Keep in mind the travel for us California paddlers versus Hawaii Paddling, as well as the different formats, Here in So Cal we started racing May 12. From May 12 until catalina September 9 there are 17 Saturday's. we had races on 12 of those days. If I were to travel to each of those races I would have traveled over 1461 miles, Add a few out of town races, Molokai, Tahoe, Kona, etc, There are very few extra days to add a race, Burnout is a huge issue here in So Cal, The commitment level is very high and the expectations are that you make it to each and every practice, the boat load and unload, cleaning days, ans well as making it to every race. Try and take a "break" and you either have to deal with the backlash or what I have found most do is they never come back, We have seen the rise in OC-1 poularity, One key factor is the ability to paddle when you want, and for however long (or short) you like, My guess is that the sport is going to see a shift from the highly structured practice schedules to more of a "Team California" format, For those of you not familiar with Team Cal, It is a bunch of REALY old guys that paddle on their own on the OC-1, Then get a six man practice in when they can and race. The amazing thing is they have placed consistantly in the top three overall at most if not all of our races.
I am not saying that we all should be required to race shorter races, That would be silly, What I am suggesting is that we offer an alternative for those weekend warriors that want to be on the same water as the top paddlers and compete in the same condidtions, Just not for as long.

As our club rep to the SCORA assosiation, I am trying to plan it, Or at least get feedback to see what the paddlers want and if they would support another format that would be run in conjuction with the long races. Adding another six man race to the schedule is not an option, we are already running too many races. How many races do you all paddle each season? This could be another string but lets add it to this one.