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Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 09:32:56 -0500
From: Stuart Clark <Frisbee@compuserve.com>
Subject: Dropped pulls
To: Britdisc <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
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Precedence: bulk

Guys,

Si Hill wrote:
>What WE find hard to stomach, are the cries of "Spirit" as we play by the
>(fairly simple) rules.  When these people have played in a
half-competitive 
>match, maybe they will get a better perspective on this.  

And Kev wrote:
>Catching the pull gives the offensive team such an advantage, that you 
>have to expect some sort of penalty if you screw it up. When it happens
>to you (you look up to see who to make that first pass to, the wind 
>blows, and it's all over), it is such a bad feeling, but you learn from
>it. I've seen teams drop the disc, pick it up and carry straight on, and
>the other team be too timid to call it. By all means, get on your knees
>and beg if you drop the pull, but don't ASSUME you can just carry on,
>and don't rant on about bad spirit just because they choose to call a 
>rule.

I think Neal Travers thoughts on beginners not being "exposed" to the rule
at training is also quite insightful and an interesting point.

Anyway, all this got me thinking.  The general vibe seems to be that it's
important to take a dropped pull as a turnover in a competitive or close
game. Fine, no problem with that, then I got to thinking about indoor games
where fortunes can change quickly and game time is short.
Most of us know that rising sensation of panic when a team is coming back
at you in the dying minutes of a game (or maybe it's just peculiar to us
;-)). Shouts of "How much time?" often echo around indoor halls - my point
is I think teams have to make a judgement before a game as to whether or
not to call dropped pulls.  My team will often let dropped pulls go, but
then I think if you let a dropped pull go earlier in a game because you
think you're cruising to a win - if you then later find yourself under
pressure - whilst you are perfectly within your rights to call a dropped
pull, I think to call it then could be regarded as bad spirit.

So what I'm saying is - I think either call dropped pulls or don't and
possibly inform your opposition what your standpoint is on dropped pulls
before the game, but don't switch your calling halfway through the game
just to secure the win. That's not what it's about.
I'm open to criticism on that view though.

Stu
VILLAGE PEOPLE

P.S. Kev, don't feel so bad about dropped pulls, most of us have done it -
even GB masters still do it  ;-)