bobjim
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Rules are there to ensure as far as possible a level playing field for all competitors so (within their class) they can compete equally and so that the winner will be declared based on a fair competition.
When a competitor knowingly breaks the rules to gain an unfair advantage or result over his fellow competitors, he is, in my opinion, doing several really unacceptable things:
- he is attacking his fellow competitors in a way that they should not have to worry about
- he is demeaning the specific competitions
- he is demeaning most other competitors who don't want to be seen as involved in a sport that allow cheaters to win
- he is demeaning himself and other members of his team
There are all sorts of discussions about the needs to raise the visibilty of the sport and to attrack new sponsorship and new competitors. How are we going to do this if we are perceived as no better than a bunch of really immature children fighting things out by ignoring rules when it is to our advantage and winning by whatever, legal or illegal methods needed ? I am not sure that too many sponsors would want to associate with championship series that are won by breaking the rules rather than by playing by them ?
Maybe there are rules that are not the best or are now out of date. Fine. Have the discussions, and then in the appropriate way, vote to change the ones that need to be changed. In the meantime, the competitions have to be run using the rules in place at the time.
Every competitor and rally official has, in my opinion, a very heavy personal responsibility to attempt to ensure that the rules as they exist for a given competition are followed. Other competitors should not have to enforce the rules by filing protests. There will be times when there is a real question as to the applicability or an interpretation of a rule in a specific circumstance. In such cases, hopefully the competitors involved first, then the organizers, and finally if needed, the stewards will seek to sort the problem out. But this should be the exception not the normal way of doing things.
In situations where a rule is broken inadvertently or without intent, hopefully the competitor breaking the rule will do the responsible thing when it is drawn to his or her attention. The competitor would acknowledge that he/she didn't fully understand the rule and having broken it and having achieved a result that he/she was not entitled to, would ask that they be excluded from the final results. This would be the complete opposite of the demeaning results suggested above - it would be fair to other competitors, it would enhance the personal reputation of the competitor initially at fault and it would serve as one illustration that these competitions and the sport can be carried on in a mature and honourable fashion.
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