I posted this back in June... This copied and pasted from a Congress Delegate who was addressing a comment about a particilar C rider that was approved. And again I'm not apart of this process.. call Kip Bigelow.
I'm no longer apart of the appeal process... actually I've never been apart of the appeal process. Three AMA Congressman review the appeals and make a decision. The AMA offices only collect the appeals and organize the meetings. Either way... the same thread on vital has some good info.. he is actually one of the three Congressman's comments below...
First it is not that a rider is non competitive in the lower class, it is that he is non competitive in the higher class.
So, lets look at this riders C class results vs. your son's results from 2016 (the year in which he was advanced).
Adam Johnson raced 250C 7 times in 2016 and had an RPV of 15.42 (108 points/7 races) meaning he scored an average of 15.42 points per race. He had one race with a big gate where he scored 35 points. Since the sample size of 7 races is pretty small, this one race moved him from a 12.16 to a 15.42. Adam also had no races for the 7 months between March 11th to October 16th due to injuries and other assorted issues. Those were the things that were taken into account in his appeal.
So lets look at TR:
TR scored 90 points on 5 races which would have been an RPV of 18 if he would have had the required 6 races. So had TR raced one more time in 2016, even finishing last he would have had a 15 RPV and would have been advanced to B. Had you filed an appeal, the committee would have looked at the limited number of races he had, and the one race where he scored 35 points, which skewed his average, and probably given him the benefit of the doubt.
So Adam Johnson and your son were basically the same rider in 2016 with your son actually having better average finishes, but Adam having 2 more races. I don't know either of the kids, but if I had to guess, the difference from 2016 to 2017 is geographical. He lives in Florida and rode all winter, and you live in Ohio where you lose 4 months every year.
The advancement appeal committees are certainly not perfect but they also don't just take the money and rubber stamp each appeal. The following steps are taken with each rider:
1. Complete review of the riders results history in AMA and non AMA competition when available. Not just the results, but the level of competition at the races. Evidence of sandbagging (tanking races at the end of the year) is looked for and if found usually leads to an immediate denial.
2. Discussion with the local district officials on each rider appealing. Many times this is the best place to get info on the rider and how the local district will be affected if his/her appeal is approved.
3. Discussion with the rider and / or the riders parents. What caused the gaps in racing results. What injuries did the rider have? What personal issues did the rider or family go through?
4. Calling any references, though not a lot of weight is typically given to these. What rider in their right mind is going to provide a reference that isn't firmly on their side.
A committee of three decides each appeal and one of the committee members is responsible for the 4 steps above for each rider.
Not perfect, but a lot more goes into it than you think.