Rule question

[Ulf]

We had a competition this weekend, and during my surface protocol I wiped my face. So I did this:


1. Removed mask

2. Wiped my face with my hand

3. Gave OK-sign

4. Said "I’m OK"


Should this be a white card or a red card?

It was very clean and controled but i did interupt my SP with wiping my face...

 

[JennyWren]

I've heard both - it depends on whether or not the judge thinks you are continuing to remove your facial equipment (it can look like you are trying to take off your mask *again* if you wipe your face). Best to avoid anything at all besides the three things in the SP.

 

[Ulf]

Ok, thank you for your answer.
It's hard to avoid sometimes when you have a lot of water that gets in your mouth when you try to breath
I'll have to work on that then

 

[Spearo_the_Hero]

This can been a very subjective ruling. From what i know regarding aida...is you can't do anything in between removing the facial equipment, giving the ok sign and saying i'm ok. Judges can easily disqualify one for wiping water from ones eyes if they love the letter of the law...whereas others will not if they are feeling liberal. I know people being given a red card for wiping their face or nose immediately after removing facial equipment, which is when the surface protocol begins with in aida. I have also seen some videos where a white card was given when an athlete wiped his/her face or eyes after removing the mask.

In Pure Apnea, the new freediving organization I'm part of, we begin surface protocol (after the removal of facial equipment ) only from the OK Sign that then leads to saying it verbally.

from the Pure Apnea Competition Rules and Regs.
4.24.2. The Surface Protocol consists of 3 sequential phases:
1) Give 1 visible OK hand signal.
2) Look at one of the judges at least once
3) Clearly say the words "I'm OK" or "I am OK" or “OK” in English.

Therefore, in this case you can wipe your eyes, face, nose or mouth without consequence coz the protocol didn't even start yet.

 

[Ms Mer]

The issue is that wiping your face could be interpreted as a samba/blackout - as Jenny mentioned with looking like you are taking off your mask again. I had a samba and blackout in a pool comp recently. I surfaced, went to take off my goggles and noseclip having a samba while trying to do so, then blacked out. Safety diver and coach pulled me up and removed my googles and noseclip. I came out of it, stood up then being unaware of my blackout other than a vague feeling that I hadn't done my SP properly, I completed my SP with the OK sign and said I'm OK. Then was confused when I got the red card! So, I would say that any face wiping or anything that looks like waving uncoordinated hand movements could ruin the outcome of your dive. It's one thing to be red carded for a real blackout, but if your dive/swim/static is clean, don't risk ruining the outcome for yourself. You can wait 30 seconds for face wiping. We all get divers snot at some point!

 

[Apneaddict]

It's a weird rule / scenario and one that causes heartbreak because it isn't applied consistently.

On one hand a samba doesn't DQ you... So what's the issue?

On the other, the protocol is simple and straightforward... So make the judges life as easy as possible and do the 3-steps cleanly.

After the 3 steps... Wipe your nose.

A similar (or more tricky) issue is in depth where the diver surfaces with the tag in their hand that isn't holding the rope... Then what?

If the diver realizes it before he starts the SP, no issue... But normally they figure it out as they are about to make the OK hand gesture and have to grab the tag with the other hand.

 

[Bill]

Better yet, the tag comes loose and when you grab it they red card you for not 'controlling' the airway as a wave covers the safeties and the judge too.

 

[Ms Mer]

We tend to have a velcro tag and stick it to a velcro band slipped onto weightbelt. So you just grab the tag from the plate, secure it to the velcro on your weightbelt and ascend. Don't have to worry about grabbing tag until after finishing SP.

 

[Kars]

Adapt your diving and routine to the rules.

Put the tag on Velcro, or in your hood.
When surfacing, always do the same procedure. Mine: hold line, hook, hook , hook, look, mask, sign, I'm ok, hook and breath, (keep the BP high and await the white card).

If you dive with noseclip only, and water still keeps running down your face 10 seconds after surfacing you can consider having a shorter haircut, or wear a cap of some sort.

Miss Mer, I love your competition story, so recognisable

 

[Ms Mer]

Adapt your diving and routine to the rules.

Put the tag on Velcro, or in your hood.
When surfacing, always do the same procedure. Mine: hold line, hook, hook , hook, look, mask, sign, I'm ok, hook and breath, (keep the BP high and await the white card).

If you dive with noseclip only, and water still keeps running down your face 10 seconds after surfacing you can consider having a shorter haircut, or wear a cap of some sort.

Miss Mer, I love your competition story, so recognisable

You should see the video. The look on my face when I get the red card....what the ??! haha

 

[Apneaddict]

Adapt your diving and routine to the rules.

Put the tag on Velcro, or in your hood.
When surfacing, always do the same procedure. Mine: hold line, hook, hook , hook, look, mask, sign, I'm ok, hook and breath, (keep the BP high and await the white card).

If you dive with noseclip only, and water still keeps running down your face 10 seconds after surfacing you can consider having a shorter haircut, or wear a cap of some sort.

I agree - its just that it's not applied consistently that causes frustration.

 

[Kars]

You should see the video. The look on my face when I get the red card....what the ??! haha

Where is your video?

Yes AA, constancy is what we need, both in performance and judgement. Inconsistency is the cause of many disputes.
I desperately need more consistency in my swimming technique, I still suck at remembering it.

 

[mattbigblue]

This question is always asked on WC and Grant always answers with the following:
1 face wipe is ok, if You start messing around with Your hands around face too much etc. You get red card.

It's pitty that some judges don't see it that way, but must of them are ok with it. It happens very often after deep diving with fluid googles.
However, this should be in a rules anyway.
Sometimes when I think about it, big samba while doing SP is ok, but 1 face wipe is not ok ?