MINUTES OF THE MEETING
OF THE IWSF TOURNAMENT COUNCIL
HELD ON SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY 13TH AND 14TH SEPTEMBER 2008
AT THE BUENA VISTA
SUITES HOTEL, ORLANDO, FLORIDA.
1. Present
Bob Corson Chair and
PanAm Confederation
Ron Fergusson AA
Confederation
Gary Humphrey AA
Confederation
Murray Eade AA
Confederation
Candido Moz EAME
Confederation
Sid Adriaensen EAME
Confederation
Gillian Hill EAME
Confederation
Jeffry Armstrong PanAm
Confederation
Peter Person PanAm
Confederation
Ageliki Andriopoulou Athletes
Commission
Clementine Lucine Athletes
Commission
Kyle Eade Athletes
Commission
Jim Grew Chair,
World Disabled Council (observer)
2. Apologies for Absence
Stefan
Rauchenwald EAME
Gavin Brain AA
Bob
welcomed all to this annual TC meeting.
He passed on best wishes to Stefan for a speedy recovery from his hip
operation.
The meeting
would start with a visit from the organisers of the Calgary World Championships
2009 who would be requesting some changes to accommodate their plans for the
final three days of the tournament.
At this
stage the members welcomed Paul Melnuk, Steve Carter and Matt Rini from
Canada.
They
explained their wish to make some changes to the existing rules for the final
rounds in order to allow the 2009 World Championships to share a stage on the
last three days with live entertainment.
This they believed would bring in 30,000 plus spectators to the
Championships, so making a more memorable event for the athletes and the
spectators. The gave a presentation
setting out their ideas. Effectively
they were asking for a semi final round in each event (men and women) to bring
the normal final numbers down from 12 to 6 for the Final round. The TC noted this actually added to the
skiing time and would necessitate an extra days skiing which it was felt was
unacceptable to the participating Federations.
An Athlete Commission poll conducted by Ageliki had also found the
skiers to be against this idea in the majority.
Considerable
discussion took place between the TC members and the Canadian group over the
two days of the meeting and after much discussion it was felt the safest way
forward was to run 3 Finals each on Saturday and Sunday. One final would be held in the late morning
as spectators were still arriving. The
second two Finals would be held between live act sets, giving the maximum crowd
capacity. For the Friday the TC would
try to ensure that good Series 1 events were held in the afternoon.
The TC further agreed much later in this
meeting that the start lists for the 2009 World Championships will be made
using the reverse order of the May 2009 Ranking List scores. Further that all series will be in groups of
10. See
later in these Minutes for the exact text.
Slalom Rule 17.03 c
It was agreed to amend this rule to change all Swiss Franc
values to US Dollars which is now the currency used by the IWSF.
c) If a skier/Team Representative believes that there was an error in a score, he may challenge it by notifying the Chief Judge before the next skier goes goes out (or as soon as is judged practicable by the Judges) and by putting up US$250. The Chief Judge and a designated review judge will review the video (boat video or gate video). 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. The US$250 will only be returned if the original score was changed. (2007) (2009)
Challenges
The TC
discussed whether or not the skier had the right to be shown the video after
the challenge. It was agreed this was not a requirement of the rule. Similarly after a request for trick timing
review there was no requirement to show the skier the video.
The TC
wishes all decisions to be open and transparent but showing skiers the video
would cause admin and time problems during an event.
Monetary Currency
All and any
other SFR amounts would be changed to US$ at the rate of 1 to 1.
Experimental Entry Gate Buoys
Proposal from the World Cup Committee to allow the use of thin cylindrical gate for slalom gate buoy so that the boat camera can be used exclusively for gate judgment without gate cameras and so that the skier can easily be shown definitively to have made the gate or not. (Optional for World Cup minimum).
Bob is
working on this with Larry Gisler and others on the World Cup Committee. The ultimate aim is to try to remove the
need for 45 degree gate cameras. This
is not ready to go yet – still working on it.
Ideas will be tried at World Cup events.
Rule 14.15 Damaged equipment
It was agreed to add in a clarification:-
“On the start dock – reference rule 2.05.
Between the
start dock and the gate buoys on the first pass if a skier notices that
his equipment is damaged, the Event Judges may grant him 3 minutes to repair or
change the broken equipment and to continue competing. Once a skier has entered the slalom course on
the first pass there is no time given to repair damaged equipment.
EXCEPT if a skier has damaged his equipment during a run that leads to a re-ride (for example hitting debris or other floating object) he must be back on his skis within 3 minutes from the time the reride has been granted or he is not allowed to continue in the round. If the skier is not able to continue, in the case of a mandatory reride, the pass that brought about the reride is scored to the last good buoy time.
If the skier is not able to continue, in the case of an optional reride (and the skier is not back on his skis within 3 minutes), he is credited with the score obtained in the run that brought about the reride. “
Rule
14.01: Entering the Course
It was agreed to change this rule as follows:-
A contestant may refuse to enter the slalom course by throwing the handle in the air. He shall not be penalized for so doing providing this refusal was for a reason judged acceptable by the Event Judges. The skier must be ready to ski immediately upon the boat's return. Should the skier not be ready or should the reason be judged not acceptable by the Event Judges, he shall be disqualified from the remainder of the event. Between the start dock and the gate buoys on the first pass if a skier notices that his equipment is damaged, the Event Judges may grant him 3 minutes to repair or change the broken equipment and to continue competing. Once a skier has passed through the entrance gates on his first pass, he may not refuse to enter the course for the following passes.
SLALOM RULES
It was agreed to completely rewrite the Slalom Rules to include existing rule 17.02.
The use of gate video and boat video is the standard way of Judging now and the rules need to reflect this. Candido has already done this work which would be sent to Bob.
It was agreed the Chief Judge may act as slalom boat video judge if necessary.
Slalom points for overall
There was
an opinion that each slalom point is now too high in value for overall
points.
It was
agreed that no change would be made at present but this issue does need
reviewing at the next meeting.
TRICKS
Limitation on Flips
The AWSA Rules Committee met on November 10th and as a result of that meeting would like for IWSF to consider elimination of the 6 flip rule. The rationale supporting this proposal is that flips have a significant amount of spectator appeal, which serves to generate interest in the event, and it is discriminatory against flips to limit this type of trick yet not limit any other trick. Should the purpose behind this rule be to promote variety in trick passes, then a limit on ALL tricks would be more on point to keep this perceived problem in check. Alternatively, visiting the point values of tricks could also produce the desired results of achieving variety in trick passes.
Ageliki had polled the skiers on this issue and there was a clear majority wishing to retain the 6 flip limit until the trick points are reviewed. Agreed NO CHANGE.
Quick and accurate
Trick Scoring
A further suggestion from the World Cup Committee was to require skiers to follow their submitted trick pass but allow skiers to submit multiple passes and sequence changes – skipped tricks with the ability to choose just before they ski. This would allow automated scoring which will produce a final result before the next skier goes out. The list could be limited to (say) 25 tricks. (Optional for World Cup minimum).
On this point Bob showed a demonstration of software he has been building to allow quick scoring by each judge. The ultimate aim is to have immediate scores which are not subject to change, however, this will take time as there is a lack of confidence amongst the skiers that the scores are accurate at this time. The Athletes Commission wishes to trial this system at world cup events before accepting it for general usage and final scoring.
Tricks Rule 15.05
EAME had
suggested a change to this rule to show the skier can decide if the boat goes
through the course gates in the middle or to one side or the other. Also the course is too SHORT for skiers at
36k. Suggest to change to 230 metres.
Agreed to change Rule 15.50 as follows:-
15.05: The Trick
Course (2008)
Two sets of buoys approximately 230 meters apart shall establish the approximate area of the beginning of the trick pass from each direction (see Diagram 3) and be configured as an entry gate. The boat shall pass through the entry gate on a line chosen by the skier. The end of the pass shall be signified by the 20-second time interval only.
Item – Positional tricks
The
Positional turn must be done before the gate buoys. This is a judgement decision – the skiers should do this as
early as possible, otherwise they run the risk of it being included in the
run. Agreed.
Item – Challenge on timing of trick pass
At EAME
events the panel will retime a trick pass if there is a request from a skier or
team captain. EAME suggested this
should be allowed and that the following be added to the end of Rule
15.12. This proposal was agreed by the TC.
Add to Rule 15.12
If a skier/Team Representative believes that there was an error in the
timing of a trick pass, he may challenge it by notifying the Chief Judge as
soon as is practicable and by putting up US$250. The Chief Judge and a
designated review judge will retime the pass.
If they both agree on the timing that will be where the run will
end. If they disagree or agree that the
video does clearly overrule the original time given by the judges, then the
timing will change. The US$250 will only be returned if the
original time was changed. (2008)
It was further agreed to recommended that for RC, CP and Titled events there are two video timing judges used.
Already in Rule 15.12:
Optionally, the Chief judge may assign a second
video timing judge in his place, of a different nationality than the first
judge in international tournaments. If these two judges disagree, the Chief
Judge will resolve the disagreement.
Trick judging –
representation from more than one Confederation.
The Athlete
Commission would prefer to have Judges from more than one Confederation at the
major elite tournaments. It is clear
that at this moment there is not sufficient money within the sport to pay
officials travel all over the world – the organisers cannot afford to do this.
However, it
was agreed that officials who might be available to serve at competitions in
other Confederations should let Bob Corson know and he could then advise the
competition organisers who might be available.
At this stage the IWSF cannot enforce this obligation onto
organisers.
A further request from the athletes was for 5 judges at all the major tournaments for tricks. Perhaps use other skiers to judge – but give the skiers the confidence of having 5 judges.
It is a strong recommendation – we cannot do more than that.
Whilst discussing this item it was also suggested by the athletes that Bob should circulate Elite event organisers with the Athletes preferred cash prize breakout.
Trick Record
Submission
Bob reminded members that DVD Format does not retain timing credibility. Any and all record submissions must be submitted by avi file.
Clementine Lucine
Trick Record review
A record application for 8860 points at the French Nationals had been submitted.
The current submission process is that the runs are reviewed by the panel at the competition where the record is set. The World TC Chairman has the responsibility to also review the run to check for gross errors. In the case of this submission Bob had noticed that the tip of the ski touches the top of the wake during a W5 and because of this he asked the record to be reviewed by all members of the TC.
The Record application was not approved by the Council and the score was downgraded to 8490 for the Rankings List.
NEW TRICK
A proposal had been received to include a new trick of Front Flip Back to Front. The TC reviewed the video which accompanied the proposal and agreed to add this new trick under a separate number with a score of 850 points. Code FFLF.
JUMP
Jump Speed
Control/Timing
Following the earlier decision of the TC to postpone the introduction of 3 segment timing in Jump for the 2008 season, it was now time to decide what to do for the future.
In principle the TC agreed completely with the idea of controlling the speed of the boat coming into the course, thereby necessitating a 3 segment course.
In essence we have four choices:
Choices 1
and 2 were not acceptable. Choice 4 had
nothing to offer at this stage.
Therefore
it was agreed that we should start utilising the 3 segment timing for the 2009
season. However, there was
insufficient testing other than at 57 kph, so after considerable discussion it
was agreed to introduce 3 segment timing in the following manner:
§ It is mandatory to record the times for the 3 segments for all speeds (men and women) at RC and RL competitions and submit these times to IWSF for evaluation.
§ For RC, RL and Elite events the published 3 segment times for 57 kph must be used for distances over 65 metres (men).
§ For women the published 3 segments times for 54 kph must be used in the case of a RECORD, but are not necessary for the Ranking List scores.
§ Implementation date May 1st 2009.
Bob would also try to make the re-ride chart less bulky.
Jump Rule 13.04
Return to
baseline speed – the speed chart and the re-run table need to be put back into
the Rule Book. Agreed.
GENERAL RULES
Handle triangle
size/redesign/safety consideration
Following a tragic accident earlier in the season, the TC
considered if there was a necessity to alter the size of the handle triangle or
make any other design changes. It was
felt there was little to be done in this area that might not cause other problems. There is nothing in the rules to prevent a
skier taking action to cover or otherwise alter the triangle hole. No
change agreed.
Rule exceptions
A number of requests were received each year from organizers who wished to make amendments to the rules for their competitions. The IWSF Rules were written mainly for the Titled events and administrative items such as start speeds, numbers in finals, minimum jump height, etc could be provided for within their particular competition rules.
It was agreed in principle that organizers can publish these changes in the rules of the competition.
Review of Speed
Control requirements
10.07: Speed Control (2004)(2008)
Our rules need to be reviewed to check consistency as the technology changes so fast. For instance we refer to firmware which was how PP put in new programs while ZO uses flash memory. The intent is that the program does not change. Not changing can also have different meanings. Does it mean literally no change or no change in operational aspects or no change in speed control. How is the control maintained and verified?
It was agreed that the IWSF TC requires the speed control version to be published 3 months before each World Championships and to be available to all. That version must not be changed in those 3 months.
Conflict of Interest
Rule
There was a request from the AA Confederation to remove the Conflict of Interest Rule.
The athletes clearly wish to retain this rule. No change agreed.
Rule 16.05a - Overall records
Typing error
In the
Women Overall Record Calculator the current record is shown at 1@ 10.75m. This needs changing to 1 at 10.25.
Clash of dates
This item
had been raised again by the EAME Confederation. Notably during 2008 a clash had occurred between two Elite
events. The Pickos event and the Malibu
Open in France. The Pickos tournament
had changed dates several times and ended up clashing – to the major detriment
of the French event.
Bob has
already asked the sites to submit their dates for 2009. There was general agreement that whilst we
have so few Elite events we should TRY to avoid clashes of dates.
It was
agreed we should 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. Bob would
write to all Federations and the existing Elite sites to advise them of how we
proposed to deal with this.
Who Beat Who Ranking List
Last year
we established a committee to examine this proposal. There was little different between using the best 2 or 3
results. Subsequently the EAME member
resigned and no-one has been re-appointed.
Bob believes the who beat who list does not work at World level. It works in a limited environment but does
not cover all the age category options used by so many events. At this stage there was no further
discussion.
New Technology
EAME
suggests a rule is needed re introduction of NEW technology, new speed control,
new anything. It must not be included
as a requirement for at least one year.
And it must be available world wide before it can come in. No-one wants to halt technology but it has
to be fair for the skiers. No rule to
be made but the World TC must take great care before making swift
decisions.
Second Timing Display in Boat for Judge
The need for the use of a second in boat display was questioned. For sure it is still NEEDED for magnet based timing systems. Perhaps it was not needed for GPS systems.
After discussion it was agreed that a second display is required for non GPS timing systems. For Titled and Elite events a second display is required for all systems.
2009 World
Championships
The Athletes Commission had requested a review of the selection criteria for the World Championships.
The following changes were agreed to Rule 4.01.
Each Federation which is affiliated with the IWSF shall have the right
to select a team of skiers to represent their Federation in the World
Championships. The team shall consist of a maximum of six skiers, with the
further limitation that no team may have more than four men or four women.
Skiers not selected for their national teams may qualify to compete in
the World Championships as individuals only in the relevant event(s) if they
meet one or more of the following criteria:
All skiers qualified
as individuals must be entered by their Federation.
Skiers entering as
individuals shall not have their scores count toward team standings.
The Rankings List
used shall be the most recently published list.
Zero Off Magnet
Placement
The set up should be according to manufacturers specification. The Homologator and Driver must check together that the set up is correct and according to the manufacturers guidelines.
Rule 1.08 Identifying
Bibs
On a proposal from EAME, it was agreed to change this rule – last sentence as follows:
It may be required that
skiers must wear identifying bibs while skiing. The bibs must be of a design
approved by the Chairman of the IWSF Tournament Council. The central feature of
the bib will be an identifying number on both the front and back of the bib.
The individual digits of the number must be a minimum of 15 cm in height and be
clearly visible from a distance. The design must allow for use of an arm sling in
jumping and also be snug so that it does not interfere with the free movement
required in tricks. The bibs will be given to each team captain before the
competition for distribution to his team. Spare bibs, with no numbers, should
be available at the starting dock in case a skier's bib is damaged and
unusable. Skiers must each wear the bib with the number assigned to them only. A Refusal by the skier to wear the bib will result in
disqualification from that event.
However, accidental leaving off the bib not noticed in advance by anyone
will incur a fine of US$250 payable to
the event organiser.
Start speed for the
finals of the Open World Championships
The Men's final round shall start at the 13m pass and the Women's final round shall start at the 14.25m pass unless changed by the Event Judges.
Release of new rules
Murray said we need to deal with the rule changes as quickly as possible after this meeting. Bob agreed to be as quick as possible!
The technical rules shall be identical to those in the most current
IWSF Technical Rules with the exception of age and qualification restrictions
as stated above.
It is generally understood that any reference to the World
Championships shall be applicable to this tournament if appropriate.
Final start speeds – Men 14.25m – Women 16m
Worlds 2009 – 3 finals on
Saturday and Sunday.
- The May World Ranking List will be
used to make a general classification list of all the skiers entered in the
World Championships.
The skiers will then be divided into groups and the start list will be made using reverse order of the ranking list scores. The group size will normally be 15 men and 10 women but may be changed before the start of the tournament by the Chief Judge. (Cf., however, 13.01 for jumping order in the men's event). It is recommended that Series 1 and 2 for women and Series 1, 2 and 3 for men be scheduled so that these skiers will have similar conditions.
Skiers with no performance on the May list will be subject to a random draw in the lowest series.
It is expected the
series size will change to 10 skiers per group to assist the organization.
Overall competition
The AA Confederation believes the overall skiers want the overall finals back in the World Championships. The Athletes Commission and the TC members were asked to get thinking about how this could be handled better than before. We have time to think about this as it cannot be introduced for 2009. To be discussed further at the next meeting.
World Veteran
Championship Rules
Following the upgrade to Championship status the rules for the World Veterans (Seniors) would need reviewing. Gill agreed to start work on this and forward to Bob.
IWSF Trick study
Bob had
started a couple of discussion items with the review group but feels that this
will not resolve the problems. He has
ideas to use actual videos on You Tube using his new scoring system.
Ageliki
said the Athletes Commission will also attempt to rationalise say 10 or 12 of
the most difficult tricks. There is a
regional difference but it is not a consistent difference.
EAME
Offered to host another Trick seminar if anyone is interested to come.
In closing
the meeting Bob thanked the members for their two days of work and their
attention to some difficult items.