>In my mind, having extra low-subscription classes (ladies or otherwise)
>causes a few problems.
>1. It adds overhead to the event. Extra classes to keep track of, extra
>trophies to present.
Is this really a enough affect to eliminate these classes, and someone elses
fun?
>2. It potentially de-values "competitive" wins in other classes.
I still don't see how ladies class trophies devaule open class trophies. How
does giving a trophy to another class "de-value" the one I may win?? And,
does forcing the ladies to run in open add more value to an open class trophy?
And if it did, why should the value that the winner of one class places on
his tropy affect the awarding of trophies to others - IMHO this a a selfish
attitude.
>3. It potentially dillutes the sponser/contingency pool.
My Response: So few of us win anything significnat here - and is this why we
are spending our free time in parking lots?? Your CP story illustrates that
the contingency $ will never be distributd "fairly" - even if all ladies
classes were eliminated. By the way - the work "Fair" may well be the worst
word ever "invented". I'm sure that philosphers have debated this since the
beginning of time, but "fairness" is much more a matter of perspective and
emotion then concrete, analytical facts. I can make a case that anything is
both fair AND unfair. Again - I don't see this a a good reason to take away
from another persons fun for this reason...
>
>4. Low subscription classes that are clearly artificial bother me in
>theory.
So should something that bothers people "in theory" result in taking the fun
away from others who enjoy the sport for the fun and challenge of it??
>
>Let me give you an example of #2. This year I ran 2 pros in DS, got
>sick of getting my ass handed to me and decided that if I was gonna suck I
>was gonna do it in a car that was more fun to drive. So I jumped into CP
>for Harrisburg and the Finale. .....
>.....To my rather large surprise, they did that and I got a "CP
>National ProSolo Championship". I don't think I've ever been more
>embarrased in my life. I was basically getting an attendence award while
>other folks that battled all year and were excellent drivers got nothing.
So it sounds like you were motivated by the fun factor- Great!!! Other
competitors selected their classes to run in for their own reasons. Some to
have fun, some to compete in hard classes, some to compete in easy classes,
etc. Nothing wrong with any of those reasons...
It sounds like you knew the true meaning of your "attendance" award - and so
did everyone else. I doubt if anyone who won a trophy in a competive class at
that event thinks of your CP trophy when he/she sees their trophy and reflects
on it. It bet they think of the last run they had when they beat the favorite
with a nearly perfect run for a .01 second win.
Mike Taylor
miket@interaccess.com
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