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Leaving aside the point made by Bob Morris, a land manager's list of 
restrictions may not even include "competitions". Nevertheless, in order 
for us to discuss this issue cogently we need to agree on a definition 
of "competition".  Otherwise, we will be discussing different concepts 
and that will get us nowhere.  I suggest we use Webster's New World 
Dictionary as a starting point.

compete  to enter into or be in rivalry; contend; vie (in a contest, 
athletic meet, etc.)
competition  1. the act of competing; rivalry 2. a contest, or match 3. 
official participation in organized sport 4. opposition, or effective 
opposition, in a contest or match 5. rivalry in business... 6. the 
person or persons against whom one competes... SYN.--competition 
denotes a striving for the same object, position, prize, etc., usually 
in accordance with certain fixed rules

It is not enough to qualify as "competing" to participate *with* another 
party; one must also *contend* with another.  All the definitions of 
"competition", except #3, encompass this concept.  There is also the 
unspoken requirement that what one is competing for is in limited 
supply.  Like First Place.  There is only one of them.  Likewise, there 
is only one of each placing so any event that ranks participants by 
order of finish is a "competition".  #1 and the definition under SYN are 
good ones and not mutually exclusive.  I suggest we use one or both of 
those.

kathy swigart wrote:
> If you give awards at the end of the year to some people not
>  others based on the number of miles recorded as completed, then
> technically yes, even "completion only" rides are a competition
> according to this defintion.  And yes, a competition against other
> competitors, not just yourself.

As a definition of "competition", this is incomplete since it doesn't 
explicitly state that the awards are limited to those who "compete" for 
the *most* mileage.  Therefore we must assume that competing for these 
awards is implicit since if it is not, like with the Mileage Medallions, 
there is no competition.  Assuming the awards to which you refer are the 
annual mileage championships, then the answer to this problem is to 
exclude mileage in these events from counting towards those awards. 
Lifetime mileage, yes.  Annual award, no.

> Certainly if you offer a BC award as such events (as somebody
> suggested), then according to this defintion it counts as a
> competition.

Agreed.  So sanctioning would have to specifically exclude offering a 
BC.  You would also be well advised to list the finishers in 
alphabetical order, albeit, with riding time.

> If you give an award to those who finish and not to those who
> don't finish, then according to this definition, it counts as a
> competition.

No, not if competing is an understood though unstated part of the 
definition.  There is no competition for completion awards since they 
are available to all participants irrespective of the number of 
entrants.  It's like a classroom of kids taking a math test where 100% 
is an A and anything below 60% is an F.  While there may be rivalries 
amongst the students, the test itself is not a competition.  Each 
student's grade (award) depends on that student's answers and is neither 
related to nor dependent on how anyone else does on the test.

> Whether individual land managers will choose to define competition
> this way is up to them.

They will probably define "competition" in a way that either promotes 
their own personal agendas or exposes them to the least 
hassle/liability.  Cynical, but from the horror stories I've read, true.

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