5.7 Paddle Up - 2011 ACM Motions

[Canadian Paddler]

To enable paddlers to get experience of bigger water and compare themselves with higher-division paddlers.
To increase the number of racing opportunities within a reasonable distance of paddlers’ homes.
And perhaps to give organisers additional entry fee revenue!

Add rule B3.3.2 ff (page 56)
B3.3 Accelerated Promotion
For the 2012 season, the concept of ‘paddling up’ will be trialled; this will be reviewed at the end of the season.
B3.3.1. “Paddle Up”
A competitor ranked in any given division may enter races designed for the next division up (referred to below as the Host division). This is intended to enable paddlers to get experience of more challenging racing conditions and to allow them to compare their abilities against higher-division paddlers. Provided that the class is quorate, a competitor “paddling up” achieving a result better than that achieved by 40% of the ranked paddlers competing in that class at three events in the same season may claim promotion into the higher division.
In the case of a multi-division event (e.g Div1/2 or Div 2/3) a paddler ranked in the lower division who achieves a result better than that achieved by 40% of the ranked paddlers competing in the same class in the higher division may claim the result as one of their three "paddle up" promotion results.
B3.3.2. “Paddle Up” Participation Conditions
The entry fee payable will be the same as for competitors in the Host division.
Points will be calculated for the Host division as though the “paddling up” competitors were not present. They will not receive ranking points and will be listed “NR” on the results sheets.
The event organiser may impose a limit on numbers, either in the published calendar or at the time of planning the start list. If such a limit is applied, priority of entry shall be as follows:
a) Up to the event deadline: Host division paddlers, in order of receipt of entries, then “paddlers up”, in order of receipt of entries.
b) After the event deadline up to entry cut-off: both Host division and “paddling up” paddlers in order of receipt of entries.

NOTE: particularly between Premier and Division 1, the ability overlap is very small - see for example the recent Tees results. I think promotion under this rule will be very rare, and would be an achievement well worthy of promotion. It is unlikely to increase number promoted to Premier, because such paddlers would almost certainly be promoted on points in the same year.

[Nicky]

if racing at a 2/3, a div 3 paddler would need to pay div 2 fees to be elidgible to paddle up? Or can they pay later? I think that there would be a lot of people trying to do this if it were allowed...

Does this make the div 2 entry rule unnecessary?

Is there an easy way to include people in the results but igore them for points, just thinking of making it more complicated for organisers.

What about judges, are we going to have too few judges, do we need to have a priority order for judging?

Just my random thoughts! I think it is a step forward and is a good idea and will almost certainly increase participation.

[Nicky]

oh yeah, i was thinking that someone was thinking of introducing a paddles up style event when i saw the name of this thread, bitterly dissappointed:p