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- Mar 10, 2008
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- 4,039
So the Innova Tern-X got me to wondering if it is legal or not so I messaged the PDGA and got this in response. Thought it might be good for discussion.
My email to PDGA said:Hi, With all the discs coming out as of late, I have noticed a trend of not getting discs re-approved after changes are made to it. So I was wondering if you could clarify something for me. When a mold is approved, does that mean all its variances are approved too? For instance: the Tern. Is the Tern-X legal? Or the Monster X and L? Gator, beaded and beadless? The multitude of different Destroyer molds? Used to be that you see all variances approved separately but as of late it doesn't seem like that has been common place anymore. I wish I had more examples than just Innova but I don't know the other brands as well. Could you please clarify it for me?
Jeff Homburg (#1025) PDGA Technical Standards Chair said:There is a long history to this issue and I don't have time to review all the details. In short, I argued for years, starting over 20 years ago, that all variants needed to be tested and approved. After the Board rejected that proposal several times, the Board approved my proposal about 10 years ago, only to reverse their decision within a year, after a number of prominent manufacturers claimed that requirement would be too difficult for them. So now I test variants if they are supplied to me voluntarily, with no PDGA fee assessed, and in those cases the discs can be listed as approved. Variants are still permitted even if they are not specifically listed as approved. It's not the system that I prefer, but without the backing of the Board to require all variants be tested, that's what we're left with.