the rule. 3 - I have no problem with Charlie opening the gate when he did so per the rules. Everyone was correct. The rub is the rule itself. This rule punished competitors that flew well (in this case a vast majority of the field) and benefited those that landed out / back or choose not to fly. It is frustrating to have 4 hours negated to zero. To make matters worse, the Sports Class was moved to the end of the grid the next day since the 15 and 18 meter guys did not have a contest day. Hello!? Neither did Sports. Separate topic, but if you fly Sports at R9 you will not receive the same attention to detail as the FAI guys. Our starts are historically called poorly and until this year we always launched last. All week long in the pilot's meeting we were reminded that competition pilots represent a very small percentage of soaring people. Reading RAS and going through this last Region 9, it is clear that crappy rules and scoring that requires a degree in mathematics will probably keep this number in the same range in the future. Can't bitch without making suggestions right? Two rule suggestions - 1 - Change the rule so that if a majority of the field scores, adjust the competitor's score that was not able to start. Instead of bringing 20 some scores down to zero, adjust 1 or two scores up. 2 - As suggested in other posts, change the call when the gate opens. Opening the gate 15 minutes after the last competitor starts the t/o roll is not viable. Tom Dukerich OD2 |
#36
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A fair opportunity to compete?
At 23:51 14 July 2009, Tom wrote:
I figured I better let some time pass before I chimed in since I was on the short end of the ruling at Parowan. 1 - I have no problem with the protest since the rule allowed it. 2 - I have no problem with the decision of the committee and felt they upheld the rule. 3 - I have no problem with Charlie opening the gate when he did so per the rules. Everyone was correct. The rub is the rule itself. This rule punished competitors that flew well (in this case a vast majority of the field) and benefited those that landed out / back or choose not to fly. It is frustrating to have 4 hours negated to zero. To make matters worse, the Sports Class was moved to the end of the grid the next day since the 15 and 18 meter guys did not have a contest day. Hello!? Neither did Sports. Separate topic, but if you fly Sports at R9 you will not receive the same attention to detail as the FAI guys. Our starts are historically called poorly and until this year we always launched last. All week long in the pilot's meeting we were reminded that competition pilots represent a very small percentage of soaring people. Reading RAS and going through this last Region 9, it is clear that crappy rules and scoring that requires a degree in mathematics will probably keep this number in the same range in the future. Can't bitch without making suggestions right? Two rule suggestions - 1 - Change the rule so that if a majority of the field scores, adjust the competitor's score that was not able to start. Instead of bringing 20 some scores down to zero, adjust 1 or two scores up. 2 - As suggested in other posts, change the call when the gate opens. Opening the gate 15 minutes after the last competitor starts the t/o roll is not viable. Tom Dukerich OD2 The UK rules are very similar regarding the opening of the gate, but the CD has the discretion not to open the gate, or to delay the opening. Some years ago the last day of a competition was marginal as far as weather was concerned. The leading pilot persuaded other pilots, who had no chance of winning, to refuse to take a launch in the hope of getting the day scrubbed/devalued. The net effect was to shorten the launch time and enable the gate to be opened earlier than would have been the case with a full grid. After the gate opened the weather stopped launching for several hours. If the "protest" had not been made the full field would never have been launched and the day scrubbed. Unluckily the second place pilot, who had launched, did not score enough points to win. |
#37
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A fair opportunity to compete?
On Jul 14, 7:51Â*pm, "Tom" wrote:
I figured I better let some time pass before I chimed in since I was on the short end of the ruling at Parowan. 1 - I have no problem with the protest since the rule allowed it. 2 - I have no problem with the decision of the committee and felt they upheld the rule. 3 - I have no problem with Charlie opening the gate when he did so per the rules. Everyone was correct. Â*The rub is the rule itself. Â*This rule punished competitors that flew well (in this case a vast majority of the field) and benefited those that landed out / back or choose not to fly. Â*It is frustrating to have 4 hours negated to zero. To make matters worse, the Sports Class was moved to the end of the grid the next day since the 15 and 18 meter guys did not have a contest day. Â*Hello!? Neither did Sports. Â*Separate topic, but if you fly Sports at R9 you will not receive the same attention to detail as the FAI guys. Â*Our starts are historically called poorly and until this year we always launched last. All week long in the pilot's meeting we were reminded that competition pilots represent a very small percentage of soaring people. Â*Reading RAS and going through this last Region 9, it is clear that crappy rules and scoring that requires a degree in mathematics will probably keep this number in the same range in the future. Can't bitch without making suggestions right? Â*Two rule suggestions - 1 - Change the rule so that if a majority of the field scores, adjust the competitor's score that was not able to start. Â*Instead of bringing 20 some scores down to zero, adjust 1 or two scores up. 2 - As suggested in other posts, change the call when the gate opens. Opening the gate 15 minutes after the last competitor starts the t/o roll is not viable. Tom Dukerich Â*OD2 Not to put too fine a point on it, but the rule states: 10.1.5 Task Opens - at a time designated by the CD, about 15 minutes after the last competitor who accepts his designated launch starts his takeoff roll. I.e. the CD has the discretion to delay the opening of the task for whatever reason. The suggested 15 mins is the nominal time for the last launch to have a reasonable opportunity to get as good a start as the first launch. The premise of the race is that everyone gets the same opportunity to start at the same earliest time from the same location if they desire (eliminating the luck of the grid draw as a significant factor). An alternative would be to allow a start immediately off tow and virtually never cancel the day once the launch starts, in which case the luck of the grid draw would be a big factor - so are we measuring skill or luck? Should Charlie have held the gate opening? It's easy to say yes with 20/20 hindsight but it was not necessarily easy to tell at the time. The nullification of a day after it has been run is an exceptional action justified only by "force majure" circumstances. In this case we all judged in retrospect that we had not set a mostly level playing field and if those most affected had performed near their average for the prior two days it would have materially affected the leadership positions. .. Second, there is currently in the rules a (to date unused) provision for "worst day score adjustment" in regionals. 11.4.4 â€* Worst Day Score Adjustment If this is declared to be in effect, an adjustment is calculated and added to the cumulative score of each entrant.. If you think the scoring formulas are complicated now, read the rest of the rule. QT |
#38
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A fair opportunity to compete?
It's worth reiterating that 15 minutes is not carved in stone. Charlie
Spratt had what I thought an excellent habit. About 2 minutes before the announced gate open time, he would ask the task advisers "do we have a fair start?" meaning, did the last guys off tow have a decent chance to climb to start altitude. If not, he would delay start opening a bit. Now, advisers can't see everyone, and they might well have missed the developing situation at Parowan since to stay up they would have to have been in a totally different piece of sky. Nothing's perfect. But it does help, and to the point here, it is entirely within the rules. (He would also ask, "is the task doable?" another commendable question before sending us off.) 11.4.4 â€* Worst Day Score Adjustment If this is declared to be in effect, an adjustment is calculated and added to the cumulative score of each entrant.. If you think the scoring formulas are complicated now, read the rest of the rule. QT Don't give up on drop a day just because the wording of the rule is of necessity a little complex. This is a great idea, and I hope somebody tries it! Contests might be a lot more fun if a landout or one slow low save did not doom you for the rest of the week. John Cochrane |
#39
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A fair opportunity to compete?
John Cochrane wrote: Don't give up on drop a day just because the wording of the rule is of necessity a little complex. This is a great idea, and I hope somebody tries it! Contests might be a lot more fun if a landout or one slow low save did not doom you for the rest of the week. John Cochrane Good point John, but you wouldn't be able to 'drop-a-day' that has been expunged, now would you? JJ |
#40
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A fair opportunity to compete?
On Jul 15, 9:30*am, JJ Sinclair wrote:
John Cochrane Good point John, but you wouldn't be able to 'drop-a-day' that has been expunged, now would you? JJ People might be less inclined to protest if they could drop a day and the competition committee might be less inclined to expunge a day for 95% of the class if the one affected pilot could drop the day. It creates other issues, but is worth a try. 9B |
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