Not wanting to gate crash the other thread lest I be accused of deliberate derailing, the thought occured of analysing the oft quoted hype that Fitasc is a harder discipline than ESP - is it really ?
Hard figures tend to dispel myths and although admittedly we would have to disregard one unmatched mans scores to make the point, it is a point worth raising. Looking at the list of names and their scores in various disciplines it soon becomes clear that with the exception of GD's 95.2 average in ESP, the others and the overall averages between Fitasc and ESP differ by less than
a couple of birds.
It is often said that Fitasc is the F1 of shooting sports where minor technique flaws are exposed leading to spiralling scores and a bump back down to earth ! Not so say the scores, 84.4 is needed to break into the highest ranking of A class; bang in the middle of 82.0 - 86.2 required for AA for ESP ! AAA is arrived at by 86.3 and I bet there are fewer of them in ESP than there are A's in Fitasc, either way the difference is just 2 birds.
Oh but the distances are much greater, the targets technically harder say the officianados, how come then that Olympic Skeet averages were topped by a mere 93.2 given their relative close nature ? A similar situation exists in All Round despite the fact it is comprised of so called easy disciplines as well as the harder ESP ?! How come Fitasc World events have been won with near perfect scores ?
The detractors of ESP often site it's repetitive nature as the reason it is easier than more random presentations such as SporTrap and Fitasc, yet the former appears easier than ESP looking at the published averages. What you forget is that the very fact you have to repeat the same bird in ESP means once you come up against something you can't hit it is going to really cost you dear, not so in Fitasc.
Interestingly RF, GD, BenH and C. Childerhouse don't even feature in Fitasc Top 20 this year ! Is that because they find it too hard or is it because they love their shooting too much to stand around all day ?
Ed Solomon shot 8 times as many ESP registered targets last year as he did Fitasc, yet managed to keep an average that defers a mere 1.9 birds, a telling statistic if you factor in the phenomenon of familiarity. And here I believe lies the real reason behind the slightly lower scores in Fitasc, simple familiarity with the whole concept.
How often have you crushed the first pair or two in ESP only to flounder and come away 3 birds shy ? Fitasc would have only needed the first pair.
How often have you missed the first bird out in ESP ? Fitasc often has the comfort zone of a second barrel, no such thing in ESP ever. They are both difficult but in different ways, you need to connect with potentially more angles in Fitasc but in ESP you need to connect and prove it wasn't a one off and do it again.
In answer to those who say Fitasc offers more variety I'd say not necessarily, you can shoot two 100 bird layouts in ESP for similar money and less time (if you so wish) and be presented with as many as 48 different presentatons.
In answer to those who say Fitasc is more social I'd say not necessarily, it all depends on your own approach, nobody is telling you to rush through a 100 birder in ESP, take as much time as you want and have as many breaks as you want and choose your companions too. Don't forget you can be social with others outside of shooting, getting back before 1 o'clock lets you do things with family and friends Fitasc stalwarts would be missing out on ?!
If the availability situation were reversed and Fitasc was to become much more readily available compared to ESP, then I believe people would simply become better at course management in Fitasc and shooting less ESP would soon have you loose the edge when it comes to keeping your head in the stand and not dropping the odd one or two. In other words the slight difference in score averages is no more than the simple reality of familiarity.
Hard figures tend to dispel myths and although admittedly we would have to disregard one unmatched mans scores to make the point, it is a point worth raising. Looking at the list of names and their scores in various disciplines it soon becomes clear that with the exception of GD's 95.2 average in ESP, the others and the overall averages between Fitasc and ESP differ by less than
a couple of birds.
It is often said that Fitasc is the F1 of shooting sports where minor technique flaws are exposed leading to spiralling scores and a bump back down to earth ! Not so say the scores, 84.4 is needed to break into the highest ranking of A class; bang in the middle of 82.0 - 86.2 required for AA for ESP ! AAA is arrived at by 86.3 and I bet there are fewer of them in ESP than there are A's in Fitasc, either way the difference is just 2 birds.
Oh but the distances are much greater, the targets technically harder say the officianados, how come then that Olympic Skeet averages were topped by a mere 93.2 given their relative close nature ? A similar situation exists in All Round despite the fact it is comprised of so called easy disciplines as well as the harder ESP ?! How come Fitasc World events have been won with near perfect scores ?
The detractors of ESP often site it's repetitive nature as the reason it is easier than more random presentations such as SporTrap and Fitasc, yet the former appears easier than ESP looking at the published averages. What you forget is that the very fact you have to repeat the same bird in ESP means once you come up against something you can't hit it is going to really cost you dear, not so in Fitasc.
Interestingly RF, GD, BenH and C. Childerhouse don't even feature in Fitasc Top 20 this year ! Is that because they find it too hard or is it because they love their shooting too much to stand around all day ?
Ed Solomon shot 8 times as many ESP registered targets last year as he did Fitasc, yet managed to keep an average that defers a mere 1.9 birds, a telling statistic if you factor in the phenomenon of familiarity. And here I believe lies the real reason behind the slightly lower scores in Fitasc, simple familiarity with the whole concept.
How often have you crushed the first pair or two in ESP only to flounder and come away 3 birds shy ? Fitasc would have only needed the first pair.
How often have you missed the first bird out in ESP ? Fitasc often has the comfort zone of a second barrel, no such thing in ESP ever. They are both difficult but in different ways, you need to connect with potentially more angles in Fitasc but in ESP you need to connect and prove it wasn't a one off and do it again.
In answer to those who say Fitasc offers more variety I'd say not necessarily, you can shoot two 100 bird layouts in ESP for similar money and less time (if you so wish) and be presented with as many as 48 different presentatons.
In answer to those who say Fitasc is more social I'd say not necessarily, it all depends on your own approach, nobody is telling you to rush through a 100 birder in ESP, take as much time as you want and have as many breaks as you want and choose your companions too. Don't forget you can be social with others outside of shooting, getting back before 1 o'clock lets you do things with family and friends Fitasc stalwarts would be missing out on ?!
If the availability situation were reversed and Fitasc was to become much more readily available compared to ESP, then I believe people would simply become better at course management in Fitasc and shooting less ESP would soon have you loose the edge when it comes to keeping your head in the stand and not dropping the odd one or two. In other words the slight difference in score averages is no more than the simple reality of familiarity.
