I'll start the difficult topic: US team didn't do as well as in the years past. Is it just a transitional "change of the guard" situation? Is it something that WC judges emphasized this time that wasn't there before? Could competitors from other countries offer an opinion of what they saw? I thought FAI recently made rule changes that made FAI's scoring closer to AMA's. Shouldn't that have made the playing field more even for US team members? I could have sworn, in the past WC, the US team usually bunched up near the top. Are there lessons to be learned?
To this and several other comments that have been made on this thread, I will respond.
Our team came in fourth. Compared to the USA record during the past 20 years, that is not so bad. Also, given that we had three Americans in the top 15 is not a bad showing in any manner whatsoever. In fact, if those three placings could have been used for the calculation for team placing, guess where the USA would have finished -- First. So, David's score could not be used. Given the level of performance that has risen around the world, the fourth place finish of the USA team is not something to be ashamed of as some seem to be suggesting by needing to figure out what is wrong with our team or the process by which we pick our team. Back in the 70's and 80's, the US fliers were better. I saw it first hand by attending several World Championships during that period and since. But the rest of the world has improved. They have the equipment. They have the training, coaching and experience. The Chinese first attended the World Championships in 1982. They were well coached and well prepared then and they only got better. Other teams have improved as evidenced by the French, the Japanese, the team from the Ukraine, the Czechs and other individuals have shown more than casual competence when competing at that level. That the USA team is and has almost always been in contention, even this year, is an impressive record that is not matched by any other team in international model airplane competition since the World Championships took on the basic format used today starting in 1960.
And there should not be any hint that the performance of Ryan Young, the new reigning Junior Champion, was anything less that spectacular.
To those that suggest that we need to run more F2B contests here in the States, I will respond that there are no reasons to do so or not to do so. In fact, for those who want to eliminate the BOM rule, the F2B rules should be quite attractive. However, it would be interesting to hear the justification for holding F2B contests here for whatever reasons could be put fourth that would somehow make our teams more competitive or better prepared. The patterns are essentially identical. The differences in the patterns is practically nil and hardly make any difference on how the maneuvers are judged. There are a few slight variations:
a. The specification of the vertical or near vertical legs of the square maneuvers are different (and I will not comment on how some FAI judges score these maneuvers).
b. The FAI landing is different in that a full lap is required from the start of descent at 1.5 meters to touch down. The AMA pattern does not require such a thing.
c. Only 1 1/2 laps are required prior to the overhead eights instead of the 2 1/2 laps required by the AMA rules.
d. The FAI time limit is 7 minutes from the signal to start compared to the AMA limit of 8 minutes.
e. There are some minor differences in the times allotted to enter the circle and for the time to signal to start, but these are not anything beyond the capability of anyone who has some knowledge of the rules, knows how to carry his model to the circle, and knows how to get ready to start his engine/motor.
So, what is it in the FAI rules that make them so different that causes hardships for our team members because we do not hold F2B contests here in the States? I have yet to hear an explanation for that.
Yes, the scoring system is different. Our AMA scoring is based (except for the landing) on a 10 to 40 point range with full point increments. The FAI scoring has a K factor for each maneuver and uses 0 to 10 point scoring in 0.1 point increments. I do not know if it has ever been done, but it would be interesting to have two sets of judges at a contest, or even during a judging clinic where one set of judges uses AMA scoring and the other uses FAI scoring. I would be willing to wager that the better flights will still get scored as being better with both systems. The variances in the abilities/skills of individual judges will have more effect on pilot placings than will the effect of different scoring systems.
Many factors can govern the outcome of any contest, and particularly at the World Championships level. Luck of the draw coupled with field conditions (including long grass and less than smooth and/or level surfaces), changing weather conditions all enter into the equation. Then, there is a problem that some judges do not really know the rules and record scores that show they do not know certain aspects of the rules. I have seen this first hand and it is very frustrating not being able to have such situations corrected given some of the political aspects that must be considered before filing any sort of protest.
And what some people fail to realize is the tremendous commitment by any team member to participate as a team member. The process is expensive. The AMA provides only a small fraction of the individual expenses to be on a team. Transportation is difficult. Getting models, equipment and fuel on site takes a major effort. Living conditions are not always to a standard that we would like be be accustomed. Local transportation requires a lot of sacrifices by each team member to accommodate the rest of the team. Practice sites, when they exist are sometimes marginal at best and time for practice is often limited and must be shared with the other team members. Yes, other teams cope as well, but nontheless, there are factors that require considerable effort and sacrifice in order to compete successfully at that level.
In short, I think our entire team did a terrific job this year and should get nothing short of our praise for their efforts.
Topic: Can we start analysis now or is it too early (Read 18692 times)
