So have a great discussion tonight with a friend on the jugdement rules that get put into practice by GTG and USAT. I was mentioning that i was disgusted with how USAT officials are so picky that they will slap a 4 minute penalty onto someone who is trying to break 17 hours. I mean come on… what are you trying to do… destroy there love of sport? From what little i have heard about what Jimmie is doing with GTG is that it is based on common sense… i.e. mr 60 hour a work week dad to two kids and trying to get in under 14 hours and accidently was in a draft zone for a bit… is not going to get slapped up side the head with the sin bin. He’ll be informed of his wrongs but not knocked.
Currently when you register for IMNA races you select either 1) competing for slot or 2) not competing for slot.
If these were to be reflected in say race bib numbers would this change the face of officiating… the guys on bikes concentrating on those that were racing as opposed to those who were participating?
we were thinking that the type of person that selects to be a participant rather than a racer is likely to not have a cheating mind set… of course… people will always fall through the cracks.
Rules are rules. The integrity of the sport is based in the individuals effort - not some guy saving 30% of his energy for my trouble. If you can’t hack it in the saddle, go play tennis.
What about the guys that don’t nominate to go to Kona but are still going for the podium in their age group. Are they also allowed to stay in the draft zone just a bit too long?
There is some aerodynamic benefit for the lead person when two or more riders are together. So you would have to tell people that wanted to draft they couldn’t draft behind people trying to qualify. That would not be possible.
If these were to be reflected in say race bib numbers would this change the face of officiating
It’s reflected now, just in the “penalty” column of the results. If folks break the rules, they get penalized. Seems fair. And simpler for the officials who simply have one set of rules for everyone.
Certainly think there should be (and is) some common sense application of the rules. Way back in my group there’s a lot more (inadvertent?) drafting - sometimes its just tough not to when there’s so many of us all slugging up the hill to LP, e.g… but, I didn’t see any of us 14 hour types getting flagged either.
Plus, I agree w/ the reply earlier about the safety aspects. I WANT that guy behind me to be looking up and keeping off my wheel - unless we’re going to require ITU-style bars then no-drafting has to be the standard.
On the other hand, maybe we should take your concept to its logical conclusion. I should get to wear paddles and fins in the water, draft all day on the bike, and have my wife ride alongside for the run (holding my MP3 player for me). After all, its not like I’m going to Kona…
Finally, where did you select competing / not competing? I’m looking at my CdA application, the only status block is for whether I want to compete as an age-grouper or Clyde.