Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 (edited) Having been looking at the situation with this year's title race at U-15 level it strikes me that the current system is rather unfair if your birthday happens to fall in the middle of the season (which must apply to quite a lot of potential challengers...). I'll use Marc Owen as an example. Marc was 13 when this season started and so wasn't entitled to enter the 500cc championship (something which wasn't in the past denied to the likes of Josh Auty....). As soon as Marc got to 14 he was able to enter and he immediately won the first round he was eligible to compete in. I would not be at all surprised if he wins the final Round at Buxton too; but clearly, even two wins out of two won't be enough to win the title overall having missed the first two rounds... Next year, sure, he can compete from the start ;but as soon as he turns 15, it's a near-certainity that he'll then be fully employed riding in the Conference (please God, with Sittingbourne!!). A not dis-similar scenario affected Brendan Johnson, who was IMHO the star of his particular 'generation', destined surely to be GB champ; but saw, in the end, hardly any window of opportunity to compete for the U-15 title in his vital final season at that level.. My solution would be change the championship to Under 16s at 500cc level... That way, 14s and under get the 250cc title to occupy them; but when they turn 14 they've a good full two years to compete at the 500cc level. This will be good for youth development and for the championship as a whole. I think the championship was at its strongest when Josh Auty won it twice in a row and was followed as champ by Joe Haines. These were multi-round, season-long championships and that's something an U-16 title could return to... What do others think..?? Edited September 15, 2008 by Parsloes 1928 nearly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaptooth Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Not a bad idea, do you also think it may be a good idea to put an age cap on riding a 250 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Not a bad idea, do you also think it may be a good idea to put an age cap on riding a 250 ? Well, I guess it would logically follow that one is allowed to move up at 14 but - in terms of the championships - have to at 15... Though I'd temper that by saying (as would be a 'normal' circumstance in such rulings..) that one can stay with the class, one starts out in for that particular season... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyHart Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Not a bad idea, do you also think it may be a good idea to put an age cap on riding a 250 ? I don't think thats a great idea, tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whowasthatberntpersson Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Another question, several of the top Aussie Under 16 year olds have British parentage (similar to Ty Woffinden). Would they be allowed to compete in championship meetings in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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