Proposal 26: Documentation of Records in Road Races [ Revision 2 ]
Committee: Review and Update the GuidelinesSubmitted on 2025-01-24
Status: Passed on April 07, 2025
Background
The proposal is intended to revise the specific documentation criteria for the road races. It is a addition to the general documentation criteria.
See Body for detailed explanation.
Proposal
Old Rule:
4.1.1 Course measurement for road racing records
The measurement must be accurate to the closest 1m. The course should be measured by an independent referee using the calibrated bicycle method with Jones Counter as accepted by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). The course should be measured twice along the shortest possible route, with the lower of the two measurements used as the official distance.
Other measuring methods may be used, but must be equivalent in accuracy to the above method. In case of doubt about this, it is recommended that the IUF be contacted prior to a record attempt.
4.1.2 Time measurement for road racing records
The world record is rounded up to the closest 1s. The IUF requires at least two officials with a stopwatch (accurate to 0.01s) each to time an event. The average of the measurements will be used. Other measuring devices may be used, but must be more accurate than this requirement. In case of doubt about this, it is recommended that the IUF be contacted prior to a record attempt. The record time is taken from the starting gun to the finish line, not from crossing the start line to the finish line. Where there is a bunch finish, the winner of the sprint is the new world record holder.
New Rule:
5.2 Road Racing specific Documentation Criteria
1. World records in Road Racing can be set on any course that fulfills the following conditions. Proof of compliance with the conditions must be submitted.
i The start and finish points of a course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.
ii The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
iii The course measured according to paragraph 2 is at least as long as the world record distance.
2. The course must be measured by a qualified course measurer using the calibrated bicycle method (with Jones counter), as recognised by World Athletics. Other measuring methods may be used, but their accuracy must be at least equivalent to that of the calibrated bicycle method. The measurement procedure, including the reference points used and the measuring equipment used, must be submitted. Competitors claiming a World Record must not be involved in the measurement.
3. For timekeeping at least two officials with a stopwatch (accurate to 0.01s) each are required. The average of the measurements will be used as official record time. Other measuring devices may be used, but must be at least as accurate than this requirement. The record is the time required to complete the course in its entirety. No adjustment will be made for the distance which a course exceeds that of a specified record distance. The record time is taken from the starting signal to crossing the finish line, not from crossing the start line to the finish line. Where there is a bunch finish, the winner of the sprint is the new world record holder. All measured times, as well as a technical identification of the time measurement system must be submitted.
4. Any record must be set from a stationary start, compliance with this rule must be monitored and confirmed by the starter. Electronic false start monitoring systems are not required.
Body
The proposal integrates the requirements for the course already discussed in another discussion (https://world-record-2017.committees.unicycling-software.com/discussions/24). The resulting proposal has not yet been voted on, whereby the restructuring proposed with this proposal would require a double vote anyway, which seems unnecessary and the proposal can therefore be integrated directly here.
With the new rule about the course, there are more details about the course: i is copied from IAAF/WA rules, its intention is to limit tail wind effects without having to define or measure the wind, which is difficult for a road race. ii is also taken from IAAF/WA rules, and it has two intentions: (1) uphill races are valid for records; (2) the current 50m elevation difference seemed strange without a dependence on race distance.
Otherwise, the proposal takes over the current information on course measurement and timekeeping and adds the documentation that needs to be submitted.
References
Discussion
View DiscussionChange Log:
- Revision 2 changed by Jan Vocke (31 Jan 02:52)
Changed 2. from "The course must be measured by an independent referee using the calibrated bicycle method with Jones Counter as accepted by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), accurate to the closest 1m. The course must be measured twice along the shortest possible route, with the lower of the two measurements used as the official distance. Other measuring methods may be used, but must be equivalent in accuracy to the above method. The measurement procedure, including the reference points used and the measuring equipment used, must be submitted." into "The course must be measured by a qualified course measurer using the calibrated bicycle method (with Jones counter), as recognised by World Athletics. Other measuring methods may be used, but their accuracy must be at least equivalent to that of the calibrated bicycle method. The measurement procedure, including the reference points used and the measuring equipment used, must be submitted. Competitors claiming a World Record must not be involved in the measurement."
- Revision 1 changed by Jan Vocke (24 Jan 04:06)
Votes on this proposal:
5 out of 9 voting members have voted.
Agree: 5, Disagree: 0, Abstain: 0.