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18.2.2010 Rule change IAAF technical rules: wind readings combined events

Dear combined events fan,

In the new IAAF rule book, which has been published recently I have discovered that a rule change has been included which will have major consequenses for the combined events. None of my international contacts, who I meanwhile contacted, knew about this rule change, nor were informed that this rule change was going to be implemented. Consequently in my opinion no athlete, coach, organizer or any other interested person in combined events knew of this rule change.

It concerns rule 260-27 which is the rule about wind measuring in combined events.

In the existing rule a performance was valid in case:
1. the wind assistance was < 4,0 second in the events were wind measurement is needed
2. if the average of the 3 events is < 2,0 second
 

In the new rule item 1 does not exist anymore and a performance now is only legal if the average of the 3 events is < 2,0 second

I have calculated the consequenses from this and come to the following conclusions in my rankings:

 
                                           Total      no wind      wind        wind assisted      wind assisted 
                                                            info         info            old rule             new rule
Top 1.000 all time:
Men                                       1.000      385          615               61                 113             18,4%
Women                                  1.000      365          635               47                   97             15,3%
 
Men       >8.000                       1.977      424        1.553              73                  151              9,7%
Women   >6.000                      2.417      561        1.856              68                  148              8,0%

Above this the following national records (>7.500 men and >5.500 women) are now wind assisted and could not approved anymore as national records with the new rule:

Men:
IRL        7.882    Carlos O'Connell
NOR      8.160    Benjamin Jensen
Women:
FRA      6.889    Eunice Barber
POL      6.616    Malgorzata Nowak
RUS      7.007    Larissa Nikitina

The general idea inside combined events experts is that there is hardly any advantage for athletes with wind assistance below 4 meter/second. Moreover, as also other events are conducted during the competition days there will be a disadvantage, due to strong wind, in other events during these days,such as high jump, pole vault, throwing events and 400, 1.500 m. (resp. 800 m.)

The experts I conducted meanwhile are all the opinion that this rule change is a big disadvantage for the athletes and also for the interest of the meetings. As combined events athletes can only participate in a limited number of meetings during the year (and even less to qualify for international championships) I foresee that many athletes will quit from the competition at the moment they know that their performance will not be legal, in order to give them another possibility to qualify in another meeting. This will be very negative for organizations and the level of the competitions which are held prior to the international championships.

Meanwhile Icontacted Konrad Lerch - meeting director of Götzis - and he will discuss this issue with Pierre Weiss- IAAF genral secretary - in Doha during the WC indoor. I promised him that I will collect all reactions in one report, which we can handover to Pierre Weiss.

I kindly ask you to distribute this letter further to your contacts like, coaches, athletes, organizers and other combined events fans to ask them to mail their reaction to me before February 28th. I will include all these reactions in this report.My e-mail adrress is: hvankuijen@planet.nl

I would also appreciate it if you give attention on this issue on your internet sites.

I look forward to your reaction.

With kind regards,

Hans van Kuijen