TOURNAMENT COUNCIL MINUTES, GUADALAJARA, MEXICO
Monday 29th October 2012
PRESENT
Peter Person PanAm In the chair
Jeffry Armstrong PanAm
Larry Gisler PanAm alternate
Murray Eade AAO
Candido Moz E&A
Dimos Alexopoulos E&A
Gillian Hill E&A
Ageliki Andriopoulou Athlete
On line by Skype
Bob Corson PanAm – Council Chairman
Apologies for absence
Bruce Cockburn AAO
Hanifah Yoong Yin Fah AAO
Candido Moz proposed that in the absence of Bob, who was caught up in Hurricane Sandy, Peter take the chair for this meeting. This was agreed unanimously.
Bob would be present via Skype for most of the meeting.
1.
RTB Timing
Further to the discussions during the
summer on via the Issue List, it had been seen
at the World 35+ Championships that the current Q chip of Zero Off did not
produce 3rd segment times inside the existing RTB rules. Bob had been in contact with Zero Off who had
sent an update of the current situation.
The new ZO chip R is expected to fix this problem and to run inside the
published chart times.
There was a strong feeling within the meeting that the RTB method was required for younger skiers and older skiers not pulling hard on the switch. Larry suggested we consider limiting the letter and perhaps the distance in order to keep RTB for its original purpose. Ageliki agreed that a limit on the letter could be a solution.
Ageliki therefore suggested we leave the tolerances as they are and test the new ZO chip. If it works, leave the rule. If it does not work then we could widen the tolerances. It was immediately clear there was a split opinion on this idea.
Jeffry moved to widen the 3rd segment tolerances to those in the Fast chart, this was seconded by Murray.
A vote was taken with 4 in favour and 4 against. The tie was broken by Bob (Chairman) in favour of the motion. The tolerances would be widened.
2. Conflict of Interest Rule
Jeffry had introduced this item asking if driving and training with someone all year, potentially from your own country is considered a conflict of interest.
It was agreed this was NOT the case, and that no change to the rule be suggested.
3. Under 13 age category standardisation.
Suggestion from Pan Am to look ahead and gather information on the various age categories in use.
Under 17 was a World Championship event already and all Confederations were using the same rules.
U12, U13, U14 are all in existence around the world but it was thought that Under 12 was not suitable for a future World Championship category.
In any case it was agreed that we should try to standardise the rules for these divisions worldwide, with a view to a future World Championships.
For example in the USA they allow for U13 a lightweight switch and a lightweight rope. These decisions are normally taken by the National Federations, but it would be a good idea to standardise and to offer information on young athlete development. For example should jumping be allowed for U12? There were long term athlete development projects already in Canada and the UK.
Agreed that each Confederation would send information on the various ages, speeds, shortenings, etc to Bob and copy all TC members. We would then discuss this further at future meetings.
4. End Course Video for Jump
Jeffry had introduced this item after having talked to Freddy Krueger who believed the monitoring should continue. Ageliki was completely in agreement.
The TC therefore decided to amend Rule 13.08a – as follows:-
For 2011, a centre line video of the jump course will be
required for World, Confederation and Elite events tournaments. Tapes will be
submitted to and monitored by the Confederation Council.
Jeffry suggested we bring some end course videos to our 2013 TC meeting in Chile.
Monitoring will have been available from 2011 through to 2013 – which will help us understand the need to continue or not.
5. Choice of Boats
This item had been introduced by Bob. Pro skiers were taking their own boats to
competitions and letting them be used for the tournament. Some of the Pro skiers had contracts with
their boat sponsor which prohibited them skiing behind another boat in non-cash
prize events. It was understood this
practice was happening at between 10 – 20 tournaments per year. Those Some TC
members had been unaware of this practice until this summer.
The spirit of the sport in the rules states all athletes should use the same tournament supplied equipment.
This is not something the TC wishes to see happen and certainly it is not happening outside of the PanAm Confederation.
After discussion it was agreed that a different boat could be used in each round of the competition, but not different boats within one round.
Rule 10.01 I already stated this rule, which must now be enforced.
NOTE – Bob I do not know why we allow a choice of
trick boat?
I believe that choice of
tricks goes back to a time when we had both inboards and outboards as active
tournament boats and it seemed unreasonable to require skiers to practice
behind multiple boats.
6. Protocol Manual
This item had been raised by Larry,
following the Pan Am South American Beach?
Games where it had been made clear to him (as Chief Judge) that our sport is of
a low calibre in terms of presentation of finalists, judges, start lists for
the VIP tent, press, etc….
It is important for us to think of ways to put our sport at a better level and present ourselves better. The TC agreed with this idea and would endeavour to put together a document to give guidance on better presentation of our sport. There are already some documents in being, which would be gathered and sent to Peter and Dimos who would work on this.
7. Duration of an homologation
We had discussed this in Dubna and reached agreement. The wording was as follows:
If a competition is at the same site on subsequent weekends, the homologator can take a view not to totally start again if he is satisfied nothing has changed.
Agreed to add to the Homologation Guidelines in the first paragraph:
It is the duty of each skier to report to the Chief Judge during the competition if he believes the rules are not being followed or adhered to. The issue will be addressed at the tournament.
If a competition is at
the same site on subsequent weekends, the homologator
may decide not to carry out another full homologation, but make random
sufficient checks to satisfy himself that
nothing has changed.
The Homologator
must be present during the competition.
E&A would ask Nigel Talamo if he would prepare a good practice document for the TC to review and use if wished.
8. Thickness of skier supplied handles.
Young skiers are requesting to have thinner handles and now the rope measurement is taken from inside the handle the thickness of the handle has become irrelevant.
Skier supplied handles can be any thickness – agreed.
Change Rule 10.04 e to
The tournament supplied handle shall be made of 2.50 to 2.80 cm. outside diameter material with no sharp edges or projections, with unpainted wood or other non- slip surface or coating.
9.
Elite Tournament Cut Off date
A major cash prize tournament had been organised in Canada at relatively short notice during 2012. As it turned out they did not apply for Elite status, but the date conflicted with the E&A Championships which E&A had worked hard to protect.
The TC agreed that the rule from 2008 should remain in force for Elite Tournaments.
For Elite Events the TC Chairman would establish a cut off date for applications for the Elite Calendar of 15th January each year. Bob would then analyse where there are clashes and try to resolve them by negotiation. It was in everyone’s interest to avoid clashes.
10. Definition of a full buoy in Slalom - Rule 14.07
Dimos had noticed that the existing rules used the gate buoys line as the scoring point for a full buoy. In fact the line of the boat guide buoys was used.
The TC agreed there was an anomaly and that the full buoy point was when the skier has crossed the line of the boat guide buoys.
The rules and the diagram would need changing to state this.
c) 1 point when the skier has crossed the line
of the boat guide buoys (on a tight line under
power of the boat) before passing the level of the next buoy (or the end gate
in the case of the final buoy) without falling (12.02).
The intent of the tight line is to ensure the safety of the skier. This means that if the skier can only cross the line of the boat guide buoys with a slack line then he will not get the full point so there is no reason to try that. The end gate case is different because of the spacing and thus if the skier can cross the gate line before the end gate buoy and ski away he will be awarded the full buoy.
In the diagram the words “line of gate buoys” to be replaced by “line of boat guide buoys”.
11. Homologation of French Trick Timing System.
The French Federation had applied for approval of a new trick timing system. In fact there is no system of approval. The homologator may accept a timing system provided it works according to the rules.
It was agreed to add into rule book as follows:
A video trick timing system shall be used. The timer(s) shall determine the
beginning of the trick pass as defined in Rules 15.06, 15.07.
The homologator
can accept a new timing system if he can prove it is working correctly according
to the rules.
This led on to discussion concerning the specifications for a trick timing system. In some current cases it is possible to be able to change the start whilst looking at the end frame.
The TC unanimously agreed the start frame must be set the end frame is seen. This needs to be enforced in the rule book.
Change
Rule 15.12
The end of the 20 second pass shall be determined by the video measurement. A start/stop judge shall operate or supervise the operation of the video trick timer. (This may also be the end trick review judge) Depending on the system being used he may or may not work with the timer to signal the start and stop.
The start of course
the pass must be set before the end of
the pass can be seen
Any existing timing systems must be changed to meet this new rule.
12. World Ranking Lists
Bob had been working on an on line registration system for ID numbers for all skiers. The TC was concerned that some of the smaller federations would not be able to handle this for their skiers, but it was realised that until unique ID numbers were introduced and mandatory that a rolling RL would be impossible. The ID would include as the first three letters the IOC country code and be followed by 9 characters issued by the home Federation or Confederation. Without the ID number the skiers scores would be rejected. This must be in place optionally by November 1st 2013 and become mandatory by November 1st 2014.
The TC also discussed having the data for the World RL on a back up server which could be accessed by the Council should Bob become indisposed.
Candido spoke about the project for a Who Beat Who (WBW) Ranking List – which E&A believed was the right way forward for the long term. Ageliki said she believed the skiers would prefer such as list rather than scores.
It was agreed that Candido work on an experimental WBW list which the TC can examine.
13. Technical Rules – split into Admin rules.
The E&A Officials Seminar had suggested the World Rule Book should be split into Rules of the Game and Administrative Rules. This was a huge undertaking, and there was no guarantee that it would be accepted by the TC. However, Gill offered to have a go at re-shuffling all the rules, and to present it to the TC at the 2013 meeting.
14. Colours in the rule book
The TC agreed to retain the last 3 years of the rule changes in colour in the rule book.
15. World Wide Video Exam
As agreed at the last meeting Candido had sent round the proposed DVD exam for the E&A, PanAm and AAO Judge exam – a total of 24 passes of high difficulty. The time between passes is similar to competition and gives 40 seconds for the judge to check the run before the automatic review.
Candido proposed that the top 5 officials from each Confederation from the World Record Review Group assess each pass, so that agreement can be reached for the standard expected.
After which the marking process needs to be set and agreed. The TC reviewed the method of marking used currently by E&A and agreed this was a good starting point. Candido would liaise with Jeffry and Bruce to move this forward.
16. Need to complete all prelims before commencing any finals?
This item had been placed on the agenda by Bob. None of the TC members thought it should be a rule, however, it was normally expected that the Prelims would be completed before any final started. But the Chief Judge may have to decide to start some finals for example if the weather was really bad.
It
was agreed to amend Rule 2.04 between 1st and 2nd paragraph:
It is normally expected
that the preliminary rounds in each event will be completed before any final round
is started. However, under unusual
circumstances the jury may alter the schedule as shown above.
17. Environment
This item had been raised by Gill on request of the IWWF Bureau.
During the Bureau meeting held in September Alain Amade had said he was very concerned about the way tournament is going, with more and more powerful and expensive boats. He was afraid that waterski would die in future years because of the bad image we give to the world. The power of the boat is not completely necessary – there is a lack of discussion between the IWWF and the boat and speed control companies – and some few skiers have more to say than IWWF. There are also environmental issues with big wakes, engine noise, etc… IWWF should be represented at the Boat Manufacturers annual meeting and also have more input about speed control. Alain believed that more official contact from IWWF to the major companies would be appreciated by them.
The TC discussed these issues and agreed the principle that we should be in a closer relationship with the industry and especially Zero Off. It was agreed to ask Bob if he feels this can be handled.
18. Trick Codes
E&A proposed that the official Trick Code must written on the Judges sheets so that skiers can understand what they have written. Shorthand can be used to write the run initially, but the code must be written in before the sheets are handed to the Calculator (who must also be given a copy of each Judge’s shorthand).
Agreed
to amend Rule 6.01
For tricks, judges using shorthand other than
the official codes shall have a sample of their shorthand posted showing their
mark for each of the official codes per the table in the rulebook judges
are required to list the official code and/or variations for each trick. The scorer may reasonably interpret the judges form to allow for any mistakes in writing down trick
codes. Recommended
immediately, and mandatory from 1st January 2014.
19. Elite skier judges
Despite having discussed this at the Dubna meeting and formed the idea of a limitation, there
was clearly no agreement on this issue.
At this point Murray left the meeting. With no quorum present all the following
proposals and agreements in principle would need to be put to postal ballot.
20. World Over 35 Championship Review
1000
point calculation scores.
The TC noted that the use of the standard 1000 point overall scoring did not work for this tournament due to the lack of entries in some categories. This would give a basic performance 1000 team points –with no competition to speak of. Therefore the use of standards in each event and age category was essential.
The current matrix had not been changed for some years, and it was agreed that a revision was needed.
For the 2014 Championship It was agreed to start with an average of the best scores in each age / sex category from the last two World Championships – 2010 and 2012.
For later Championships, the average from
the last THREE World Championships would be used to set the standards. Bob agreed to do the research for the 2014
Championships.
Ballot not required
65+ Introduction thereof.
The TC was in favour to introduce a 65+ category for 2014.
However, this category would NOT contribute to the Team scores in 2014.
No qualification required other than a
score in the national, confederation or world ranking lists – proof to be
provided on registration.
This item was approved by mail ballot.
Qualification
for other divisions:
Add defending champion the right to defend his / her title. Agreed
Delete wild cards for now – and extend the ranking list to the top 15 in all age categories. Agreed.
If they qualify in 2 events they can ski in
the 3rd – providing they have a score in that third event – proof to
be provided.
This item was approved
by mail ballot.
35, 45 , 55, 65 Speeds
and shortening
Peter will circulate the ideas he has received and add to these notes.
65 men slalom shortening at 52 kph. Jump speed at 51 still.
Ballot not required
Ranking
/ Seeding
At these Championships it had been very difficult to find best scores for each skier to use in the seeding process. Eventually the TC would like to see the best scores used to determine skiing order within each seed group, but we are not ready for that at this time.
The rules about submitted scores are
poor. Rule 2.05 needs reviewing.
Ballot not required
Numbers
in finals
The existing rule could lead to gamesmanship in withdrawing a skier from an event in order to lessen the number of skiers in the final. The TC would prefer to use the number of skiers ON the start list to determine how many go through to the finals. However, this then needs to be an accurate list of paid up and registered skiers.
Suggested to amend Rule 2.05 as follows:
The day before the start of a preliminary
round the entry list shall be closed at 12 noon and thereafter the order of contestants will be finalized and
posted.
This item was approved
by mail ballot.
Maximum number of men?
Should a team not have at least one woman inside. For the 35+ Championships, a full team must
include skiers of both genders.
This item was approved
by mail ballot.
21. Approved boats
IWWF approved boats are handled through the USA Waterski Boat Tests. The approved boats referred to in the IWWF Rule Book are for World Championships only.
Confederations may have other approved boats to use at their Championships.
National Federations may have other approved boats to use at their Championships.
For international events provided the boats
meet the rules shown in the rule book, they can be used.
Ballot not required
22. IWWF Issue List
The TC members appreciated the use of the Issue List.
Bob would be asked to make some small changes –
· Widen the page so that more comments can be seen at any one time.
· When an issue is closed the subject should be summarised at the bottom – also showing the results of any vote taken.
Ballot not required
23. For future consideration:
Payment of part of the skier entry fee on completion of the intention to enter form.
Loss of this payment if number of competitors drop.
Penalty for additional entries not included
in I2E.
Ballot not required
There being no further issues to discuss Peter closed the meeting and thanked all for their attention.