MAISA members, I do not recall if my previous e-mails have gone to the entire group, so I’m doing it now. I have spent some time going over Dan’s proposal and thinking about how it would affect us and other teams. I have also been reading all the MAISA e-mails coming across my screen. I think Dan has put together a very good proposal. I see some negatives in it for the larger/varsity teams. I hope those teams will see them as minor. Blaine brought up some good points in his Sept. 9 note. But overall I think it is good. For us as a small program, it represents a very desirable change. Having one qualifier with restricted participation is not asking for much over a year of competition. But the returns could be great. My sailors do not mind getting beaten by the Powerhouse teams. They know they are competing against the best and there is a lot of value in that. Sailing in deep, talented fleets is good for everyone. On the other hand, they grumble about how at the big races the fleet segregates into two groups within the first five minutes of every race. They love the idea of once a year going mano a mano with the remaining teams without the big boys being there. There seem to be few negatives for the big squads and a lot of positives for the smaller programs. Most of these have been mentioned in the e-mails you have read. Let me add one more positive: Under the current system a team can qualify at the second qualifier by coming in 5th or 6th (or whatever). So why exclude the Powerhouses? We can still qualify with them there. The reason for us is clear. As a club team with modest means, being able to go to our AD, VP of Student Affairs, and even the student newspaper saying “We won this event and are now going to the Championships” simply carries much more weight and generates a lot more support around campus than does “We came in 6th and are going to the Championships”. It might seem like a small thing to some, but around here it could positively influence future key administrative decisions. Finally, I am happy that this has never been an us-versus-them issue. I hope we can keep it that way. I know we all greatly value our interactions with all MAISA students and coaches.
Thanks, Dan. We like it. Gene Williams, Salisbury University (SSU) E. Eugene Williams, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Biological Sciences Salisbury University 1101 Camden Avenue Salisbury, MD 21801 phone: 410-548-2062 fax: 410-543-6433 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web pages: http://www.salisbury.edu/Schools/Henson/biology/faculty/Williams.html http://facultyfp.salisbury.edu/eewilliams/ _________________________________________________ maisa mailing list [email protected] http://www.collegesailing.org/mailman/?listname=maisa
