AN EVALUATION OF COMPETITION PILOTS AND GLIDING COMPETITION SCORING SYSTEMS

Abstract

This study shows how official scoring tables cannot tell the full story about gliding competitions and competitors. By introducing several new descriptive parameters (computed automatically with the Gliding Competition Analysis Program) an in-depth evaluation of pilots and competitions has been made possible. For selection committees and team managers, the Gliding Competition Analysis Program may become an important aid to prepare championship teams. The competition pilot may use the tool to identify strong and weak sides of themselves and others, thereby allowing new strategies and better training programs to be developed. Finally, it has been shown that the current scoring system can be sacrificed in favor of a much simpler .,formula one" type system, without sacrificing the fairness and the quality of the competitions. On the contrary, such a simplification may be inevitable if competition gliding ever is going to be appreciated outside the gliding community.