Proposed Rules Changes for 2014

All– Here are rule changes I've proposed for 2014. Feedback and brickbats are welcome. –Jim Ward


1. Improve the Rule Regarding Late Arrivals

Issue: The language of 3.6.2 (refusing entry for late arrivals) contradicts that of 3.6.3 (permitting entry). This warrants repair.

Moreover, no option exists for the Contest Jury to require a competitor whose tardiness was not excused to fly the Known program before flying other flight programs.

Proposal: Fix the language. Offer latitude to the Contest Jury to require a tardy competitor to fly the Known Program as a qualifier.

Change 3.6.2 to read:

"A late-arriving competitor shall be allowed entry without penalty if he completes registration and technical inspection, receives a briefing and is on the line and ready to fly before all other previously-registered competitors competing in his category have completed the Known Program."

Change 3.6.3 to read:

"A late-arriving competitor who does not meet the conditions of 3.6.2 shall be allowed entry without penalty if the Contest Jury determines that the late arrival was due to conditions outside his control.

"Should the Contest Jury determine instead that the competitor's tardiness was within his control, the competitor shall be awarded a zero for all completed Flight Programs and be allowed to fly the remaining, uncompleted Flight Programs. At its discretion, the Contest Jury may require the competitor to fly the Known Program as a qualification flight before flying any other Flight Program."

2. Raise Protest Fees

Issue: The protest fee is intended to test a competitor's sincerity about a filing grievance. As the buying power of the dollar has diminished since the $25 fee was established over 20 years ago, the current fee is a weak test.

Proposal: Raise the protest fee. I suggest $50. (See 3.16.1(b).)


3. Clarify the Judging Criteria of Rolls Integrated with Loops and Part-Loops

Issue: As written today, specific deductions are defined for rolls flown on lines at the tops of some – but not all – loops and part-loops. No deductions are defined for rolls flown on lines at the bottoms of loops and part-loops, or in some Family 8 (combinations of loops and lines) figures.

Proposal: Define the roll-on-line-at-loop-bottom deduction to be the same as at the top of a loop. Change each RB occurrence of "apex" to "apex or nadir" or just use "top" and "bottom".

Also, define the roll-on-line deduction to apply to every figure in which a roll is intended to be flown entirely on the arc of a (part-)loop.


4. Assess a Penalty when a Figure Repeated After a Break Infringes on a Boundary

Issue: At a recent contest, a competitor was observed to go "out" during a figure, after which he took an explicit interruption. Upon resuming his sequence, he repeated the figure flown before the interruption and went "out" again. Today the rules forbid assigning more than one boundary penalty per figure. In a case like this, two boundary penalties should probably apply.

Proposal: Change the language in 4.17.3 to allow one for boundary penalty per figure, except if a figure is re-flown following an interruption. In such case, a boundary penalty may be charged each time the figure is re-flown.


5. Require "Current" Scoring Software

Issue: Rule 1.11(a) requires the current year's scoring software to be used. As the IAC scoring software changes now and then over the course of a contest season, it would be more desirable to just require the current version of the scoring software be used.

Proposal: Remove the word "year's" from 1.11(a).


6. Distinguish "Cumulative Zeroes" from "Hard Zeroes"

Issue: IAC's one-size-fits-all mechanism to adjust zero grades is overly coarse and ultimately unfair to competitors. (It can also negatively affect judges' RIs.) Judges are often unwilling to award a zero grade reached through the accumulation of downgrades. This reluctance is based on knowing that such a zero may be raised per the rules to some higher, unwarranted value based on the assessment of other judges.

Proposal: Distinguish a cumulative zero, awarded per 7.3.1(f), from a "hard zero" awarded per any other paragraph of 7.3.1. Retain the "majority/minority zero adjustment rule" for hard zeroes; never raise cumulative zeroes.

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