April 15, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News
Events sanctioned by the World Flying Disc Federation will now require that at least 14 players per team pass a rules accreditation test, and at least 3 pass the advanced version for more experienced players, WFDF announced last week.
The move follows a push for more rules adherence and understanding in international countries, including Colombia and Australia, both of which require all players to pass a rules test before competing at their national tournaments.
WFDF writes that “the objective of this accreditation is to ensure that all players are fully versed in the rules” so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding about the rules, which helps to avert unspirited play.
“[Rules Committee Chair] Rueben [Berg], [Ultimate Committee Chair] Si [Hill], and all the members of the Rules Subcommittee have put a lot of thought and effort into this first accreditation procedure,” said WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch in a statement. “We think it is an important step in ensuring that players can better play fairly in our self-officiated sport and we will be looking to improve on it as we get player experience in the process. The accreditation process is not so much a test as it is a learning tool, and we hope that our athletes appreciate it as such.”
The first tournaments to use the new accreditation rules will be the U23 World Championships in Toronto; the World Games in Cali, Colombia; and the Continental Ultimate Club Championships around the world.
WFDF, unlike USA Ultimate, does not use observers in any of it matches since its member organizations are against a third-party official being involed. That makes rules knowledge that much more important to successful, spirited games.
