There is nothing more challenging for an official than having to DQ a swimmer for a false start: either a dual confirmation done after the heat has been started or for the lone swimmer who goes in all by themselves.
It is a shame that starting early and only gaining, at most, .5 seconds results in the entire race being nullified. I would hate to be the 400 IMer or the 1650 swimmer if that were to happen.
So, instead of nullifying the entire swim, consider a time penalty assessed for a False Start. In either situation that I mentioned in the first paragraph, the swimmer incurs a 5 seconds penalty when the False Start is dual confirmed. The swimmer gets the benefit of the race, albeit with a time penalty.
This could be managed quite easier with a software change in Meet Manager or whatever meet software is being used.
Paul
Thanks for your thoughts m2tall2 -
The beauty of this proposal is that Officials do NOTHING different than they current are doing. if they are not 100% confident about the rules infraction, they should not make the call. We are in complete agreement in this regard.
The change I propose is that the outcome of the rule infraction is not a DQ that negates the entire swim. A time penalty is assessed that takes place after the DQ is confirmed by the Deck/Meet referee. Since the time penalty is pre-determined, it is built into the meet management software and not subject to alteration by the officials.
Swimmers who intentionally violate the rules can be DQ'd for unsportsmanlike conduct - same as the current rules allow.
To summarize, the way swims are officiated does not change. The officials are not asked to judge differently that they currently do.
make sense?
Paul
Thanks for your thoughts m2tall2 -
The beauty of this proposal is that Officials do NOTHING different than they current are doing. if they are not 100% confident about the rules infraction, they should not make the call. We are in complete agreement in this regard.
The change I propose is that the outcome of the rule infraction is not a DQ that negates the entire swim. A time penalty is assessed that takes place after the DQ is confirmed by the Deck/Meet referee. Since the time penalty is pre-determined, it is built into the meet management software and not subject to alteration by the officials.
Swimmers who intentionally violate the rules can be DQ'd for unsportsmanlike conduct - same as the current rules allow.
To summarize, the way swims are officiated does not change. The officials are not asked to judge differently that they currently do.
make sense?
Paul
