Addressing timing and equipment issues from past match

As with any event, there are a lot of people and a lot of logistics involved with putting on Grid matches. While we pride ourselves on exceeding expectations given our resources, we fell well short of that at the last event. We had some rare mistakes that we are addressing in this post. 

Equipment issues

In the early days of the Florida Grid League, equipment issues were quite common. Since then, e-crew team leadership, experience and crew size has allowed continuous improvement year over year. There have been no major equipment loading errors in multiple years. In last weekend’s event there were two issues that impacted matches:

• Incorrect dumbbell weight in the Partner Forward in the second match
• Incorrect female Mirror weight in the first match

Per the UGL rulebook, the dumbbell weight was determined to have affected the outcome of the race and initiated a race re-run from a pre-determined point in the race. 

The mirror weight issue was not caught until after the match, but was even for both teams. Upon issuing the race time information, there will be an asterisk in the affected race times. 

Timing issues

The echo time cap in the first match was set to the wrong time. The error was corrected in the remaining matches. 

In these races, both teams capped out leading to zero points for both teams.

The UGL rulebook states that match scores cannot be adjusted. However, after discussing as a League including all team owners, the Breakers will be awarded 2 tiebreak points for season standings purposes. This was determined to be the best balance of 1) the most likely outcome for each team 2) what is impossible to know about what would have happened in the races.

We recognize this is not a perfect solution and in this type of scenario there never is one. This is the first time this type of thing has happened in the League and we were not adequately prepared to handle it within our current set of rules. The rulebook will be adjusted accordingly moving forward using new rules approved by Team Owners. More to be announced. 

Our take

Given our core value of “Excellence in everything that we do”, this event hurt us deeply. As a team, we take fairness and quality event operations very seriously and put a ton of care, effort and time into it. To fall short is extremely hard for the entire team. We only state that because we want those affected to know that we care and it is not taken lightly. From the entire team at Grid League, we apologize to the teams affected. 

The silver lining

As our team grows, responsibilities shift. While this is not an excuse, such shifts can create experience and process gaps, which contributed to the issues that occurred.

As the sport grows, there will be more and more of these responsibility shifts that we will have to manage. This past event was a kick in the pants to help us understand how to best approach this. 

In addition, this will lead to new rules that will level up our rulebook and allow us to be better equipped to handle a broader range of scenarios we have not yet experienced as a sport. 

Philosophy note

Even established sports have rule gaps that lead to issues. A prime example is the NFL, which adds new rules annually. Not long ago, pass interference calls came under criticizm because they could not be challenged—a policy that had stood since the beginning of the modern NFL. This was changed after an incorrect pass interference call unfairly determined a Super Bowl participant. It was then changed back a year later. We point this out as it can feel unstable to make continuous changes, but we feel this is a sign of learning and growing as a sport.

There have been a few times that rule gaps have been exposed in the history of our sport, and it’s very uncomfortable. That said, the only actions we take are the ones outlined in the rulebook. If there is no rule for a situation, no action is taken. We then address the situation as a league and modify the rulebook with approval from the Team Owners. That is the approach we have taken in this case. 

We design the rules and approach to the sport to take power OUT of the referee’s hands. This is the reason that our only solution for a race that was influenced by an external factor is to re-run it from a pre-determined point. This gives the power back to the teams to determine the outcome through their performance. We do not believe a referee should have the power to outright overturn a race outcome, or to create a rule, or modify a score in the middle of a match. 

Our sport is very unique in that there are a lot of variables that are difficult to manage and can affect a race outcome… and every second counts. There is also a lot of subjectivity (situations that each team involved will intensely disagree on). Because of this, the more we can put the power in the team’s hands to determine the winner of the race, the better. Again, this is not a perfect solution and still leads to uncomfortable moments, but any good team sport is the same way. Examples – Baseball (balls and strikes) – Football (holding calls or pass interference), etc. We believe this comes with the speed, intensity, and drama that makes our sport amazing. We believe in our ability to manage the sport the best way it can be and that the sport’s community will continue to grow an understanding around the challenges the sport exhibits that create high risk of controversial moments, and for the same reasons, the best sports experience on the planet. 

Have a question? Email us: staff@unitedgridleague.com

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