FLCC> ESG qualifiers - Cookies Crumbling ?

[mgarcia at borgwarner.com]

FYI I sent this to Karen earlier in the day and have since
added a sentence here and there.


Dear Karen:

Thanks for weighing in on this.  You are right that we often don't give
our officials, volunteers, and coaches the credit and thanks they
deserve,
and we owe them that.  For what its worth, I did say thanks to a few
people including Marsha K. and the corner marshalls on Barlow Rd.
I'm just telling you this so you don't think I'm a mean guy who just
wants to cheat his way to a team gold.

I think we can agree that at the end of the day we need to abide by the
rules and the decisions of the officials.  But some of us couldn't hide
our
disappointment very well at how the rules were interpreted.  Without
trying
to be too argumentative or disrespectful, I would like to make a few
counter-
points.

1) As long as I can remember, the definition of home region was decided
by 
the address on your USCF license, or whatever was in their database.
Apparently this is 
not the case any more.  This really isn't fair for students who meet the
spirit 
of residency requirements, many living in Ithaca year round, but don't
end up
changing the addresses on their NYS licenses ... which can go for
five or more years without needing renewal!  My NYS license, for
instance,
was issued in 2004 and expires in 2012 ... hardly an up-to-date
barometer of
my current address.  A USCF license is updated and renewed every year
and 
in my opinion is a better criteria for determination.  Or maybe there
are others.

Even if the status of undergraduates is debatable, at least one of the
riders in question is a graduate student who has clearly lived and
worked
in Ithaca for some time.  Rules are rules, but if they aren't fair they
need
to be changed or re-interpreted.

2) ESGs IS about fielding the best team, within the spirit of rules and
fairness.
Otherwise, why would there be a selection process?  Regardless of who is
right and
wrong, I think our disappointment at not having the team we could have
had is 
understandable.  For example, leaving this debate aside, I am equally
disappointed 
that another local masters rider could not try out to compete because he
is undergoing 
chemotherapy.  But no one would fault me for being bummed about that.

3) Margaret has been putting time into games for a long time and I think
we all
know and respect her.  Although for the record I never referred to her
as an 'ESG
beurocrat' I think that the reference was not to her but to the people
who drew up
the rules that she was interpreting.  And like I said, at the end of the
day, we
have no choice but to abide by her decision, even if we grumble a bit.

4) I agree that some of the riders in question arrived late.  However, I
think that
the issues are getting muddled.  Were they denied registration because
they were 
late and annoyed the officials or because of residency issues?  Another
rider
who was not late but had residency questions was issued a number and
allowed to race.
If Glenn had arrived late, for instance, would anyone have given him a
hard time?  
I doubt it.  In retrospect, I think it would have been better to allow
them to race 
and then sort out these issues afterwards.  Now, we have no choice left.


Thanks for listening,

Ano



Mariano Garcia 
BorgWarner Morse TEC Inc.
Ithaca Technical Center
770 Warren Rd.    Ithaca NY 14850
Ph: 607-266-2136 (desk) 607-266-2243 (recep)
FAX: 607-257-5033
email: mgarcia at borgwarner.com