Jury/Course Designers and Pole Heights
Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:17 pm
An open discussion; to test the water on this issue...
Situation:
In a Div 3/4 race at Stone, the course designer adjusted the course at lunch. The poles went from being fairly low, to fairly high.
Adjustment is often a requirement at Stone, as the river usually rises 2-3 inches through the day.
Paddling as a judge, I took my runs, 1st Run at the end of First runs and the 2nd run after the 30min lunch break, at the start of Second runs.
Result:
The result; I improved by 5 seconds on a 75 second course. (7.5% improvement)
Validation:
Both of these runs I considered to be equally good, for the course I was completing.
On Stone, after 15 years of paddling, I am an EXPERT.
On races such as the Oct Div 3/4 this year, I improved by 0.4 seconds between each run completed in a similar style, but without course adjustment. This is typical of racing.
My Conclusion:
Pole heights make a big difference to the length of time it takes to complete a course.
Concern:
Over the past two months, I have seen more than one race, where the course has been adjusted, between 1st and 2nd runs. At Interclubs, at 3/4 races, at Prems. From my conclusion this makes a difference to the race outcome.
In the worst cases, some paddlers have asked to complete their runs early, or are paddling multiple categories and paddle out of turn, therefore completing both runs before this adjustment is made.
In other cases, the field of competitors is disadvantaged by the change of height. (i.e. a high pole, which makes a move flow, is changed, to a low pole, to make it awkward, sticky, shallow, or even in some cases rocky, due to the extra width required to manouver around the pole.)
In some cases where this change occurs, only just before runs are due to start, those paddlers who paddle early in a category are disadvantaged further, compared to their peers, who paddle later in the category.
Observation:
Many jury members are experienced individuals who remember the days of aggregate runs.
Many course designers are paddlers, either present or recent.
Both are trying to achieve a fair test for the paddlers.
This is not necessarily the same TEST, but they need to make sure it is FAIR across the day.
Questions:
Who has responsibility for the pole heights once the course has been set?
Should we set out new guidance for Event Organisers/Jury/Course Designers, on the setting of pole heights for BEST RUN COUNTS racing? (Including the requirement to remove the need to change Pole Heights across the day (except in changing environments, but in both cases) with approval from both the Course designer/s and Jury together)
Situation:
In a Div 3/4 race at Stone, the course designer adjusted the course at lunch. The poles went from being fairly low, to fairly high.
Adjustment is often a requirement at Stone, as the river usually rises 2-3 inches through the day.
Paddling as a judge, I took my runs, 1st Run at the end of First runs and the 2nd run after the 30min lunch break, at the start of Second runs.
Result:
The result; I improved by 5 seconds on a 75 second course. (7.5% improvement)
Validation:
Both of these runs I considered to be equally good, for the course I was completing.
On Stone, after 15 years of paddling, I am an EXPERT.
On races such as the Oct Div 3/4 this year, I improved by 0.4 seconds between each run completed in a similar style, but without course adjustment. This is typical of racing.
My Conclusion:
Pole heights make a big difference to the length of time it takes to complete a course.
Concern:
Over the past two months, I have seen more than one race, where the course has been adjusted, between 1st and 2nd runs. At Interclubs, at 3/4 races, at Prems. From my conclusion this makes a difference to the race outcome.
In the worst cases, some paddlers have asked to complete their runs early, or are paddling multiple categories and paddle out of turn, therefore completing both runs before this adjustment is made.
In other cases, the field of competitors is disadvantaged by the change of height. (i.e. a high pole, which makes a move flow, is changed, to a low pole, to make it awkward, sticky, shallow, or even in some cases rocky, due to the extra width required to manouver around the pole.)
In some cases where this change occurs, only just before runs are due to start, those paddlers who paddle early in a category are disadvantaged further, compared to their peers, who paddle later in the category.
Observation:
Many jury members are experienced individuals who remember the days of aggregate runs.
Many course designers are paddlers, either present or recent.
Both are trying to achieve a fair test for the paddlers.
This is not necessarily the same TEST, but they need to make sure it is FAIR across the day.
Questions:
Who has responsibility for the pole heights once the course has been set?
Should we set out new guidance for Event Organisers/Jury/Course Designers, on the setting of pole heights for BEST RUN COUNTS racing? (Including the requirement to remove the need to change Pole Heights across the day (except in changing environments, but in both cases) with approval from both the Course designer/s and Jury together)