Problems with 1.3.2. Combining Age Groups in relation to Track & Field - Part 1: Combining U11 and 11+ age groups (Closed for comments)
Comments about this discussion:
Started
I my opinion, there are several problems/ obscurities in Section 1.3.2. Combining Age Groups in relation to the Track & Field rules, we should discuss.
First problem:
In Section 1.3.2. is no paragraph, which says that it is not allowed to combine U11 age groups with 11+ age groups.
Because of the different wheel sizes but also because of the different racing distance in wheel walk and different board sizes in slow races it is definitively not useful to combine U11 age groups and 11+ age groups in track and field.
What du you think about adding the sentence: „U11 age groups are never combined with 11+ age groups.“?
Comment
I think should not be ruled in section 1.3.2 because the different disciplines has different "problems". For the Track & Field maybe in 2.1.2.
The problem you mentioned is true and I think has to be added to the themes "different distance" as in wheel-walk or "different boards" as in slow races.
Comment
> What du you think about adding the sentence: „U11 age groups are never combined with 11+ age groups.“?
I don't see why those groups should never be combined.
Suppose that U11 would be only one rider, and 11-12 would be 10 riders. I think you would agree that one rider is too small to be a viable age group.
Following the rules, in that case U11 would have to merge with 0-12, and obey the rules for 0-12. In the case of e.g. 800 m track racing, that means they have a choice: either they could ride a 20" with 100 mm cranks (as they would have done in U11, and in fact any track racer is allowed to do) or a 24" with 125 mm cranks.
Do you see a problem with that?
Comment
No, I would not agree that one rider is too small to be a viable age group - and the problem can also occur if there are 3, 4 or 5 riders in U11.
In merging U11 with 0-12 I see a problem, because U11 riders train with 20“, they train the 10m wheel walk and they train slow races on other boards... If they want to start with a 24“ they can do that, of course, but in this case I‘m very sure that they have trained on a 24“ before and then it‘s their own decision to start in 0-12.
But when the convention host merges the age groups it‘s not the riders decision. The U11 riders will not have trained on a 24“, thats something completely different. And what‘s about children, who are 5 or 6 years old? They might be too small to drive a 24“ and so they don‘t have the decision what unicycle they ride. In my opinion it‘s not fair to compare a rider on a 20“ with a rider on a 24“.
Comment
I believe that a decision to merge age groups should be made months before the event, e.g. after the cheapest registration period has ended (the current rules don't address this, though). That way, 20" riders who end up in a 24" group can at least have some training on the right size wheel. Of course I agree that this is not ideal, but in my opinion it is better than giving away podium places "for free", which is basically what happens with an age group with 3 or less riders. Also, I acknowledge that 5 or 6 year old riders are too small to ride a 24" wheel, but such young riders would normally not win a medal in the 0 - 10 age group anyway, so relatively little harm is done.
Comment
Jan, the age group is specifically called 0-12, as it has been since the early days of the IUF, to allow riders of any age to use 24" wheels even if they are under age 11.
A 1-person age group is not viable outside of the limits set forth in the existing rules. If you are the only person in your age group, you can't win! This is because you can't lose. It becomes a participation award, which makes it not equal to the awards for the groups with multiple people.
As for the case of a 10m Wheel Walk racer having to do 30m, it's a pretty rare occurrence. If it happens, they will indeed be racing with a group of older riders who may or may not be better at it than the younger riders. It will be a big challenge for them to win.
For the most part, we should avoid combining from below and above the 20/24" split but it may happen. Again, we should also think about adding language throughout the Rulebook to indicate rules we consider to be absolute, and others that are meant to apply only to larger competitions.
Comment
This discussion is about age group determination. Thus, it will be discussion in that committee once it gets started. Thanks for your comments here.