Krusty said...qwerty said...whyner said...
Hi all,
I have had a concept for some years now to encourage a few things from our events. I brought it to the table at the AGM and it was unanimously voted in.
Aim.
1. Increase participation
2. Help everyone develop and improve there skills
3. Increase the fun and social aspect
4. Have a more competitive NSW State Titles event
Overview of new format.
4 x Stand alone Expression session style events, following the Taranaki Wave Event format. That is, sail all day at your leisure. There will be a vote on the top 10 who sail a super session at the end of the day to determine placings. The aim of these events is fun/social/improve. To celebrate the spirit of Wavesailing.
1 x NSW Wavesailing State titles. A 4 day event Thursday - Sunday with Man on Man format. Following the PWA guidelines.
I have been chosen to be President and will work hard to make it the most enjoyable year in NSW Wavesailing history! The finer details of the new format will be available in due course on the NSW website and links will be posted on seabreeze.
Its going to be huge and the excitement and enthusiasm has already started.
Cheers everyone.
George
Brilliant.
That's how it should be.
As I remember it, that's how it was done some years back, just minus the state titles round. After a few years people voted to go back to traditional man on man competition due to a number of reasons, I m pretty sure I remember qwerty puting his 2 cents in about it too.
A few problems I remembered with the expression session style comps was the amount of people on the water was crazy at some events, verging on dangerous. Also the results were always questioned as it's pretty damn hard to place anyone in such a large group and have people agree with it too.
Don't take this as me disagreeing with your ideas, I'm all for a change and after seeing the amount of energy that gets put in to run an event a more relaxed approach like this will be beneficial. Also having a traditional 4 day state title comp is great too, gives the best of both worlds.
Good luck with it all and where are the proposed locations for next season?
Good memory Krusty. I did table something similar in 2004 but it didn't get over the line (can't recall the argument against).
This proposal from George is a whole lot better, and I think it nails it.
The Taranaki model worked very well over there (and they had about 80 people on the water), and no reason why it couldn't work here.
You've raised some fair points Krusty, but I personally I don't see the same safety issue. Everyone is a competent sailor and knows the rules. Wouldn't be any different to your average summers day at Gerroa when everyone's out. And with this, there may be some loose structure that could be placed around the competition area to control it a little for the benefit of safety and judging (didn't they do something like that at Mambo a while ago?)
Yes, from time to time is may be hard to accurately rate every sailor or split them on performance, but.....
a) I still believe everyone is capable of calling the right result. Even when it's man on man it's still a judged event so it's still open to different interpretations.
b) I think we'll see the standard of sailing improve. Not having the pressure of having to do something in 10 mins; not having to ride conservatively in case you fall off; and being able to wait for a better wave even if it takes another 10 mins to arrive will benefit everyone.
c) More importantly a bit of a mind shift is needed so people don't get so hung up on the granular placings. I'm not having a dig at anyone, and there's nothing wrong with being competitive and trying to win, but when you weigh it all up, does it really matter if the trade-off is an event that attracts a lot more people and sponsors, and people get more time on the water? I think this trade off is far better, but each to their own. And by having the formal NSW titles looming at the end of each season, this can satisfy that side of peoples competitive appetites.
Which flags the other great idea in this proposal. The stand-alone man on man weekend for the state titles. It's basically going to give it a nationals vibe as it's concentrated all in one window.
It's been raised at every AGM for the last 10-15 years how no one wants to drive 8 hours up the coast to sail for 10 mins then lose. Or if the forecast is bad, a lot of people don't bother, therefore get a "
Did not turn up" for the event, and their series ranking is pretty well stuffed, so there is no incentive to go to the remaining events (if a good ranking is what they were after).
Therefore, those (no disrespect intended) willing to do the miles would often have a trophy land in their lap at the end of the season, and hey, good on them. But unfortunately it (for lack of a better word) cheapens the notion of a "NSW state championship". It's very diluted.
To allow people to just commit to one 4 day weekend to get it all done is a great idea. Probably easier to market as well.
There's been a few trials of different formats over the years, and that alone is an encouraging factor to see people trying to keep it fresh. I really like this one. I applaud everyone in the NSWWA for their efforts to date and for committing to giving this one a go. I haven't been to any state rounds for a few years, but I reckon I'll be keen for these ones. Hope to see you there Krusty!
Can't wait for the pics.
