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Proposal: Have two stopwatches for official multiblind attempts?

abunickabhi

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This will remove situations where an extra has to be given because the stopwatch did not start or it malfunctioned.

I think it is a good rule to have, the only downside is that both the clocks may not be in sync, and the time to be recorded may have to be at the discretion of the delegate / judge.

Also the judge has to keep more tabs on their MBLD judging duty, which makes volunteering for MBLD less easier.
 
how common are stopwatch malfunctions?
I've competed in 4 competitions and I've had to wait on a judge due to a stopwatch issue at least twice every competition.

At my last competition there was a problem with having not enough stopwatches for the judges and that caused a good deal of trouble... Maybe we should make sure every competition has enough stopwatches for judges to have *1* stopwatch before we require them to have 2. Just a thought
 
I've competed in 4 competitions and I've had to wait on a judge due to a stopwatch issue at least twice every competition.

At my last competition there was a problem with having not enough stopwatches for the judges and that caused a good deal of trouble... Maybe we should make sure every competition has enough stopwatches for judges to have *1* stopwatch before we require them to have 2. Just a thought
Regular comps are very different from PBQ comps...

PBQ comps have way less people so in most cases there should be enough stopwatches for 2 per person.
 
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Regular comps are very different from MBLD comps...

MBLD comps have way less people so in most cases there should be enough stopwatches for 2 per person.
There are PBQ comps right, I have not seen a MBLD only comp happen.

I do not see two stopwatches in many cases, sometimes even one phone timer is used.
 
I think this is another issue that is going to be solved with Timebase once it's completely rolled out and approved by WRC. In the meantime, I think its a good idea to have a spare stopwatch for redundancy. Especially after regulation 2i was updated to include stopwatches in the list of acceptable electronic devices for competitors to use, allowing the competitor to stop their own stopwatch in cases where the judge is unavailable or unable to stop the stopwatch.
 
I think this is another issue that is going to be solved with Timebase once it's completely rolled out and approved by WRC. In the meantime, I think its a good idea to have a spare stopwatch for redundancy. Especially after regulation 2i was updated to include stopwatches in the list of acceptable electronic devices for competitors to use, allowing the competitor to stop their own stopwatch in cases where the judge is unavailable or unable to stop the stopwatch.

TimeBase seems like a really cool system but is it really feasible for every single comp to be using it anywhere in the near future? It has to be able to be applied everywhere, including areas that are less developed and have a poor economy.
 
Wow, I'm actually surprised by that. I thought Timebase would cost hundreds of dollars more but if that is the case then Timebase would definitely be easier to implement.
That's a major driver of timebase development as well. Even though WCA delegates get a discount from Speedstacks, it's still over 100$ (on the cheaper side) in most countries to get just a display. Thankfully the WCA has a great funding program, however, it still makes me furious that we are giving a company that couldn't care less about cubing as a whole hundreds of thousands each year just for their equipment to malfunction and give organizers and delegates across the world headaches. I am a huge supporter of allowing third-party timers that have been produced by companies like Qiyi and YJ since they don't seem to be any less faulty and could be even more reliable and accurate than the current 150$ or more cost of a full station worth of speed stacks equipment. In a perfect world where timebase hits its projected 60$ cost and gets approved by the WRC alongside third-party timers, we can see the per-station price drop from around 150$ to nearly 80$. And that's also not including the fact that these speedcubing companies that are making timers would likely give the WCA a massive discount or even give out some timers to get some brand placement at local competitions.
 
That's a major driver of timebase development as well. Even though WCA delegates get a discount from Speedstacks, it's still over 100$ (on the cheaper side) in most countries to get just a display. Thankfully the WCA has a great funding program, however, it still makes me furious that we are giving a company that couldn't care less about cubing as a whole hundreds of thousands each year just for their equipment to malfunction and give organizers and delegates across the world headaches. I am a huge supporter of allowing third-party timers that have been produced by companies like Qiyi and YJ since they don't seem to be any less faulty and could be even more reliable and accurate than the current 150$ or more cost of a full station worth of speed stacks equipment. In a perfect world where timebase hits its projected 60$ cost and gets approved by the WRC alongside third-party timers, we can see the per-station price drop from around 150$ to nearly 80$. And that's also not including the fact that these speedcubing companies that are making timers would likely give the WCA a massive discount or even give out some timers to get some brand placement at local competitions.
I agree 10000%. Speedstacks is the only WCA-legal timer, and that means they've been given an easy way to monopolize the market. Allowing timers from other brands would help keep costs lower for organisers and delegates, thereby lowering the registration fees, and making comps more accessible to everyone.

I feel lucky that in New Zealand, Speedcubing NZ has a suitcase of timers, mats, displays and stopwatches that travel around the country. If it wasn't for the amazing people behind SNZ, cubing comps in my homeland would be few and far between.

I have a YJ timer, I don't know what one, don't ask me, and it's great. Yes, it's old as hell, but the buttons are positioned so that it's physically impossible to press them and still have your hands on the pads.

Buy YJ Cube Timer Online At Lowest Cost ...


Here's an image stolen from Google.
 
That's a major driver of timebase development as well. Even though WCA delegates get a discount from Speedstacks, it's still over 100$ (on the cheaper side) in most countries to get just a display. Thankfully the WCA has a great funding program, however, it still makes me furious that we are giving a company that couldn't care less about cubing as a whole hundreds of thousands each year just for their equipment to malfunction and give organizers and delegates across the world headaches. I am a huge supporter of allowing third-party timers that have been produced by companies like Qiyi and YJ since they don't seem to be any less faulty and could be even more reliable and accurate than the current 150$ or more cost of a full station worth of speed stacks equipment. In a perfect world where timebase hits its projected 60$ cost and gets approved by the WRC alongside third-party timers, we can see the per-station price drop from around 150$ to nearly 80$. And that's also not including the fact that these speedcubing companies that are making timers would likely give the WCA a massive discount or even give out some timers to get some brand placement at local competitions.
I wholeheartedly agree that TimeBase and 3rd party timers need a big push. I hope MBLD gets a proper timer which makes it spectator friendly.

Disclaimer:
This is my personal opinion and I may not have the complete knowledge or understanding of the situation. Please forgive me.
 
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