Laura,
That was a great explanation..

Also an amatuer competitior, I too have had this confusion. It is not so much present at USABDA functions anymore but does still occur at independent competitions.

Organizers are sometimes using the term novice as the Bronze ,silver,and gold. And then sometimes novice,like you said. is the level after gold prior to pre champ.

It does get confusing to the amatuar tring to register. A few times I ended up in a much higher category than I had planned.

Now, when registering, and there is confusion I either call or EMail the organizer. I find that they are always willing to take the time and are happy to expalin the categories to me.