NeilC wrote:Paul Frost wrote:I think the issue is that currently you can't have mixed punching, but I can't find the bit in the rules that says so.
There is currently no rule disallowing it - although E&CC have made it clear that they would like this to be the case.
Maybe no specific rule, but there is a recognition that mixed punching is unfair competition. The latest E&C committee meeting contains the following points:
ECC wrote:
- It is recognised that the use of contactless cards provides a significant advantage compared to contact cards so the mixing of the two types in competition could be viewed as fundamentally "unfair".
- The concept of ‘fairness of competition for all’ is paramount above any other considerations regarding the make or type of Ecard in use at an Event;
- If an Event is to have a mix of contact and contactless Ecards in use as designated by the Organiser then provision must be made for competitors who are not contactless Ecard owners or users to hirea contactless Ecard either free or for a modest fee for use on the day or days of the Event;
Now I can see that so long as a SIAC is at least available to every competitor in a class then competitors who choose not to use them cannot complain about fairness - whether those results could legitimately be submitted for ranking purposes is a different matter.
NeilC wrote:The Brighton City Race tomorrow will be run using mixed punching. Of the 175 entries:
38 own their own SIAC
66 have asked to "hire" one (there is no hire fee for this event)
71 have opted to use their own non-SIAC card
It's possible that a (large?) number of these 71 didn't realise that they could borrow a SIAC free of charge, or couldn't work out how to indicate this on their online entry. We still have 50 SIACs to lend out so I anticipate some late requests to change.
And if that number turns out to be greater than 50 then the 51st could make a protest.