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May 2016
5:38pm, 24 May 2016
17,238 posts
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fetcheveryone
A Fetchie recently asked me if there was a more PC term these days for a "handicap" race i.e. the kind where some runners get a head start, depending on personal best etc. I'm not aware of one, so I thought I'd put it out there. Club members - does your club do this sort of event, and if so, are there any more modern ways of naming it? And what of golfers? Leaving Muirfield out of it, is there a move towards more progressive language when describing a golf "handicap"? And what do Run Britain have to say?
What are your thoughts, Fetchies?
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May 2016
5:50pm, 24 May 2016
795 posts
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mbln
I thought the progressive movement decided that handicap was the wrong word long ago, and stopped using it in the context to which it could be pejorative. Replaced by disabled/less able?
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May 2016
5:58pm, 24 May 2016
5,838 posts
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The_Saint
My club calls them "handicap" races leading to some initial bemusement for the uninitiated, it is difficult to think of a term that would work better so you would basically have to say
"Races where everyone is given an estimated time over a course where the runners start slowest to fastest based on the estimated time differences between them, the aim being that ideally everyone finishes together"
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May 2016
6:00pm, 24 May 2016
17,240 posts
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fetcheveryone
Yes, I totally agree that it's not a nice word to describe a person's ability, and hasn't been considered such for decades. The question I am posing is whether sport considers the term to be outmoded when it comes to describing things like "handicap races", golf "handicaps" etc.
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May 2016
6:10pm, 24 May 2016
12,650 posts
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HowFar?
What do horse racing use when they put loads of lead in the saddles? Is that still called a handicap.
You could call it the staggered start race.
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May 2016
6:12pm, 24 May 2016
4,149 posts
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Winded
Whether it is runners or jockeys or people playing bridge I think handicap is fairly universal. I suggest it is descriptive in the way that referring to someone in a wider context is not; that's probably why it gets used.
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May 2016
6:22pm, 24 May 2016
12,840 posts
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jennywren
Horse racing does indeed use that term. I agree with Winded, I think the context makes it acceptable here and to be honest I hadn't thought of the handicap series my old club does as anything other than a descriptive term for a staggered start race based on stated ability.
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May 2016
6:27pm, 24 May 2016
10,685 posts
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Girlie
The occasional ones our club does are called Chase Me which probably isn't much better!
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May 2016
6:36pm, 24 May 2016
14,264 posts
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LazyDaisy
We have handicap races. In sporting terms I see no reason to change it.
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May 2016
6:41pm, 24 May 2016
1,826 posts
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K5 Gus
A "weighted" race perhaps ? But in all honesty I don't think "handicap" is un-PC
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How to handicap club races
Mar 2018