When hockey came back from it’s lockout of the 2004-2005 season it came back with some rule changes. The rule changes themselves were not the biggest change. The biggest change came in the way the rules were going to be enforced. They decided on a set of rules they thought were in the best interest of the sport and then more importantly they decided to enforce them, and enforce them ruthlessly. At first it took the players a bit to get used to and we had more players in the penalty box than on the ice. But it did not take long for the players to adapt. They now know that interference is not tolerated and will be called almost every single time. If a rule is worth having it is worth enforcing.
After every major race you can come to ST and find numerous threads about how the race was a draft fest. We blame the course, we blame the size and spacing of the waves, we blame the conditions, and most of all we blame each other.
When I ride with my roadie friends I often brag about how our sport doesn’t allow drafting. I believe most of us find the idea of “without outside assistance” a source of pride in our sport. I contend that if we want it to stop (and I believe most do want it to stop) then we need to put the responsibility squarely on the RD’s of each event. If an event you participate in is a draft fest complain to the RD, complain often and complain in numbers.
I think we should not fall into the trap of worrying about WHY the drafting happens but our efforts should focus on WHY it is not penalized. It is the RD’s job to worry about why it happens. They should concern themselves with wave spacing and size and course layout. As a participant I don’t care what conditions contribute to it but I expect the rule to either be enforced or thrown out. An RD can come up with a ton of reason of why it happens, and how hard it may be to enforce, but the bottom line it is their responsibility to enforce it. If they want to allow drafting in their race then advertise it as so.
I bet that if Race Directors enforced the drafting rule in the same manor that hockey has decided to enforce its rules, changes would happen, and they would happen quickly. I believe we need to band together to stop complaining that drafting happens, and start complaining as a group that the rules are not being enforced.
