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Re: [RC] Weight Divisions - Joe LongOn Sat, 29 Jul 2006 18:06:07 -0400, Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: In human athletics in those sports where weight is a critical factor - there are weight divisions. A partial list is wrestling, boxing and weightlifting. In general the impact of weight on an endurance horse is more akin to the impact of weight on the above sports than many other sports that are mentioned because the horses are carrying the weight! Some do, some don't. Football where weight is a big factor does not have weight divisions, just as basketball where height is a big factor does not have height divisions. There are no divisions for arm length in fencing AFAIK. A HUGE difference between wresting, boxing, weightlifting and such is that endurance is a TEAM sport: the horse/rider team. No one has suggested different divisions for different-sized horses! Absent weight divisions, you select and train your TEAM as best fits your ambitions and abilities. Heavy people are clearly at a disadvantage in running footraces, but I've never seen weight divisions for 10K's or Marathons. Age divisions, yes. But I don't think many people want to see age divisions in AERC, for either riders or horses. An you are absolutely correct - it's high school physics. It takes more energy to move the extra weight. That results in a higher heat load - the conversion of glucose to mechanical energy is only about 50% efficient with heat being the byproduct. More heat load, more heat to dissipate, more issues with dehydration, etc. No one has ever disputed this. It's not the deciding factor, though. I point again to the fact that we're talking about the horse/rider TEAM, and many of those with heavy riders have done very well in overall placings. ... A national championship based on weight divisions is a good ideal. Many people agree with you. Many do not. I would like to know how a majority feels about this. I do know that our "Championships" have lost a great deal of respect as we went from two (Senior/Junior), to three, to four, to five, and now to ten. As they should have, IMO. If we really must have weight divisions, can't we at least have fewer of them? IMO three was plenty, and four is clearly too many! And why can't we still have a "First Overall" or a single "Champion of Champions?" -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.chiprider.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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