Previously, I have written extensively about the Competition Workgroup proposals both critiquing them and providing detailed alternatives (for example here: http://ozreport.com/12.241#0). Now the Executive Committee has withdrawn the changes in the competition system that they passed in their EC meeting and the BOD agreed to that withdrawal, leaving us back to where we started.

So now we face the situation where there is still the desire for changes in the competition system, but it is unclear whether there can be a consensus on what the point of the changes would be and what they should be.

Today I restart the discussion by linking to my latest proposal for changes in the USHPA Competition Rulebook. The reasons for these changes are as follows:

1) Simplify the USHPA Competition Rulebook to make it more accessible to potential meet organizers, meet directors and pilots. More accessible means reducing the barriers to participation in competition by these folks. The goal is to increase competition participation and the number of competitions.

2) Enhance the ranking value of USHPA sanctioned competitions to encourage participation in these competitions and to encourage meet organizers to put them on.

To allow the everyone interested to see what the changes are I have presented the changes as changes to existing documents with the parts deleted crossed out (red lined) and the new parts in red. That way you can see both what we are losing and what we are gaining (and there is no sleight of hand going on).

I have divided the existing USHPA Competition Rulebook into three documents each aimed at different audiences, that way each audience has only to be concerned about the issues that pertain to them. This turns the Competition Rulebook into three documents that are actually useful.

I have also incorporated Greg Babush's proposal for changes in competitors' valuations which you can find here: http://blog.gregbabush.com/2008/08/pg-competition-rulebook-modification.html.

The Competition Rulebook for Pilots and Meet Directors PDF, the Competition Manual for the Competition Committee and Meet Organizers PDF, the Competition Manual for National Team Selection PDF.

Rich Hass, USHPA Secretary, complained in his article from yesterday that there were not well thought out proposals re changing the valuation system. I would suggest that in fact whether or not they were presented at the USHPA BOD meeting, there were indeed proposals that were detailed and well thought without loose ends. Just look at the proposals above.