Sad to say but what we know now as the Internat's and US-1 may be a dinosoar. Years back I ran well locally and went to one Internats in 20 years. Raising a family and work it just wasn't possible. To me it seemed those title's were easier for the more affluent. Later in life after retiring I can travel and have the resources, but my driving skills are diminished.
What is working now are specialty races. Some with much more competition than at the Internats. A US-1 with a 6-8 boat field to me is not as much an accomplishment as winning in a 30-50 boat field. To limit to every 4 years won't bring the level of competition up. As much as the time trial element makes a true champion it is not practical as proven by numbers. Greg may be on to something to split things up. If a club has an annual race that is proven to draw the most entries in any given class or multiple classes why can't they apply for that class to be awarded a US-1 at their event? The US-1 will be awarded to the club that had the most entries in that class in the previous year. Makes for competition between clubs to run a good race and if a club specializes in one group it could have several classes. At the end of the racing year you could make plans on the race you want to concentrate on. With the likes of Atlanta, Charleston, Evansville, Huntsville, and Hobart who knows what other clubs may arise in the future? Didn't forget Orlando they could run IMPBA easily. If your hung up on time trials make it one all encompassing event every 4 years and the other 3 go to the numbers.
Something to think about.
Mic
