Paddle up - how to enter?

[JimW]

I want to paddle up in div 2 C1M at Pinkston, I kind of assumed there would be something on the entry cards to indicate this but if there is I am failing to spot it.

What is the accepted way to do it?
Do I just fill in the division box with host division and (PU) after, or maybe my own division with (PU) after, or just fill it in as if for the host division and let the organiser find out (no, that would be stupid!).

Before anyone accuses me of hypocracy for noting that accelerated promotion may be the cause of the div 1 problem and then going on to enter as a paddle up, my reasons are quite unusual!

Div 3 paddle Pinkston on 1 pump, div 2 on 2 pumps, the Panthers train there on 3 pumps.
At my weight, on 1 pump, I will be getting stuck on some of the drops and possibly break my boat so I want to race with 2 pumps, which means entering the div 2 race instead of div 3.
I am quite confident I can manage the course on 2 pumps, although it has been a while since I tried it on 3 but I have some training sessions left.
I am also quite confident that I won't actually achieve the paddle up.

(I can't just enter as an official even though I will be part of the safety team because I am also entered in div2 K1M and the rules are clear about that - C6.1.2)

[NotNowKato!]

I've always filled the cards using the Host Division in the DIV Part followed by '(Paddle Up)'
Then for the Bib Number use your Div 3 Bib number followed by (Div 3).

Has always worked for me in the past. I'm sure there are many ways of doing it as long as the necessary info is there

[Dee]

I was always under the impression that if the competition was a double division then you couldn't paddle up if there was a race in your own division.

Otherwise what's to stop paddlers entering the div 2 and the div 3?

[JimW]

Dee - thats a good point and not completely clear:

B3.3.1 “Paddle Up”
A competitor ranked in any given division may enter compe-
titions designed for the next division up (referred to below as
the Host division). This is intended to enable paddlers to get
experience of more challenging racing conditions and to
allow them to compare their abilities against higher-division
paddlers. Provided that the event is quorate, a competitor
“paddling up” achieving a result better than that achieved by
40% of the ranked paddlers competing in that event at three
competitions in the same season may claim promotion into
the higher division.
In the case of a multi-division competition (e.g. Div 1/2 or Div
2/3) a paddler ranked in the lower division who achieves a
result better than that achieved by 40% of the ranked pad-
dlers competing in the same event in the higher division may
claim the result as one of their three "paddle up" promotion
results

I have seen a clarification that the lower division must be racing the same course on the same water as the higher division (can't see it in the rules now) to get a paddle up by comparing results from a multi-division competition - which is not the case if the lower division has half the flow....
Apart from providing opportunities for others to enter, is there any reason a competitor should be stopped from entering own division and paddling up at the same event?

Does rule C6.1.1 cover this and allow it at the organisers discretion?:

UK C6.1.1
A Competitor may participate in more than one individual
event, subject to the Organiser being willing and able to give
sufficient start time intervals. In the case of C2, a Competitor
may compete with multiple partners in each Division for
which they are eligible.

Or is this just for entering multiple classes?

Also, does that allow a competitor to enter in div 2 and open at the same event in nominally the same class? I have a reason to ask that - I am thinking about having a go at paddling OC1 in an open race at some point, it would comply with the rules except the bit where they describe a canadian canoe as a decked boat, but is that a rule or just an explanation?

Paddle up is far too complicated!

I'll fill in my cards as NotNowKato! suggests and see where we go from there. I have 4 more chances to get promotion before Pinkston so maybe it won't be an issue, although I'm not sure if I'm fast enough to stay in div 2.

[Dee]

Yes I agree that with different courses for the two divisions that it is not exactly clear!

Where the courses are the same I would expect the paddler to enter their own division, but with them being different it is a bit of a grey area I think. However, if you can enter as a paddle up then it is effectively being treated as a separate competition which means I think all the div 3s could, if they wanted to enter both as div 3s and div 2s and I don't think that is within the spirit of the rules.

Perhaps @Canadian Paddler will be along soon; he is usually able to interpret the rules better than most (I think he recites the rule book in his sleep )

[HPPaddle]

I think at Shepperton anyone in the div 2 race who beat 40% of the div 1s was awarded a paddle up. So the top 3 div 2 boys got 1000. They didn't enter as paddle ups, so only raced in their own division. It has to work like that otherwise they would get 4 official runs on the same course at the same race, which wouldn't be fair.

[Dee]

I think at Shepperton anyone in the div 2 race who beat 40% of the div 1s was awarded a paddle up. So the top 3 div 2 boys got 1000. They didn't enter as paddle ups, so only raced in their own division. It has to work like that otherwise they would get 4 official runs on the same course at the same race, which wouldn't be fair.

You are right about Sheppy, but there all paddlers were on the same course. The difference at Pinkston is the div 2 course is different from the div 3

[JimW]

I found the detail on the website - not in the yearbook, but I presume it is accurate:

●

You can't usually "paddle up" at a combined divisions event, where you are in the lower division and the two divisions race on the same course. For instance, at Div 2/3 race you can't usually paddle as a Div 3 and again as a "paddle up" competitor - but if your result in the lower division race is good enough and the course is the same you can count that towards a "paddle up" promotion.

If the two divisions race on different courses or on different days (as at some Prem/1 races and rarely at 1/2 and 2/3 races) you can enter the higher-division race as a "paddle up" entry - and you can't claim your lower-division result towards a "paddle up" promotion.

I don't want to paddle in the lower division, only as paddle up.