ORIGINAL: PaulBK
dean, this is very troubling thread. brian does not speak for imac, we all know he has an iac, not an imac background. And a lot of us feel that the hazy relationship with IAC often produces strange results. Regradless of anyone's credentials, no one has specific rules authority, nor can anyone change or modify published rules.
I don't disagree. The "published rules" state that "The competitor is required to make the shape of all maneuvers perfect". Nowhere in the snap judging criteria does it say that there is an allowed deviation from "perfect" geometry. There is an allowed deviation for "wind drift" in a stalled condition during stall turns and spins. No such deviation from "perfect" is described in the judging criteria for snaps.
So by the book, the deviation from "perfect" would be a downgrade. As with loop shape, there is no hard criteria that can be measured. As a judge, you have to be consistent in applying the appropriate deduction for how much displacement, if any, occurred during the snap.
Just going by the manual. Don't shoot the messenger (Brian).
Later,
Dean