You may have recently received an email from Lisa Tate, USHPA President, regarding proposed changes to the USHPA Competition Program. Lisa states that the Competition Workgroup has recently made some changes to their original proposal. We applaud this change: the separation of the Race-To-Goal type meets from other types of events/competitions. We want to preserve and enhance the existing competition program, not damage it with ill considered changes.

We ask the USHPA BOD to reject the proposed sanctioning and accreditation process found in the Competition Workgroup proposal and instead implement the proposals found here. We ask you to ask your Regional Director (either by email or phoning) to vote with us in rejecting the CWG proposal if it in any way impinges on the Race-To-Goal competition program. Their phone numbers and email addresses can be found below.

Lisa has asked pilots to respond to their Regional Directors regarding a number of concerns that the CWG and the BOD are mulling over. We have provided our answers to those questions below. We ask you to consider our answers, make up your own mind and send in your answers to your Regional Director, along with our request above. Here are their questions along with our answers:

Section 1 – National Championships and Mentoring (Pros/Cons delivered to board week of 9/14):

(1) Should National Champions be crowned based on performance in a single event, as in years past, or by means of a series, as was tested in 2009?

Steve Kroop has proposed a Cross Country National Champion chosen from the results of "open distance" type competitions. As well as a Race to Goal National Champion chosen from pilots competing in race to goal type competitions. Two separate tracks (although pilots would be free to fly in either or both kinds of competitions).

I have proposed that the CWG proposal be edited to create this very cross country type competition system. You can find that proposal here: http://ozreport.com/docs/...rkingDraftfirstcopy.pdf. Redline version here: http://ozreport.com/docs/...aftfirstcopyredline.pdf.

I also proposed that the Race to Goal National Champion be the pilot with the highest total NTSS score from two meets out of the five race to goal meets sanctioned by the USHA in a given year (that number can vary). So you don't have to go to all five meets to be the National Champion, two will do, just do well in them. The math to do this is already in our NTSS ranking system.

I also propose that you can do the same thing or something similar with the Cross Country National Championship. Just make sure that your co-ordinate the scoring systems across competitions.

(2) Should National Championship competition events be given 100% “pre-meet” validity?

No, see above. The National Race-To-Goal Champion should be chosen as above from all the Race-To-Goal sanctioned meets.

(3) Is the Meet Director apprentice program contemplated by the 2009 draft
competition and events manual appropriate?

No. This program is poorly thought out and not funded (for the mentor). If the USHPA is willing to fund this (not just expenses of the mentee) paying the meet organizer/meet director(s) to do the mentoring, then this would be a step in the right direction (otherwise competition pilots will be asked to pay for this).

(4) What is the best way to foster mentoring and at which meets should mentoring be required, if any?

Follow the Ollie Gregory proposal for replicating Team Challenge type events. Provide financial support to Meet Organizers for Sport Class and for mentors for the Sport Class Pilots.

Section 2 – Foreign Competitions and Competitors (Pros/Cons to board week of 9/27):

(1) How should the attendance of foreign pilots affect the pre-meet validity of US meets?

Yes. Here is my proposal (originated by the paraglider pilots):

1. Foreign pilots are welcome and allowed in USHPA Sanctioned competitions.

Pilots ranked 1st - 100th: 45 points

Pilots ranked 101st - 200th: 30 points

Pilots ranked 201st - 300th: 20 points

Pilots ranked 301st - 400th: 15 points

Pilots ranked 401st - 500th: 10 points

Pilots ranked 501st - 600th: 5 points

(2) The draft presented to the board last Fall contemplated reducing the number of foreign events a US pilot can count in calculating their NTSS score from 2 down to 1. Should the US system be changed in some way so this doesn’t happen, and how?

The Race-To-Goal foreign competition provisions should be left untouched.

(3) Should all foreign events have FAI certification for them to be considered for use in NTSS?

Don't care, either way. Almost all hang gliding competitions outside the US are CIVL sanctioned.

(4) The draft competition manual contemplates levying a surcharge on competition participants at high level events, which moneys would go into a USHPA fund to pay for the travel expenses of world teams. Is this appropriate?

No, it is not.

If our goal is to have more competitions and more attendance, why are we discouraging attendance by taxing it? Isn't the complaint that the meets already costs too much, and that pilots want to go to competitions like the King meet which are less costly?

The National teams are free to raise money for their expenses. The USHPA contributes ZERO dollars to the US National team. Why should the USHPA collect a tax for a team that it doesn't even support?

Won't putting on a tax hurt the fund raising efforts of the National team? Right now pilots have the possibility of helping fund the team voluntarily through contributions to the Foundation for Free Flight (which goes to pay their entry fees at the Worlds, only). And they can participate in voluntary fund raising efforts by the team. Why undercut those efforts by instituting a tax?

Future Section Topics:

Pilot and Organizer Burden

() Many comp pilots feel strained to attend 3 competitions per year, considering a finite number of vacation days. Does the plan place too heavy of a burden on pilots aspiring to the world team?

No, it does not. Only four meets over a two year period are required. Where did the number three come from?

() Should the number of sanctioned events for each class be managed or restricted in some way to accommodate best estimates of supply and demand or should a hands-off, free market approach be used?

The more meets the better to serve our members. The USHPA must recognize that meet organizers are a limited resource and they must be encouraged to provide this wonderful service to the membership. We do not have a problem with too many meets, but too few.

() Comp pilots have reported they don’t want to be required to attend any low-level events. Does this requirement represent an excess burden on pilots, and is this requirement appropriate?

Yes. How about attracting pilots as opposed to forcing them? How about more carrots and less sticks? Isn't this supposed to be fun?

() What should the sanctioning fees be for accreditation and sanctioning? What changes, if any, should be considered at such time as sponsorship dollars are available?

We already have well over $20,000 spent on us each year at Big Spring. The dollars seem available now to meet organizers willing to do the work.

The sanction fees and bonds should be reduced by a factor of ten at least.

Validity and Scoring

() What is the best pre-meet validity system for the sport (i.e. headcount vs. ranking)

Race-To-Goal - GAP scoring.

The current NTSS system is an appropriate and well balanced validity system. I (through the paraglider pilots) have proposed a slight modification:

1. Each competing pilot in the meet (a competing pilot is one who has duly registered and flown at least one competition day) who is NTSS ranked 80th or higher brings points to the meet in accordance with the following schedule:

Pilots ranked 1st - 15th: 45 points

Pilots ranked 16th - 30th: 30 points

Pilots ranked 31st - 45th: 20 points

Pilots ranked 46th - 60th: 15 points

Pilots ranked 61st - 75th: 10 points

Pilots ranked 76th- 80th: 5 points

Previously it was:

Pilots ranked 1st - 10th: 45 points

Pilots ranked 11th - 20th: 30 points

Pilots ranked 21st - 30th: 20 points

Pilots ranked 31st - 40th: 14 points

Pilots ranked 41st - 50th: 9 points

Pilots ranked 51st - 60th: 6 points

Pilots ranked 61st - 70th: 4 points

Pilots ranked 71st - 80th: 2 points

In addition this change:

1. Foreign pilots are welcome and allowed in USHPA Sanctioned competitions.

Pilots ranked 1st - 100th: 45 points

Pilots ranked 101st - 200th: 30 points

Pilots ranked 201st - 300th: 20 points

Pilots ranked 301st - 400th: 15 points

Pilots ranked 401st - 500th: 10 points

Pilots ranked 501st - 600th: 5 points

Previously it was:

The NTSS ranking is made up only of U.S. pilots. However, the NTSS recognizes, for the purpose of points calculation, an equivalent foreign pilot's ranking according to the most current WPRS ranking with the top 20 places equal to the top 10 U.S. pilots and the WPRS ranking 21 through 40 equal to the NTSS 11 to 20 and so on up to WPRS 140 through 160 equal to NTSS 70 through 80.

() Should the number of total points required to achieve a fully valid meet be reduced (how much)? PG only?

No.

() Should competition tasks be scored using barometric or GPS altitude?

Barometric as it was at the Worlds. But, of course, altitude is not used in scoring unless air space is an issue.

You can ask your regional director to support these changes here:

REGION 1 - AK, OR, WA
Rich Hass	R	2010	(425) 453-7177		<lowenslo>
Mark Forbes	R	2009	(541) 760-3231	bio	<mgforbes>
Mike Haley	L	2009	(541) 899-1775		<mike_haley>
REGION 2 - North CA, NV
Paul Gazis	R	2009	(650) 604-5704		<pgazis>
Urs Kellenberger	R	2009	(650) 802-9908		<urs>
Dave Wills	R	2010	(650) 324-9155		<dave>
REGION 3 - South CA, HI
Rob Sporrer	R	2009	(805) 968-0980		<rob>
Bob Kuczewski	R	2010	(858) 204-7499	bio	<bobk>
Brad Hall	R	2009	(760) 438-7804	bio	<brad.reg3>
REGION 4 - AZ, CO, NM, UT
Mark Gaskill	R	2010	(801) 949-2803	bio	<airutah>
Ken Grubbs	R	2009	(970) 879-7770	bio	<kengrubbs>
Leo Bynum	L	2009	(505) 255-1097		<leo>
REGION 5 - ID, MT, WY
Lisa Tate	R	2009	(208) 376-7914		<lisa.tate>
REGION 6 - AR, KS, MO, NE, OK
Gregg Ludwig	R	2009	(281) 788-6754		<greggludwig>
REGION 7 - IL, IN, MI, MN ND, SD, WI, IA
Tracy Tillman	R	2010	(517) 223-8683		<cloud9sa>
REGION 8 - NH, CT, ME, MA, RI, VT
Jeff Nicolay	R	2010	(603) 542-4416		<morningside>
REGION 9 - DC, DL, KY, MD, OH, VA, WV
Felipe Amunategui	R	2010	(216) 751-0347		<felipe.amunategui>
L.E. Herrick	R	2009	(304) 704-2331		<le_herrick>
Dennis Pagen	L	2009	(814) 422-0589		<pagenbks>
Art Greenfield - NAA	X		(800) 644-9777		<awgreenfield>
REGION 10 - AL, FL, GA, MS NC, SC, TN, VI, PR
Steve Kroop	R	2010	(321) 773-2307		<info>
Matt Taber	R	2009	(706) 398-3433		<fly>
Dick Heckman	R	2009	(205) 534-1461		<hekdic>
REGION 11 - LA, TX
Gregg Ludwig	R	2009	(281) 788-6754		<greggludwig>
Riss Estes	L	2009	(512) 329-0790	bio	<parariss>
Dave Broyles	L	2009	(972) 727-3588		<broydg>
REGION 12 - NJ, NY
Paul Voight	R	2010	(845) 744-3317	bio	<flyhigh>
REGION 13 - International
Dick Heckman		2009	(205) 534-1461		<hekdic>