WORLD TOURNAMENT COUNCIL MEETING

Linz, Austria

August 27, 2007

 

 

PRESENT

Bob Corson                        Chair and Region Pan Am

Jeffry Armstrong                        Region Pan Am

Peter Person                        Region Pan Am

Stefan Rauchenwald                        Region EAME

Gillian Hill                        Region EAME

Thomas Ludwig                        Region EAME

Gavin Brain                        Region A A - Substitute

Murray Eade                        Region A A

Bruce Cockburn                        Region A A

Ron Fergusson                        Region A A

Kyle Eade                        Athletes Commission – late arrival

Jim Grew                         Disabled Commission Observer

 

 

 

Bob welcomed all to the meeting.  Kyle Eade attended as the Athlete representative.  As his arrival was delayed, some items were moved in the agenda to be sure that he was present for them.

 

A CD with the resource material for the meeting was made available to all members.

 

As the items for the Agenda had been submitted by the three Regions and the AAC as well as input from individuals these minutes have been prepared (as much as is possible) to group together the discussions and changes to the different events.  This means the minutes are not in the chronological order of discussion.

 

 

1. General Items

1.1 World Senior Championships instead of a Trophy

The USA had written a letter requesting Championship status for the World Seniors. 

As many countries are now participating, it seems appropriate that the status be upgraded to Championships.  There was a concern that the word “senior” would not clearly delineate it from the  “open” Championships.  The TC agreed to propose to the EB a new Championship - The World Veteran Championships.

 

            1.2 Entry Qualification List for U21

World U21 Championships will use the May 2007 Ranking List.

 

1.3  Internet Discussion and vote mechanism

The TC members are generally in favour of this mechanism and Bob will fix it to only send a reminder when someone has posted a comment rather than daily reminders. 

It was noted that if a vote is called for then votes must be cast by the deadline, even if the member is abstaining.

 

1.4 5 minute rest after 2 re-rides. 

EAME suggestion is that once a seeded situation arises the 5 minute break has to be waited out in order not to change the seeded order.   Actually agreed that if the skier gets a rest then the time is waited out and no other skiers are taken in the interim. 

 

Rule Changes as follows:

 

8.03: Granted Reride Procedure

Rerides must be taken no later than five minutes after they are granted and may be taken immediately at the option of the contestant (cf. 14.14 for slalom rerides and 13.15 for jumping rerides). If the contestant elects to take a five-minute rest, the next contestants in order shall ski, and the reride shall be taken at the conclusion of the skier's run during which the five- minute rest period expires.

14.14

If there are more than two (2) rerides, the skier shall have the option of requesting a five-minute rest before continuing.   The rest time will not be allowed to affect the skiing order if it is seeded or in the finals of a major tournament. 

13.15

If there are more than two (2) rerides, the skier shall have the option of asking for a five-minute rest before continuing.  The rest time will not be allowed to affect the skiing order if it is seeded or in the finals of a major tournament. 

1.5 Rulebook 

Hyperlinks – Bob will distribute the Rule book as a zipped file which will put all the hyperlinks into the local computer.  There were issues with only having the complete rulebook available on the internet.

 

 

2. Slalom

 

            2.1 Backup Timer

Agreed to take out “Back Up timer” from the Slalom and Jump Additional Rules chart.   Not used any more.

 

            2.2 Use of Optional slalom video judging

There was discussion on the procedural aspects of 17.03 b) and the rule was modified to delineate a clear procedure.

17.03 b)

When boat video is used, the boat video may be monitored on the tower by another judge who will advise the Chief Judge if he disagrees with the event judges decision. In which case the Chief Judge and the review judge will again review the tape to determine which score is correct.. If they both agree on a score, that will be the given score. If they disagree or agree that the video does not clearly overrule the score given by the judges, then that score will stand.

This is a separate optional rule and may be used with 3 or 5 judges or not be used at all. (2002)

 

 

2.3 Boat based pole mounted gate camera

An experimental technology was tried using a pole mounted camera in the boat as a substitute for the currently used gate cameras.  At this moment in time it is not good enough to use in isolation, therefore it is not acceptable as a replacement to gate video.  However, it was decided in our follow-up meeting that the pole mounted camera could be used in conjunction with normal gate cameras to get the view that allows the most accurate result.

 

 

2.4 New Slalom scoring rule discussion

There has been a lot of correspondence on this issue.  The TC agreed to return to old slalom scoring rule if that is what the athletes really want since the change was their request. 

No change for the current World Championships.  Currently we have deferred our decision until after the skiers meet and make recommendations.  It is our understanding that the skiers in their on-site meeting did not reach consensus regarding this rule.  We are waiting for further input from the AAC

 

            2.5 Notes on the use of Shock Tubes

SHOCK TUBES are mandatory and MUST be used.

 

3. Tricks

            3.1 Equipment repair in tricks

There is no additional time given for equipment repair in tricks.  This will be specifically noted in the rule to avoid confusion.

15.08: Proceeding through the two trick passes (2007)

The boat shall follow as closely as possible the path specified by the Judges for the event, such path to include the preparation time before each pass. The second pass shall be in the opposite direction from the first pass. A skier may neither return to pick up a dropped ski nor add a second ski between passes.

If the skier falls during or at the end of the first pass he will receive a maximum of 30 seconds in which to be ready to be taken by the boat for his second pass.

If the skier did not fall during or at the end of the first pass he may ask the boat to be stopped between passes for a maximum of 45 seconds. 

In each case the time shall start when the boat gets to the skier. 

In each case the skier is allowed to change equipment but must be in the water ready to go within the appropriate time frame or he loses the right to his second pass. (2007)

There is no additional time given for any repairs to equipment.

If a skier refuses to enter the course under the provision in Rule 15.01, and he is not ready when the boat returns for him, he shall be considered as having fallen.

            3.2 Start of the trick course

 

With the use of boat mounted video for timing, it is sometimes difficult to judge the start buoy of the trick course since the buoys are off to the side of the path of the boat an unspecified distance.  The trick couse will change to a pair of gate buoys that the boat will go through and the skier will start his run after passing the gate buoys.  The skier will execute all out of course preparatory turns before reaching the gate buoys.  The trick course will remain approximately the same length with flexibility to allow the use of existing buoys.

The gate can be approximately 2.5-4.0 m wide and the length between the gates can be 200-260m.  The pre-start buoy can be 50-55m.

The skier has the responsibility to start within approximately 15m after the gate.  If the skier delays the start and that causes the boat to have to turn or stop before his run is complete then that is the responsibility of the skier and no reride will be awarded.

 

Specific Rule wording:

15.05: The Trick Course

Two sets of buoys approximately 200 meters apart shall establish the approximate area of the beginning of the trick pass from each direction (see Diagram 3). The boat shall pass through the entrance gate.  The end of the pass shall be signified by the 20-second time interval only.

15.06: Timing for the Trick pass will start: (2004)

Positional tricks at the start of a pass must be done before the entrance gate. 

After passing the approximate position of the entry gates the beginning of the trick pass shall begin:

c. It is the skiers responsibility to start his pass within 15 metres after the entry gate buoys.  Re-rides will not be granted for reasons caused by a skiers late start.

 

            3.3 Use of Video

 

15.11

For L&R tournament scores over 6000 for women and 8500 for men, boat video will be mandatory from 1st November 2006. (2006)

Agreed that 15.11 and 15.15 need completely revising to say what we want. 

No back up video needed from shore – record in the boat camera as back up to live transmission.

 

3.4 PP Parameter Adjustment

 

KD value in Tricks

KD value can be changed before each pass.  It says so under Rule 10 with the link.

 

3.4 Boat Judge

 

Add Boat Judge – Region standard to the Additional Rules chart.

 

15.11

A Boat Judge may ride in the boat to check speeds and observe the boat path.  The Chief Judge may designate the boat driver as the Boat Judge in the event that a TV or Video camera is operated from the boat. The driver shall be designated as the Boat Judge when the official video is taken from the boat.

If the boat judge feels the skier is entitled to a re-ride for any reason he will communicate all the necessary information to the event judges who shall make the decision. 

6.07: Secondary Positions

Personnel to fill secondary positions shall be selected by the Chief Judge from among other experienced Judges and Officials in attendance. Wherever possible, Officials filling complementary positions (for example, boat driver and boat timer, top and bottom meter readers, etc.) should be of different nationalities. Boat Judges in Tricks should be chosen from among the Appointed Judges or from other first-class Judges in attendance.

 

3.4 Trick List

 

 

15.13 c & d remove completely

 

3.5 Use of 2 skis

 

15.18

The boat shall follow as closely as possible the path specified by the Judges for the event, such path to include the preparation time before each pass. The second pass shall be in the opposite direction from the first pass. A skier may not return to pick up a dropped ski.  nor add a second ski between passes.

In each case the skier is allowed to change or repair equipment but must be in the water ready to go within the appropriate time frame or he loses the right to his second pass. (2007)

 

 

3.6 Reverse Tricks

 

 

15.19

A reverse trick must immediately follow the basic turn in the same pass; however, any type of 180º turn is allowed between two such turns. The reverse shall not be disallowed simply because it follows an attempted trick which has not been credited or because the basic trick is a repeated trick.

The TC examined the idea that we might allow a pull round and another 1 to get back into position so that if a skier lost the correct position but went back to it, he could still do the reverse as the next trick.

However, a post meeting ballot confirmed that there would be no change.

 

 

 

 

4. Jump

4.1 A jumper may use his own rope with or without spectra

 (2003)

The skier may supply his own rope under his own responsibility which may be any combination of "Spectra" rope and / or normal  rope (per 10.04 a). The skier must get the line checked by the homologator prior to skiing.

 

4.2 Correction to non-maximum speed chart

 

Agreed that the 2nd segment time for the non maximum speed is ignored. 

 

 

If the speed chosen is below the maximum, and the 1st segment time is out of tolerance, the contestant shall have the option of a reride as long as the maximum speed tolerance was not exceeded, in which case the reride is mandatory.

If the speed chosen is below the maximum, the second segment time is ignored, except if maximum speed tolerance was exceeded, in which case the reride is mandatory – see chart.

 

 

4.3 Jump Speeds and Course

 

 

JUMP TIMING

The TC has received a large amount of study material on this subject.  The base information was supplied by the AWSA Towboat Study Committee and Perfect Pass.  Several major tournaments had full recorded speed and timing information on all jump passes.

 

The problem we have seen and are trying to solve is that the acceleration to the ramp is not adequately controlled by the current timing course.  We have seen that a boat can come in quite slow and accelerate very signifigantly and still have a good time.  This can lead to unfair competition and also different rides for skiers of different weights. 

This analysis leads to an entirely different system of control and thinking about how the event is conducted.   Up to now, the driver was always considered wholly responsible for the time achieved by the boat.  In fact, the skier’s choice of letter also has significant effect on the time unless corrected in some way by the driver who is striving to get the correct time.  These corrections can lead to different rides between skiers.

We need to acknowlege that the skier bears responsibility for some of what is happening by choosing the letter.

 

The concept of the analysis was to capture what the current fair practice is and then put in place a system to regulate and control that. 

 

The system that is a result of this analysis is to add new timing segments of 52m and 30m by splitting the current 82m first segment.  The 52m segment is mostly during the “glide” portion of the jump pass and thus the speed should not vary much and be close to the defined speed for the event (or the speed selected by the skier).  The 30m segment represents the cut toward the ramp where the skier loads the boat and the boat adds power and in fact ends up accelerating when the skier is in the second phase of the cut.  The driver’s main goal is to ensure that the 52m segment is as close to the recommended time as possible. 

 

These segments were analysed against current practice and for 57kmph Open Men’s jump and determined that the speed change should not be greater that 4kmph and that the maximum speed as the boat passes the MT buoy should not exceed 61kmph.  Based on a model, times were calculated and matched against real tournament results.  Most of the passes that were OK under the old system were also OK under the new system.  However, some passes were out of tolerance in the new system.  These passes typically were where the boat was coming in significantly slower in the glide portion and accelerating more in the cut section.  In the old system, all of the times were good although analysis revealed that quite different rides were being given on some passes. 

Most passes had speed changes of 4kmph or less, but a few had speed changes up to 7kmph giving a clearly different ride.  These passes were OK under the current system, but shown as fast times under the new system showing that the new method will ensure fairer competition by making sure that the rides are not only similar in average speed but also similar in acceleration. 

 

Another aspect of the new system is that the times will be set as conditional between the two segments.  A certain time in the 52m segment will allow a certain range in the 30m segment.  This allows the pass speed to be controlled to the desired parameters.

 

Here is a preliminary typical chart for 57kmph

 

Speed

52m time

30m range allowed

58

3.23

1.87

1.83

 

3.24

1.87

1.83

 

3.25

1.88

1.84

 

3.26

1.88

1.84

 

3.27

1.89

1.85

57

3.28

1.89

1.85

 

3.29

1.89

1.85

 

3.30

1.90

1.85

 

3.31

1.91

1.86

 

3.32

1.91

1.87

 

3.33

1.92

1.87

56

3.34

1.93

1.87

 

 

 

Similar charts will be made for the other selectable speeds in jumping.

 

The wording in the rules will be modified to fit the new system.

 

Kyle suggested that in the interim while we are sorting this out, that the driver must change the skier letter to sort out hot times not adjust the base settings.  Also the base to be set up at 5.18 not slower.  Wind and current changes can be needed but these are separate from the skier letter.

 

The reference to constant speed in jumping will be changed to reflect the actual practice.

 

N.B. After the meeting speed control manufacturers were contacted with the exact details.  The Manufacturers had representatives and input on the American Water Ski Association Committee where aspects of these changes were introduced.  The AWSA Committee acted as an advisory board to the IWSF Tournament Council and the TC wishes to gratefully acknowledge that input as an important part of the process in arriving at an improved method for regulating the jump event. 

 

 

5. Issues

 

 

5.1 Overall Records

 

16.05a

Revert to old rule but use the current overall World record scores as the basis. 

Clarification based on post meeting ballot is that we will revert to the Rule used in the 2005 Rulebook.

Overall Event Record Base Scores  

Slalom Trick Jump

Men 1@9.75 11680 67.8

Women 1@10.25 8580 50.5

 

 

5.2 Calendar Clashes

No solution agreed on the issue of the EAME Championships clashing with Elite tournaments.  In the second meeting the goal was set to come up with definitive proposals on this issue.

 

 

 

5.3 Slalom times – interior buoys. 

Only the end times were narrowed but some felt the whole chart should have been adjusted and tightened. No change at this time

 

5.4 Choosing Jump boats

Kyle requested the rule 10.01 to be changed to allow skiers to choose their boat for slalom and jump.  This was left unchanged.  Competitions must still apply to the Tournament Council Chairman to get permission.   

 

5.5 Approved Boat Use Policy

Understood that non approved boats can be used for L & R tournaments provided they meet the spec laid down in the rules.

 

5.6 World Games

2009 in Kaoshong Taiwan at a site that we are seriously concerned about in terms of water conditions.  Generally agreed the benefits of participation outweighed the bad water.  We should try to be there.

 

5.7 ZERO OFF

Zero Off is a new speed control system based on GPS.  GPS has a positional accuracy of 1 – 1.5 metres.  However, in the doppler mode GPS gives a very accurate speed between two fixed points.  The system controls speed not rpm.  Being based on GPS, no magnetic buoys are required.

For jump, they have had to bump the speed up when the skier cuts to emulate the currently delivered standard ride.

The system is  provisionally approved by AWSA but for this year must have a magnetic buoy timing system as well so the judge can check accuracy.  AWSA will review this at the end of the season.

 

A top female skier had written to the TC complaining that the system was unfair, but other athletes have had no issues with it at all.  Her concerns were forwarded to the manufacturer. The system is different, yes, and might take some getting used to but her letter was the only formal communication received about the system.   The Chairman reported in the additional meeting that there were some concerns raised by some skiers.  However, it should be noted that the system is meeting all technical requirements.

 

Speed Control Parameters Chart

Zero Off must provide us with this information. The Chairman contacted them and was advised that there is a skier selectable A, B, and C parameter that provides different ride style, but does not affect the time. 

 

5.7 Ranking List

EAME has asked again for consideration of a WBW ranking list – to run as a trial alongside the performance based lists for a couple of years.

In the additional meeting, a list of issues for the current system as well as the two proposed systems (WBW and Placement based) was presented.  These issues will be addressed by a committee to be convened by the Chairman.  Recommended for the committee, Bob Corson, Emmanuel Lion and an Asian-Australasian representative.

 

5.8 Gate Camera Height

This issue was raised for the additional meeting as a question if there was a requirement for the gate camera height.  It has been assumed that the camera would be placed in an elevated position to meet the requirements as if it were a judge.  A point was raised that perhaps a lower view might provide for better judging.  No action at this time.  This could be tried experimentally with permission.

 

5.9 Protected Score

An issue was raised regarding protected score on tournament supplied equipment failure or officials error reride.

 

6. Records

 

6.1 Freddy Krueger

Now we have analysed all the speeds we are in a better position to judge this situation.  Max speed 60.4 at the MT with a swing of 3.9k which would fall inside the new tolerances we are about to set. 

Approved.

74.2 metres at the McCormick November 5th 2006.

 

6.2 Jamie Beauchesne Slalom

Without the end of course video there is no record to approve.

The whole TC was very disappointed with this issue – there was a total failure by the organisation to make sure the performances were recorded.

If this happens then offer the skier a protected score re-ride to see if he can do it again.

 

7. Final Business

 

7.1 Election

 

Bob re-elected as Chairman unanimously. 

 

7.1 Follow-on meeting

A further meeting on Saturday to finalise the outstanding issues.  Notes from that meeting have been integrated into these minutes.