[NSRCA-discussion] Apology

Tue Aug 20 20:21:20 AKDT 2019

I was the Event Director for the 2002 Pattern Nats. We had a Masters pilot and an FAI pilot not make the finals that year because of a scoring error. This discussion brings back a painful memory for me —

The day before the finals, two pilots came to me and told me of their concerns about the finals placement. Al Williamson, the Category Director, and myself went over the scoring data but could not find the error. I had to go with the scores I had to determine the finalists. I saved the paper the concerned pilots gave me in the scoring center at the farmhouse. 

Still the possibility of an error haunted me. Over two months later, in early October, the AMA had its yearly Nats planning meeting. I went back to the farmhouse then and retrieved the paper. I sent it to Derek Koopowitz, the author of the scoring software, and he found the error right away. The scorer had used the default settings on some days rather than the settings particular to the Nats. When Derek re-ran the scoring one pilot in Masters and one pilot in FAI had been deprived of the opportunity to fly in the finals. 

Those two phone calls were hard to make. 

Jeff
jeff at hillanalysis.com

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.” — Vince Lombardi

> On Aug 20, 2019, at 9:32 PM, John Ferrell via NSRCA-discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> wrote:
> 
> It looks so easy to find a single soul to hold responsible for whatever went wrong. I don't want to up set anyone because we need all the talents we can muster to support our cause.
> 
> There are precious little paid to help our volunteers with expenses. The budget to support the entire Nats has been under fire since the beginning of time. I hope that it is still as much fun for you folks as it was for me. My credentials for even speaking are limited to a Leader Member and an ordinary CD. 
> 
> It was an especially wicked "FUBAR".   I knew Joseph since he was a bump on his mothers belly and he will not let this incident dampen his resolve!
> 
> We all share the burden  of the glitch .  Thanks for letting an old fart vent. 
> 
> On 8/20/2019 9:15 PM, Phil Spelt via NSRCA-discussion wrote:
>> + a whole bunch!!  Someone from the USA management should not just suggest that, but argue very strongly for it.
>> 
>> whose software was it? The FAIs?  I was a software developer at several points in my career, and one just does not run an event or demo or anything with a package that has not been thoroughly verified and tested.  In my opinion, time crunch is not an excise, it is a demonstration of faulty planning.
>> 
>> Phil Spelt, AMA 1294, Scientific Leader Member
>> SPA L-18, Board Member, NSRCA 2032, KCRC Emeritus
>> Knoxville, TN  37931   (865) 604-0541c
>> 
>>> On August 20, 2019 at 8:29 PM Matthew Finley via NSRCA-discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> wrote: 
>>> 
>>> Yes ! An automatic invite I think is the least they could do for their mistake...... 
>>> 
>>> Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/ghei36>
>>> From: NSRCA-discussion <nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org> <mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org> on behalf of Monte Richard via NSRCA-discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 8:21:50 PM
>>> To: Atwood, Mark <atwoodm at paragon-inc.com> <mailto:atwoodm at paragon-inc.com>; General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Apology
>>>  
>>> That really sucks. They should at least give him an invitation to compete in 2021 whether he makes the team or not. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>> On Aug 20, 2019, at 7:12 PM, Atwood, Mark via NSRCA-discussion < nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>> wrote: 
>>> 
>>>>  
>>>> Yes, I apologize if that was not clear. The incorrect normalization put him in 11th and Brett and 12th, where they should have finished 10th and 11th respectively.
>>>> 
>>>> Koji Suzuki would have moved to 12th
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Aug 20, 2019, at 7:38 PM, Stuart Chale < schale1 at outlook.com <mailto:schale1 at outlook.com>> wrote: 
>>>> 
>>>>> CAUTION: Message originated from outside of Paragon. Use caution regarding any links, attachments, credential and financial requests.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I guess that means he should have been in the finals? 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Aug 20, 2019, at 7:26 PM, Atwood, Mark via NSRCA-discussion < nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>> wrote: 
>>>>> 
>>>>>>  
>>>>>> I think it’s important that everyone sees this.  I will also post it on our team page. 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I’m still working on getting a revised final ranking from the organizers. 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -Mark 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Begin forwarded message: 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> From: Peter Uhlig < peteruhligf3a at aol.com <mailto:peteruhligf3a at aol.com>> 
>>>>>>> Date: August 20, 2019 at 6:19:03 PM EDT 
>>>>>>> To: jszczur2000 at gmail.com <mailto:jszczur2000 at gmail.com>, dszczur at verizon.net <mailto:dszczur at verizon.net>, "Skinner, Bob" < samaa-gm at mweb.co.za <mailto:samaa-gm at mweb.co.za>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Subject: Apology 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Formal apology to Mr Joseph Szczur
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Dear Joseph Szczur,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On behalf of the FAI Jury, and the organizer of the 2019 F3A World Championship, I must profusely apologize for the mistake in the semi-final ranking list.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The score keeper and the Jury worked under trying conditions during the long days. All results were spot-checked on all the days by the Jury and the contest director as best we could, also making spot checks of the semi-final results, on Friday evening. We allowed at least an hour before proceeding with the team manager’s meeting. At this time we had no reason to suspect anything untoward in the results of the semi-finals, especially since all the calculations were performed electronically, and we applied some measure of trust in the system. The results were published according to the rules, and neither the contest management, nor the Jury received any enquiries.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> At the beginning of the last final round (Unknown 2), the developer of the scoring software application, mentioned to the jury that there may be a possible problem with the semi-final results. By that time the developer was not quite sure about the extent of the problem, and if this potential error could have had an effect on the ranking. The jury unanimously decided not to stop the event, as long as the problem was not absolutely correctly identified and verified. At that point, time was of course very limited, and the priority of the organiser was to finish the event.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> At the conclusion of the flights, and after verifying the results of the finals to be able to officially publish them, the jury and the developer took a closer look at the potential problem. By the time the problem was correctly and fully identified, the flight line was no longer in operation, there were no judges left on the field,                                     and all the required infrastructure, wi-fi, electricity, etc had been dismantled. 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I have known you for the last six years as a fair, keen, and great sportsman, and can fully understand your frustration, disappointment, and possible anger that this error had to occur to you. The scorekeeper, contest director, and jury members did not realise the extent of the error until much later. We did not spot the mistake during checking of the semi-final results.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> This unfortunate turn of events has left you the victim in the process, and we can only apologise for this injustice, and we all hope that you will accept our sincere apology.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Sincerely
>>>>>>> Peter Uhlig
>>>>>>> FAI Jury President at 2019 FAI F3A World Championship for Aerobatic Model Aircraft
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>  
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> John Ferrell W8CCW
>    Julian NC 27283
>  It is better to walk alone,
> than with a crowd going the wrong direction.
>                   --Diane Grant
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