Greg Babush <<greg>>
writes:

It has been proposed that PWC events be excluded from NTSS
(National team Selection System) points because it was thought they were
'invitational' events. This is completely false and would be a big step
backwards in the growing competition scene in the USA.

For those of you unfamiliar with the PWC - Paragliding World Cup, it is an
organization that promotes cross country paragliding competitions, and these
events tend to of a very high quality and level. One wonderful aspect of the PWC
is that all pilots who compete in the PWC are eligible to vote and make any/all
changes to the PWC; the PWC decisions are made by the pilots for the pilots.

All cross country competitions have requirements to enter. Many foreign meets
reserve only a certain number of spots for foreign pilots. We have this in our
rulebook for USA meets as well regarding foreign competitors. Some
events/countries let foreign pilots have these spots 1st come 1st in, while
others give the spots to the highest ranked pilots registered by a certain date.
There is no standard. Some competitions don't allow 1st time competitors (US
nationals in Owens) and others don't let P3 pilots compete, and so on.

Likewise there is a selection process to enter a PWC. Each pilot is given 2
letters, ranging from A to Z, based on that pilots results from the previous
year. The better one's results were, the better the letters that pilot gets.
Events that count for letters include: any pre-PWC or PWC, any national
championships, any national league result (and if your country doesn't have a
national league a letter is issued based on ones national ranking), continental
championships and world championships. If there is over subscription for a PWC,
the top 130 pilots in but they have 5 days to pay to confirm their spot. After 5
days if they haven't paid their spot is passed on to pilots on the waiting list
who wait in order based on their letters. They in turn have 5 days to pay, or
their spot is passed on, and so on.

There is no invitation to any pilots regarding competing in a PWC based on who's
cool, who one knows, where you're from. Pilots are given spots based on being
registered by a certain date and based on one's results. The experience pilots
get, especially USA pilots, flying in a comp with such a high caliber of pilots
that the PWC consistently has, is invaluable training for those pilots who in
tern pass this knowledge on to other USA pilots. The skills of the USA
competition community is at a higher lever than ever before, and it is important
to nurture continued growth in competition and be supportive, and not to
restrict NTSS points from a very high level of competition because of a
misunderstanding.

Please do not vote to exclude NTSS points from PWC competitions.