[perow1]

I may sound like a strong advocate of the rule, but actually I think grabbing in the end of the performance does not really matter. I do not however want to se grabbing or pulling during a performance.

The case with unequal judging is not exlusive for this rule, almost any rule has a possibility for the judge to interpret it and judge by his/her standards. This is a part of every sport and a problem as long as you have rules. One solution is less/no rules, but this is not always a good solution. Another way is raising the standard of the judges, this is not always easy.

If the side lanes are exluded i really would like to see something sturdy to grab after surfacing. As Wal stated it is great to have something to hold onto after surfaceing because of pure balance reasons or because of weighting. It would be very unfortunate to se good performances getting DQ because of airways under water since there is nothing to grab. This could happen even after a short swim when you are in full control if the pool is deep and the float is unstable or the weighting is heavy. If this were the case it would also make the safety worse if someone who has gone over the top only has a unstable float or a loose line to grab.