Restructure the general rules in 3B

This discussion has an associated proposal. View Proposal Details here.

Comments about this discussion:

Started

After the last Rulebook Committee revised the structure of the Track chapter quite fundamentally, I wondered whether it wouldn't be more clear to also revise the structure of the Road Race chapter.
One thing that I find very confusing in the current Road Racing chapter, is which official disciplines there are in the field of Road Races. For me, the disciplines seemed to be very hidden and scattered throughout the chapter - I think that should be changed.
I also find the assignment of some sub-chapters not particularly logical.

The structure I had in mind would be something like this:

3B.1 General Road Racing Rules
    3B.1.1 Safety
    3B.1.2 Unicycles
    3B.1.3 Rider Identification
    3B.1.4 Riders Must Be Ready
    3B.1.5 Protests
3B.2 Road Racing Disciplines

    3B.2.1 Fixed Distance Races
        3B.2.1.1 10 km
        3B.2.1.2 Marathon
        3B.2.1.3 100 km
   
3B.2.2 Free Distance Races
    3B.2.3 Criterium
    3B.2.4 Time Trials
3B.3 Racing Rules
    3B.3.1 The Start
        3B.3.1.1 False Start
    3B.3.2 The Race
        3B.3.2.1 Illegal Riding
        3B.3.2.2 Passing
        3B.3.2.3 Dismounts
        3B.3.2.4 Repair, Change, or Replace a (Broken) Unicycle
    3B.3.3 The Finish

With the exception of section 3B.2 Road Racing Disciplines, everything could be taken over from the existing rules for now - this proposal should therefore not contain any changes to the content, but should only adapt the structure of the existing rules.

Comment

Just to be sure I am on the same page.  We are using the 2019 rulebook as the starting point?  

https://unicycling.org/files/iuf-rulebook-2019.pdf

I want to make sure that I am reviewing the right copy.  I will read through Part 3 tonight to be ready.

 

Comment

That is the current rulebook, to my knowledge. The revision number matches the one on the USA website as well. I should have time to sit down and review the road section this evening as well. 

 

Is there a specific way that we format proposed changes that makes it easier to make the changes when the time comes? 

Comment

Greg>Yes, Jan is talking about the IUF 2019 rulebook.

Jan> Does your proposal only concern competitors rules, or is your proposal to create a general rules section? It makes me wonder about the distinction between competitor rules and organizer rules. Many of the rules concern competitors and organizers, which means writing the same thing or rewording it slightly, and this considerably increases the volume of the rules and the risk of inconsistency or omission.

If the aim is to better identify the disciplines, another option would be to take them out of sections 3B and 3D and make a section dedicated to the disciplines. In my opinion, the structure of the 3D section should also be reviewed.

Comment

Yes exactly, I'm referring to Chapter 3 in the IUF 2019 Rulebook.

I would absolutely agree with Simon that a revision of the other sections of Chapter 3 would also make sense, but from my experience in the Track Committee, I think it makes sense to take things in “small” steps.
I can absolutely understand the basic idea behind the separation between competitor rules and organizer rules and I think this has been implemented very well in the track section. The separation should be made in such a way that everything that only affects the organizers is in the organizer section and everything that can affect both riders and organizers is in the competitor section. In other words, all parts are always relevant for organizers, but riders should know everything they need to know if they have only read the competitor part.
This division has been consistently established in the rules for all categories and I think this structure should be retained. However, we should make sure that everything necessary for the rider is really in section 3B Competitor Rules.

So if there are things that are currently in the section 3D, but which you think are also relevant for the riders, then I think we should move them to section 3B.

Comment

Following along, I agree with the suggestions and direction of this discussion thus far. 

Comment

Since there were no further comments here, I would put the proposals to a vote soon and hope that all members of the committee will also take part in the vote.
Once voting has started, comments will no longer be possible here, so if there are any comments, please let me know as soon as possible.

Comment

Sorry, I'm just catching up with all this. 

Agree this structure makes sense, as long as we maintain consistency.    I don't actually think there is a need for separate competitor and organiser rules.   Some things are specific to competition organisers- they can be slotted into subsections within 'General Rules', whereas the 'Racing Rules' mostly concern the riders anyway. 

Comment

I'm not sure if I understood your comment correctly... I think regarding the basic separation between the Competitor Rules and Event Organizer Rules sections it makes sense to keep the fundamental structure of the rulebook and continue to have sections A, B, C and D in each chapter.
This proposal therefore only relates to the restructuring of section 3B Competitor Rules, so everything inside the proposed section 3B.1 General Road Racing Rules are rules that concern the competitors.


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