F grades what's the point??

[budfish]

Dos'nt really seem much point in the f grades it just seems to be a measure of how anal you are!!
What does f stand for anyway ?? Freak seems to be all I can see it relevant to

[big air]

Originally Posted by budfish

Dos'nt really seem much point

Bit like your posts

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by budfish

Dos'nt really seem much point in the f grades it just seems to be a measure of how anal you are!!
What does f stand for anyway ?? Freak seems to be all I can see it relevant to

So you can be graded into the relevant heats and compete against guys who are of a similar ability. Better than being held up by slower guys or holding up guys who are faster than you are. I thought it would be obvious.

[Si Coe]

True, but thats what ability ratings are there for.

This year I have an F grade, because I completed enough regionals to get one, but in the past I haven't, so never got one. Even so, by accurately stating my ability level on booking in at big meetings, I've never found myself in either a heat of superstars where I am totally outclassed, or a heat of numptys where the whole class takes me out!
Having an F rating hasn't changed this one bit, so I'm not bothered with regional.

[MRD]

Its a way to challenge yourself and see how much better you're getting compared to a larger group of people than an average meeting.

Due to some dnf's in my finals last year I just scraped my F3, so this year I want to improve by getting the same grade but higher up. F2 is out of reach but a well earned F3 will do me .

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by Si Coe

True, but thats what ability ratings are there for.

This year I have an F grade, because I completed enough regionals to get one, but in the past I haven't, so never got one. Even so, by accurately stating my ability level on booking in at big meetings, I've never found myself in either a heat of superstars where I am totally outclassed, or a heat of numptys where the whole class takes me out!
Having an F rating hasn't changed this one bit, so I'm not bothered with regional.

Theres no "ability rating" box to fill in if you enter nationals. Regionals i wouldnt personally class as "big meetings". You are seeded initially based upon your F ( Formula ) grading. This is based on regional results and not your own opinion of your ability so you get seeded much more accurately.

The ability level is obviously down to the honesty of the person holding the pen. You arent really able to give an accurate ability level unless you know exactly whos attending anyway. You might be the slowest driver there.

[budfish]

Originally Posted by Rich D

So you can be graded into the relevant heats and compete against guys who are of a similar ability. Better than being held up by slower guys or holding up guys who are faster than you are. I thought it would be obvious.

You sound quite anal you must be f2

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by budfish

You sound quite anal you must be f2

You`re a wise man. I am.

[budfish]

Originally Posted by MRD

Its a way to challenge yourself and see how much better you're getting compared to a larger group of people than an average meeting.

Due to some dnf's in my finals last year I just scraped my F3, so this year I want to improve by getting the same grade but higher up. F2 is out of reach but a well earned F3 will do me .

That sounds like you play with your own bum !!

[dpackster1980]

What a stupid thread for the following reasons:

1) F grades are required to judge your true ability, any knob can turn up to a large meeting and simply lie about their ability so they get it!

2) It stops the morons getting into Nationals that can't be arsed with Regionals so only the people willing to make an effort get in!

3) By doing Regionals it helps to generate money for your clubs in your region which is handy when the attendance is low during the holiday period and you get a so called useless F grade!


This is why the hobby is dying because of idiots that come out with stupid comments like "F grades whats the point??" and "I'm not bothering with Regionals" basically just lie about their ability because they can't be arsed to make an effort!!!

[Si Coe]

That shows how wrong you are. I'll be running the Bury round, I just won't be racing. It serves no benefit to me.

I see the point for F1's and F2's, but F3-F5 is a different story. It doesn't give you a true picture - not in the North West last year at least.
Two rounds (South Lakes and Keighley) had much lower attendances than the Southport and Bury rounds, which means coming last at those meetings netted more points than an impressive performance at the pack Southport Rd 1.

And it doesn't help club funds to be closed for 5 weeks when regionals are elsewhere......

[tisher]

Originally Posted by Rich D

So you can be graded into the relevant heats and compete against guys who are of a similar ability. Better than being held up by slower guys or holding up guys who are faster than you are. I thought it would be obvious.

But what would happen if you went to a regional for the first time I would be classed as a f3 racer yet I could be as good a driver as a f1 racer there for I would end up racing against lower ability drivers until I was regraded how long would that take?

[Borat]

Originally Posted by tisher

But what would happen if you went to a regional for the first time I would be classed as a f3 racer yet I could be as good a driver as a f1 racer there for I would end up racing against lower ability drivers until I was regraded how long would that take?

Some punctuation may help us understand that.

[coleman758]

Originally Posted by tisher

But what would happen if you went to a regional for the first time I would be classed as a f3 racer yet I could be as good a driver as a f1 racer there for I would end up racing against lower ability drivers until I was regraded how long would that take?

good point, you may win loads though lmao!

[tisher]

Originally Posted by Borat

Some punctuation may help us understand that.

yash e mash

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by tisher

But what would happen if you went to a regional for the first time I would be classed as a f3 racer yet I could be as good a driver as a f1 racer there for I would end up racing against lower ability drivers until I was regraded how long would that take?

You`ll be in a minority if you roll up as a "car park basher" and managed to pole the A final at a regional. It does`nt happen, and you won`t so don`t worry yourself with that

Yeah you may have one meeting where you arent seeded accurately if you are an unfound superstar. You class yourself as F3, again, it depends who races in your region. you might be F2 or you may be the slowest in your region and therefore remain F5

[dpackster1980]

Originally Posted by Si Coe

That shows how wrong you are. I'll be running the Bury round, I just won't be racing. It serves no benefit to me.

I see the point for F1's and F2's, but F3-F5 is a different story. It doesn't give you a true picture - not in the North West last year at least.
Two rounds (South Lakes and Keighley) had much lower attendances than the Southport and Bury rounds, which means coming last at those meetings netted more points than an impressive performance at the pack Southport Rd 1.

And it doesn't help club funds to be closed for 5 weeks when regionals are elsewhere......

So if F3-F5 grades are useless what are you expected to do, take a persons word for it how good they are?? All F grades are useful which is why you have to do so many to get one so attendance doesn't matter too much. All as it means is the people that could be arsed to go to the Regional will reap the rewards where as the people that didn't will suffer a bit and rightly so.

It depends on your region if you make money or not. At the end of the day its a good way of advertising the hobby and more importantly your club.

[tisher]

I can not remember having F grades 20 years ago when I used to race in regionals and nationals. I just remember being in mostly A finals but that was back in the day when cat xls won world championships

[Rich D]

Originally Posted by tisher

I can not remember having F grades 20 years ago when I used to race in regionals and nationals. I just remember being in mostly A finals but that was back in the day when cat xls won world championships

Yeah i had one of those in 1987 too Nothing wrong with the grading, just means you may get seeded in too low a heat at your first regional but you have to start somewhere. After that you`d be seeded in a more suitable heat.

[Si Coe]

Originally Posted by dpackster1980

So if F3-F5 grades are useless what are you expected to do, take a persons word for it how good they are?? All F grades are useful which is why you have to do so many to get one so attendance doesn't matter too much. All as it means is the people that could be arsed to go to the Regional will reap the rewards where as the people that didn't will suffer a bit and rightly so.

It depends on your region if you make money or not. At the end of the day its a good way of advertising the hobby and more importantly your club.

Its a little more complex than taking a persons word for it. For a start, anybody with any level of experience is likely to be known by somebody, except perhaps the odd club visitor from a very different region etc. So with a little sharing of information getting a decent picture of someones position isn't that difficult - easily as accurate as F grades at least at the 3-5 level. More so as my current grade reflects last year, which isn't always the same as this year!

To further muddy the waters, F grades are national, but based on your rating in your region. In a busy, competitive region its hard to get an F3 rating, but if your region consists of 3 sheep and a seagull racing a grasshopper, you really ought to be an F1 or 2. Which means that F ratings aren't really an accurate gauge when comparing across regions either.