UPA BoD Questions (via email)
Hi Frank,
I’ve been reading your statement on upa.org and am seriously considering voting for you. Looking at your proposed rule changes (http://www.dischoops.com/
· Traveling = turnover. OF COURSE.
· Double Team is legal. OF COURSE. Learn to play good offense.
· Seven count. The average 10 count takes 7 seconds anyway ;-).
· Momentum OB is a turnover, as is pivoting / straddling OB. Makes sense (definition of OB) and would also IMO lead to more interesting plays, falling OB while making a pass / calling TO, etc.
· Tipping / airbrushing legal. I have the same attitude here as you, why not? It’s probably the first rule I had a problem with when I learned the game at age 9.
· DQ for 5th foul (or some notion of fouling out at least). Definitely agree. I’ve seen too many games ruined by people piling up 10+ fouls with no real consequence.
· Shorter end zones. I like it.
There were a few I had questions on:
· No continuation rule – a foul is a foul. I’m a little unclear on what this means – if the offense (either thrower or receiver) is fouled and the pass is completed anyways (especially if for a score) shouldn’t that count? If the offense fouls the defense on a throw, but it results in a turnover anyways, shouldn’t that stand? Or are you just saying it’s always a stoppage, and there’s no more “play on” call?
· The rules around pulls, e.g. pull from 20, defense can start out at 40, 35 yard line for bricks. I’m just curious how you’re trying to shape the style of play and why. It seems like in today’s game, with the back of the endzone 95 yards away and the defense starting 95 yards away from that line, having a great puller can make a huge difference, whereas in this proposal, with the back of the endzone just 70 yards away and the defense starting 50 yards away from that line, pretty much any team can get down and be matched up, and having a great puller wouldn’t make as much of as a difference (still some difference, for sure). I’m not saying it’d be worse; I haven’t thought about it enough to say which I’d like more, but I’m just curious what you’re trying to accomplish with these changes.
· I understand the logic behind allowing the D to hit the disc while it’s in the thrower’s hand, and I kind of like it, but I’m concerned this would lead to a lot of fouling, especially towards the end of the game if you aren’t near your foul limit.
· Layout catches require you to keep a knee down. Not really sure what this means – does it mean if you layout, catch it in the air, then slide upon landing, it’s a travel, turnover? I’m picturing something like basketball, where some amount of sliding is allowed when diving for a loose ball. It also makes sense rules-wise to not allow people to get up. However, I think the major difference between Frisbee and basketball is that in basketball, if you’re on the ground and get a loose ball, you still have a decent chance to get it to a teammate, whereas in Frisbee, the fact that the disc can’t hit the ground at all would make this much more difficult. I think the rule as you propose it makes the most sense logistically, but I guess there’s just part of me that doesn’t want to see the number of awesome layouts decrease (of course, layouts on defense wouldn’t be affected by these rule changes, so that’s good).
Thanks,
-Mike
posted by Frank Huguenard @ 3:04 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Thanks Mike,
1) Continuation Rule.
There's room for some creative ideas here. If there were some sort of free throws, I can see the idea of an 'and 1' working.
I agree, taking points off the board because of a foul is not fair on the O but at the same time, consistency is important.
The main point here is that the current continuation rule is a band-aid that is long overdue for removal.
2) Offense fouls on the thrown away disc. This isn't really the continuation rule anyway but I'd like the rules to send a strong message 'dont' foul'.
'Play on' shouldn't occur. The upside here is that the other team is being penalized for the foul. Before, with no penalties, play-on was added in the mid 80's to reward completions.
3) Pulls. Not sure about the style here but with 80 yard fields, the thinking was to take some of the superfluous sprinting out of the game. Since Double teams are legal, you need to penalize pulls that go OB (and give the D an easy set up).
The field configuration is all negotiable but the thought here again was to make the game more interesting.
4) Pulls pt. II, to me a great pull isn't a 95 yard pull to the back of the field. The best pull is a 80 yard pull that has a 10 second hang time. I just think this is probably one of the most unexciting parts of the game so the idea here was to spice it up a little.
5) Hitting the disc in the thrower's hand. Anyone who's played Dischoops can verify that this one change has significantly DECREASED thrower/marker contact.
6) Layout catches.
When you lay out, tumble, dive, roll, etc., you get an exemption from the traveling rules. Yeah? With TL, you’re entitled to only three steps for traveling and then it’s a turn.
By giving the exemption but then balancing out that advantage with the stipulation that you’re not allowed to then stand up (and again take ‘more’ steps since your pivot is probably your right ass cheek).
This makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is playing by this rule and then watching conventional ultimate where a player takes 12 ground contacts on a layout, stands up (taking, say, three or four more ground contacts) and then not even being in the same place on the field they’re supposed to be. From where I’m sitting, it’s utterly ridiculous.
Again, we've learned first hand in Dischoops that this rule works really well.
7) Layout D catches
Also have the same stipulation. It's all about consistency. It may seem like it's penalizing the Defense, and maybe it is, but we've had absolutely no problem with it in Dischoops.
I doubt that these rules will decrease layouts, that's not their intention.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home