Time to limit or split Premier Division ?

[Dee]

.....There IS an issue with paddle up, and it has to do with when host-division priority ends. A couple of years ago this was moved from two weeks before the race to four weeks before, and I think it was a mistake. The change was made looking at things from the point of view of the paddle-ups. I'm a supporter of paddle up, but you have to remember that paddle ups are guests, paddling as a privilege, and - within reason - host division paddlers paddle as of right, and should have priority of entry to their own races.

At the next ACM I would like to see, and I would support, a motion to go back to the two week deadline, which ties up with late entry charges and so on.

One of the positive unintended side-effects of the 4week extension was that most organisers now pretty much know 4 weeks before the competition how many paddlers in which events they are expecting which does make organisation, startlists, prizes etc easier to plan.

Perhaps we should consider a single date 3 weeks before the competition as a compromise....
Upto the priority date host division paddlers get places.
At the three week deadline spare places are allocated to waiting list paddlers.
All entries received after the three week deadline are treated as late and incur a late fee.

This would go back to making the entry deadline the same as the priority period, but bringing it forwards by a week, making it slightly more reasonable for paddle-ups than the two-week deadline, and giving one date to the paddlers, rather than the current situation where they can beat the entry deadline but not get an entry

[Sven]

There IS an issue with paddle up, and it has to do with when host-division priority ends. A couple of years ago this was moved from two weeks before the race to four weeks before, and I think it was a mistake. The change was made looking at things from the point of view of the paddle-ups. I'm a supporter of paddle up, but you have to remember that paddle ups are guests, paddling as a privilege, and - within reason - host division paddlers paddle as of right, and should have priority of entry to their own races.

At the next ACM I would like to see, and I would support, a motion to go back to the two week deadline, which ties up with late entry charges and so on.

Totally agree with Nick, host division paddlers need to come first. Otherwise why bother with divisions at all?

[Steve Agar]

Perhaps we need a bit more of a fundamental re-think of the structure of slalom rather than tinkering? What we really need to address is how to get more slaloms on better water with more people involved to help? The paddle-up proposals were well-intentioned but have downsides too - similarly, just adjusting who can enter a Premier slalom when doesn't take away the underlying problem, and will upset as many people as it pleases. We are short of venues and organisers to meet the demand but there is no joined-up thinking to resolve that matter. The fact that £20 million is going into our sport solely to win Olympic medals might just mean that we need to think about who pays for what in order to sustain our sport. Where is the obligation on the Talent Development programmes to produce more organisers and volunteers to run events, and why can't the money be directed towards providing more events (at elite level as well as lower down) to satisfy more of the varied demands of the slalom community. We might even end up with a more fulfilling and sustainable sport at all levels. This may sound as if I'm subverting this thread, but I genuinely feel that we look too closely at the minutiae of one element of slalom without ever taking a wider view and coming up with a whole range of solutions to a series of connected problems. This approach also requires leadership at the highest level within our sport or we all end up fighting each other for the scraps whilst missing out on the feast.

[djberriman]

We would love to run a washburn prem each year for this very reason.

Perhaps some prem paddlers could set up a working party to address what needs to be done at the washburn to make a suitable course, were the course should be and help ensure it meets prem paddlers needs and expectations. I am sure if some work needed to be done to improve some features on a certain section it may be possible. The big weir has changed recently which may help.