http://www.ushpa.aero/member_comp_restructure.asp

The USHPA recognizes the many benefits of competitions in the United States. Developing and maintaining a strong team to represent the U.S. internationally is very important, however, there are many other important areas which competition may also serve. These areas include site retention, marketing our sports, camaraderie, developing advanced skills, community and public relations.

We could use a lot more competitions in the US. They are great for building the USHPA and giving the membership a great time flying. But it is unclear to me what this has to do with having a strong national team. Having lots of competitions and having a national team are two completely different things.

The Competition Work Group has intensively worked for several months to help create a new competition system for USHPA. One that will serve may needs and assist us in growing our sports while still maintaining a strong U.S. Team.

The national team selection system doesn't need to change. It is fine the way it is. Why doesn't the USHPA Competition Workgroup focus on creating more competitions and getting more people involved in competitions? They seemed to have missed that point altogether.

Yes do the things that help bring in new pilots into many new competitions, but leave the NTSS as it is (or make the changes that I have recommended previously). Don't wreck one working system to try (very weakly) to help build something else.

Historically, only the top ten ranked pilots in attendance brought validity points with them, commensurate with their respective ranks.

This is a categorically false statement.

USHPA seeks to address the chronic problem of low validity meets while simultaneously making the validity arithmetic more inclusive by adding small amount of validity for every pilot in attendance.

I have already shown in the previous articles that the proposed system does not do that at all. I have already suggested that to increase the validity of USHPA sanctioned meets give every meet that is sanctioned 600 NTSS points. Simple and it doesn't radically change our existing system.

Philosophically, USHPA considers the number of pilots and the ranking of those pilots to be of approximately equal importance and has developed a draft system which balances the two.

They may have thought that they did that, but they didn't.

The U.S. HG and PG World Team selection process has been updated. Points for World Team selection are calculated from the pilot's best four Class B and C events over a two year period with at least one event being a Class C event. In addition, the average score calculated from the best five rounds in Class A events over a two year period will be added.

This is a change from the previous working draft. Now it requires that you attend the Nationals to get points. The 2009 Nationals, btw, doesn't meet the qualifications of the Class C meets (doesn't use GAP or Race to Goal format). Now are they going to deal with that?

There is still not a specification about how exactly they are going to including Class A events. Unless this is completely specified the people who have to write the program to rank pilots will have no idea how to do it.

The removal of one foreign event from the equation was implemented in order to lessen the travel and financial burden of pilots trying for the World Team.

Geez, it is the National Team, not the World Team. Get with the program here. Friggin grade inflation.

There is no burden imposed on anyone to go to foreign meets. That is merely a matter of choice. You can go and complete against World Class pilots and improve your skills and if you do well, you might earn some NTSS points. There is no burden, no requirement to go overseas.

Now. If you make all USHPA sanctioned meets worth 600 points, then there is no great incentive to  go overseas because it is easier to earn big points in the US (where the competition is relative less) than overseas (where the points have been higher because of stronger competition). Isn't this obvious?

The three-tier system has the opportunity to help us grow our skill level and grow the number of pilots that join and stay in our sport.

I have nothing against more regional competitions. See the article above which I first wrote last week. I don't see the point of destroying our existing NTSS system to do this when it can be done without doing so.

In recognition of the observation that fewer people seem to be willing to step up to the plate to put on a competition it became apparent that, as with the case of competition pilots, there was a need to grow people into a meet director role.

Actually this is wrong. It is the meet organizer role that is key. You need meet organizers to get these meets happening at all. Meet directors come next. Where is the program to create meet organizers?