So 2010, 2011, and 2012 (minus SCFR) competition results count
for the national team selection

The USHPA Competition Committee, unable a week ago Monday to agree
on the clear meaning of their own rule, asked Tim Herr, the USHPA's lawyer, to
tell them what it meant. He agreed with Steve Kroop, the person who actually
wrote the rule, that it meant that for the 2013 Worlds, which is being held in
January, that the competition results from 2010, 2011, and 2012 (not including
the Santa Cruz Flats Race) were to be counted when ranking US pilots. That's why
you have lawyers, to tell you what words and sentences actually mean, when you
can't figure it out for yourself.

Given this understanding of the rule this means that Robin Hamilton, the current
US National Champion, will be the fourth ranked pilot going to Australia
(assuming those not wishing to go are not counted). See here:
http://ozreport.com/16.201#0. It also, unfortunately, means that Larry
Bunner, who was preliminarily notified that he would be the sixth pilot on the
national team, will not be going to the Worlds

This should all be worked out officially by the end of this week.

So in the end, and somewhat by coincidence, it has worked out that the team
selected would have been the same team that would have been selected if only
2011 and 2012 (including the SCFR) competition results were used to select the
team. In other words, it worked out as though the team was selected by their
performance in all the competitions just prior to the Worlds. Just the method
that we would prefer.

The USHPA was brought to its senses because Robin Hamilton was willing to press
his case with the competition committee and he was shown to be in the right.
Congratulations to the national team members.