cromwell
May 24 2006, 05:13 PM
I don't know how in-depth most people read DGW, but the segment from the Technical Standards Committee in the previous issue shocked me a little bit and I was surprised to see no one on here talking about it.
The long and short of it was... when disc manufacturers send discs in to be approved, the disc goes through a variety of tests. One of these tests is a flexibility rating, I suppose to make sure the discs are still pliable to a certain degree and to keep them from being dangerous to anyone/anything who may be struck by them (altho we all know even softer discs can hurt if thrown hard enough!) Currently, the manufacturers are having discs approved but then some are being changed down the line without being resubmitted for approval - the gist I got from the read seemed to indicate things such as new plastics going into the same molds were not going through the same testing process and simply being sent to market with the "PDGA Approved" stamp on them. Yet the TSC has found out that some of these discs FAIL the flexibility tests, which means some of the plastic already out there may end up being blacklisted in the near future. :eek:
Does this make anyone else a little uneasy? And more importantly... who will take the most heat for this type of move if it happens? The PDGA shouldn't be blamed for what the disc manufacturers are doing, but I feel that this type of action will most likely result in a backlash against the Standards Committee rather than where (I feel) the blame should more appropriately be placed - on the people sending discs to market without the proper procedures being followed. For example (and the writing didn't specify any discs or manufacturers in it so this truly is just an example) are we going to see discs like the "Star TL 2 - this time it's legal!" come out after the runs that are on the market become illegal? What kind of nightmare are we going to see at tournaments if players and TD's have to police the discs in people's bags when someone who doesn't "keep up" with current events shows up and finds out their favorite driver that they carry 6 of in the bag aren't allowed to be used?
Just curious if anyone else had even read this and what others' thoughts may be.
The long and short of it was... when disc manufacturers send discs in to be approved, the disc goes through a variety of tests. One of these tests is a flexibility rating, I suppose to make sure the discs are still pliable to a certain degree and to keep them from being dangerous to anyone/anything who may be struck by them (altho we all know even softer discs can hurt if thrown hard enough!) Currently, the manufacturers are having discs approved but then some are being changed down the line without being resubmitted for approval - the gist I got from the read seemed to indicate things such as new plastics going into the same molds were not going through the same testing process and simply being sent to market with the "PDGA Approved" stamp on them. Yet the TSC has found out that some of these discs FAIL the flexibility tests, which means some of the plastic already out there may end up being blacklisted in the near future. :eek:
Does this make anyone else a little uneasy? And more importantly... who will take the most heat for this type of move if it happens? The PDGA shouldn't be blamed for what the disc manufacturers are doing, but I feel that this type of action will most likely result in a backlash against the Standards Committee rather than where (I feel) the blame should more appropriately be placed - on the people sending discs to market without the proper procedures being followed. For example (and the writing didn't specify any discs or manufacturers in it so this truly is just an example) are we going to see discs like the "Star TL 2 - this time it's legal!" come out after the runs that are on the market become illegal? What kind of nightmare are we going to see at tournaments if players and TD's have to police the discs in people's bags when someone who doesn't "keep up" with current events shows up and finds out their favorite driver that they carry 6 of in the bag aren't allowed to be used?
Just curious if anyone else had even read this and what others' thoughts may be.