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Re: [RC] Definition of Champion? - Joe LongOn Sun, 30 Jul 2006 23:58:30 -0400, Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: And if there is any new awards offered by the AERC Decade Teams should be top on the list. For new awards, I agree. The basic problem lies IMO in two directions. First endurance is a big tent. It's something different to different people. To some it is longevity. To some it putting on high mileage seasons and yes to some it is winning. To some anything short of a 100 shouldn't count . To some LD is their choice event. While some members may not like some of this and voice it regularly on the list - the AERC welcomes all in the tent. So when you throw a mix that broad together it is difficult to determine just what a champion is. True, although the so-called "trailer race" season-points system we had up until the mid-1980's has IMO done the best job, with the widest consensus among the members, to date. I believe a solid majority of endurance riders consider performance over many rides, keeping the same horse fit and sound, to be of high importance. The second issue as I see it is there are some that want to turn the clock back. History normally teaches that not only is it very difficult to do so - it is normally the wrong direction since conditions evolve in time and the conditions that were in place a few years ago no longer exist. For example a great trailer race of NC would not be very feasible today since we have less than half the number of 100's now as when it was in place and gas back then was about 1/3 of what it is today. Gas today is about the same as it was back then, counting inflation. When I was Reserve National Champion for the first time, there were NO 100's in the East after July. None. A bigger issue is the one Randy raises about the multi-days, as they didn't exist then. But I'm not convinced they will be as big a factor as he thinks. I don't expect this topic to ever really be solved in that I don't expect a broad consensus in how the champion should be selected either. The current process seems to be working as well as any and better than most - despite the few vocal opponents. I guess you count me as one of a "few vocal opponents," but the thing is -- the current process is NOT working well. Despite all the efforts over nearly 20 years now of trying different approaches, IMO none has worked as well as season-long points and a single National Champion did. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.chiprider.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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