I guess I'll have to differ somewhat with my "Canned Ham" racing teammate, the esteemed Mr. Akre.
Mouse I is a beginner's event. As Les has pointed out, it has several critical characteristics that make it suitable:
1. It is inherently safer to learn to race flying Mouse I than anything else. It is more tolerant of both pilot and pitman errors. In other words, it is a good training ground. I got into racing that way, and even then, I had to fly demos before they would let me be pilot in a race. So believe it or not, I started out as a Mouse I pitman.
2. It is about as low cost as you can get. Go look at any other kind of racing events, not just control line. The less expensive ones are where guys start. You don't wake up one morning and decide that you want to race F1.
3. Despite more pissing and moaning than I would believe possible, finding Cox parts, both used and new is pretty simple. The parts are interchangeable. You can fiddle with different stock and aftermarket heads. If you say that only brand new parts are worth your time, and oh, by the way, you have been flying control line for 40 years so you know of what you speak, well....you're not the audience that would benefit from a beginner event. Go try AMA Scale or 15 Rat.
4. So when you add up these characteristics, I'd say if it walks like a duck.... Sure, you can bring seasoned racers into the event, and I'm not against that. In fact, in my opinion, it is actually helpful for beginners to race against seasoned racers from a learning and safety standpoint. I think where the issue gets confused is that when some guys say it is a beginner's event, that only beginners should enter. Somehow, this comes from the idea of fairness and "equal right to win." I'd look at a bit differently. You should have an equal right to practice and get good. An equal right to enter and be allowed to pilot or pit as you desire. An equal right to compete and learn. No one is guaranteeing you an equal right to win. That's on you. That's why it is called racing.
Things could be organized differently if we had half a dozen true beginners showing up to a race. Out here for the SCAR races, the best we ever managed was about three beginners at the same time. We flew them against each other when we could. We also taught them 2-up with an experienced pilot in the circle to try to accelerate the training. They had a good time. And since it is Mouse I, sometimes they won against a much more experienced team. And we talked about those races all season....
Divot McSlow
PS--If I had my 'druthers, I'd change the wording on the Mouse I rules to say something along the lines of using a production reed valve engine, and that reed conversions of other types are not permissible. For the most part, this was how the situation existed by gentleman's agreement. Until someone shows up with a conversion. But there have only ever been a handful of these. And every time this rules situation comes up, at least one or two guys would get really upset. Maybe that has changed. And no, I don't feel the need to submit a rules change proposal. I'm simply not that concerned or affected by the situation. But new guys that are looking to buy new equipment might like to know about the prior debate before they jump in.