Unicender (and Single Line Work Positioning) advocate Zane Wedding felt the wrath of NZ TCC organizer Mat Palmer at the climber de-brief session this evening (see FB post below as a precursor).
Here's how things unfolded.
Zane presented the Unicender at Gear Check on Friday evening where his full kit was passed.
Acceptance of the Uni at Gear Check was all over Facebook within minutes - the decision loosely translated as a good-to-go for Single Line Work Positioning using the Unicender in the 2012 NZ TCC.
By morning time things had changed. Zane was advised by Head Judge Mat Palmer the Unicender could not be used in the event.
Obviously Zane was incensed.
Presumably to keep the peace Mat offered a compromise. The Uni could be used as long as it was backed up.
Zane (reluctantly) agreed to this condition.
As the day came to close, Zane just happened to be the last climber, in the last event, the Aerial Rescue.
Word was out that Zane planned to use the Unicender to complete the rescue so a crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. In that crowd was Head Judge Mat Palmer.
The captive audience proved too much for Zane and, to a degree, his common sense went out the window!
Abandoning all hope of reaching the Masters Zane chose to ignore the 'back-up' agreement made earlier in the day with Mat - a DQ was imminent.
A meter off the ground and Mat cautioned Zane to back-up the Uni (via the event judges Marlies Laser and Tim Lovejoy).
On first call, Zane complied with the judges request but once he completed his ascent and moved into work positioning mode the back-up agreement was abandoned.
Result, as expected - instant disqualification!
But it didn't stop there.
Zane ignored the judges call from the tree and continued to complete the aerial rescue with aplomb, on a single line using the Unicender, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. He had made his point.
But event organizers can't have climbers going off on tangents doing whatever comes into their mind.
Apart from the fact that the NZ TCC is an internationally sanctioned competition the decision of the Head Judge must be adhered to if we are to have any semblance of order - anarchy is simply not an option.
Consequently Mat gave Zane a right public bollocking for his behavior. Zane offered a public apology in return - end of story!
(Treetools is fairly certain the one year competition ban does not apply to Zane in this instance - Mat's warning was a caution to any future digressors - but we could be wrong).
