Common sense rule change

[jdarwin]

On a positive note, a new rule will allow the skier to release the handle at the conclusion of the pass without penalty (drop zone). This was proposed by sites that are relatively short and it was originally conceived as a safety issue. I see no issue and when I've been forced to let go of the handle it is often that the driver and I were a bit out of sync. No harm, no foul.

[Horton]

@jdarwin

I hope you don't mind that I moved this post into the new category for rules politics and issues

[Kelvin]

That's a move in the right direction. Admittedly, I've implemented that rule a few times in the past. Particularly when the driver was new to a particular site.

[lpskier]

Another rule that should be changed, in my opinion, is 10.12©, requiring the skier to return to the wake "with a tight line under the power of the boat without falling." The rule states that the reason for the rule is to discourage a skier with slack from going for a full buoy score. In practice, I think it promotes people to try to hold on to slack, thereby increasing the risk of injury. I other words, I think the rule contributes to the very problem is says it was designed to reduce.

[Than_Bogan]

10.12c is routinely misinterpreted. Can anyone dig up the thread where we learned what it's supposed to mean? If everyone understood it, it actually would be a little safer. Popular interpretation (which I shared until getting educated here) is very dangerous.

[lpskier]

Well, that is the problem. You and I may understand it, but the folks that do and hold on to stuff they shouldn't are the ones that will get hurt. I have read and am reasonably sure I understand most of the rules. Before I became interested in becoming a judge, I had never read the rule book. I suspect that the vast majority of tournament skiers have not.

[lpskier]

That would be "the folks that do not understand.."