How much delay time is allowable from a 3BLD judge to interpose a sightblocker?

[abunickabhi]

Original discussion here: https://forum.worldcubeassociation....-3bld-judge-to-interpose-a-sightblocker/13691


3BLD event is the shortest event in blindsolving.

There have been instances when the judge forgets to put a sightblocker in front of the participant when they are doing their attempts.
Other instances nowadays are due to the nod-don among top BLDers, when the judge is not fast enough to react after the competitor does the memo and starts execution. Many times, the sightblocker comes after 2-3 comm exection, and even with sharp attention from the judge, about half to one comm is executed with the sightblocker in place.

Currently there is a regulation,
B4c) As soon as the competitor applies the first move to the puzzle, the judge must ensure that there is a sight blocker (e.g. a sheet of paper or cardboard) between the competitor’s face and the puzzle.

But this regulation is tough to enforce, for very fast blindsolvers, they execute 1-2 comms within a second, after memorisation phase, which is about 9-18 moves. Its impossible for the judge to put a sightblocker before the first turn has happened, unless they have reaction time several times quicker than the competitor.

My question is, how much delay time is allowable from a 3BLD judge to interpose a sightblocker? If the judge takes more than half of the exec time, to put a sight blocker, should the attempt be DNFed?

 

[Mike Hughey]

In my opinion, under no circumstances should a solve be DNFed because of improper judging. The solve might be able to be invalidated and replaced with another solve, but it should never be DNFed.

The following discussion from a while back points out that there is a precedent where the solve was not even invalidated, but allowed to stand:

World Cube Association

The World Cube Association governs competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as 'twisty puzzles'. The most famous of these puzzles is the Rubik's Cube, invented by professor Rubik from Hungary. A selection of these puzzles are chosen as...

forum.worldcubeassociation.org

I think it might be reasonable to consider a new rule requiring the sight blocker be in place within a certain amount of time, or else the solve could be invalidated and the solver would get another attempt. But while I think it's worth considering, I'm not absolutely convinced it would be a good decision. But certainly it should never be a DNF.

In general, if a rule says "the judge must", that should imply that the worst possible penalty for a violation of that rule should be that the solve be invalidated and a replacement scramble given. Restrictions on the judges shouldn't result in DNFs.

 

[eyeoh]

I think if a judge has been caught daydreaming, a delegate or organiser should remind them to be more ready, especially if the judge knows the solver is fast. It's not a difficult task - the main thing is to have the sight blocker/card ready quietly in hand to move into place as soon as turning starts once the cue of a blindfold being donned occurs. If the card is on the table, then it'll take quite a bit of time to locate, pick up and move into place.

But I think most issues can be avoided with pre-round planning. Most competitions don't have too many very fast 3blders, so if necessary, the safest way would be to assign reliable 3bld judges to the round's faster 3bld solvers. Organisers can help with this in several ways including seating the most experienced judges at the top tables. Additionally, where Stackmat display timers are not present at every table, the faster solvers should be seated at those tables to give the audience some seconds to look at.

I think where issues tend to arise is when there are plenty of too-eager judges who may or may not be fully alert to what they're doing. For bld events at busy competitions (i.e., not bld-only comps), it might be useful for organisers to have someone brief judges again beforehand but it also depends on who presents for judging and whether judges get rostered on or just show up to the solving stations.