
Originally Posted by
OB1
I'm just doing my monthly catch-up on 'interesting and informative threads'. Including this one. :wink:
Big thanks to AndyA for a brave attempt at some 'plain english' presentation / logical deduction in his Version 1 and Version 2, for those of us who couldn't see the wood for the trees (Note, for me as a layperson the 'hype' seemed to be coming from both directions).
Just picking up and 'attempting to elaborate / add to' a part of your Version 2 (extract in quotes above), my logical deduction says that: if a junior qualifies for the maximum distance restriction of a certain race category on 1st Jan, then by definition they will qualify for that restriction at any other date in the same calendar year. So, if, as a RO your race has been based on 'age at 1st Jan' (like most FRA junior races will - coincidentally maybe - have been?) and you dont change this for 2013, then essentially there is no impact on a junior until they become of 'senior' age and can move up / overlap part way through the year (distance permitting) when they come of age. Also, for any championship series that doesn't span calendar years the same is true if the qualifying age date is 1st Jan (like the FRA-linked champs?). However, for individual races that DO have (either prior to 2013 or after 2013) qualifying age dates that DO fall later on within the calendar year, a junior athlete may find that after their birthday, part way through the year, under the rule change they might (distance limits allowing) legitimately run in races falling into the 'next race category up' (move up a category). Although this might make sense to -and indeed maybe benefit - the athlete / club from the perspective of 'gaining experience' as soon as 'old enough for the distance', for practical championship-point purposes it would not normally make sense to do so (move up), part way through the said championship season.
Now, it's my turn as a parent with 3 juniors (7, 9, 11) with birthdays in Feb, July, Oct to ask:
"Is that (the above) a reasonably objective statement to add to Andy's version 2 to try and elaborate / understand the nuances of this change?"
PS. I hope I've got the nuances of the FRA rule change right, so I can move on to understand the XC (U9, U11, etc) rules and the Swimming Association rules too..:wink: