The idea of setting a quota of 90 athletes per B event was done to address primarily the following items:

1. Ensure all B athletes get two runs - this was by far the primary objective and we felt that it was very important for a development circuit such as EQS that the kids all got a second chance.

2. Create a safer environment for B athletes - with upwards of 150 athletes at one event it was not an ideal situation for many reasons: Many athletes and parents are new to the sport; the training time in the morning is not sufficient for this many athletes; it is difficult for the coaches to keep track of everyone; and if it is really cold it could get extremely uncomfortable - especially for the youngest participants.

3. Level load events - Many centrally located events in the East were a guaranteed performance cut every time due to out of region teams traveling for their events. This was deemed as an unfair situation. This is also why we institued the policy whereby in region athletes had first crack at their own events and if the event did not fill after a week the registration was opened to everyone.

4. Promote the idea of spending more time training than competing - attending 4 or 5 competitions as a B is the recommended amount. We discovered that quite a few B athletes were competing almost every week! It is important to note that all coaches agreed unanimously on this note.

The EFCC really cares about all of the athletes and the sport and we are trying hard to do the right thing. Recognize that we cannot create the perfect situation for all instances but we do firmly believe we have everyone's best interest at heart.

~excerpts from an email to a parent that Head Bristol Coach and the EQS Sub Committee Chair, John Kroetz, sent today.