It was agreed by the IWWF Tournament Council that this tournament could be used to try out this new, proposed rule.
The rule is as follows:
In the event of a skier completing a pass (6 buoys + exit gates) but missing the entry gate, the skier will be given the choice to:
- Protest the judges’ decision: the skier goes back to the dock and starts the official protest as usual.
- If the final call is missed gate, the score is 0 buoys at the pass in question.
- If the revised call is gate ok, the skier returns to the water to continue his/her set with the option of a warm up pass. (as per the current rules).
- Accept the judges’ decisions and continue his/her set: the line is shortened as if the entry gate had not been missed and the skier continues to the next pass.
- 6 buoys must be completed with both entry and exit gates and the skier maintaining a skiing position thereafter to have the previously missed entry gate reinstated.
- If the skier fails to fully complete the next pass (6 buoys + entry and exit gates), the final score will be 0 buoys at the pass on which the gate was first missed.
A few notes:
- This rule shall be applied for only one missed entry gate per tournament set. If a second entry gate is missed, the skier does not get a further chance and is automatically scored 0 on the second pass with a missed entry gate. The only exception to this is in the instance that the second entrance gate is missed on the pass directly after the first missed gate, in which case the score will be given as 0 on the pass with the initial missed entry gate.
- The rule only applies for the purposes of the event (e.g., qualifying for finals, head-to-head finals). However, for the purpose of World, Region, and National rankings, the score will be 0 at the first pass with a missed entry gate.
- Should the skier decide to continue skiing (see bottom of the graph), then skier is not allowed to protest the judges' call on those particular gates.
Flowchart of new gate rule