Should Unbranded Grips be allowed in WBO events?

Poll: Should Players be allowed to use Unbranded grips in WBO tournaments?

Yes.
69.70%
23
No.
18.18%
6
It doesn’t really matter to me.
12.12%
4
Total: 100% 33 vote(s)
So back on December we had a tournament in Silver Springs MD and I noticed a player using a grip that they had cut into a smaller portion to make it easier to use. Now since it was a Takara Tomy grip there is no rule saying he wasn’t allowed to use it. Now me and a couple of other players in the area have the Carabiner grip from the B-124 set, and I paid around $20 for it. My 7 year old son really likes the grip and wanted one of his own, and when I was looking online I found the unbranded versions of the carabiner grip for about $4. 

This was a big thing for me as the grips are almost exactly the same. Yet the price was about 5 times less than the official Takara Tomy one. A lot of parents probably wouldn’t even notice the difference when buying it for their kids if they didn’t know what to look for. So I started wondering why can’t players use these unbranded grips? A grip alone official or unbranded doesn’t do anything to give one player an unfair advantage over the other. They just allow the player to have a more comfortable grip to hold onto. So in the end what does it matter if the grip was made by Takara Tomy/Hasbro or not? 

All of the current rules on grips allow players to alter them in just about anyway so long as it doesn’t mess with the preference of the Beyblade or launcher. I understand only. Wing able to use official beys and launchers, as there are more technical things involved with them and how they work compared to a grip. Anyway this was just something that I have been thinking about since I saw the drastic price difference in the carabiner grips. I personally don’t think it should be an issue to allow people to use these unofficial grips. And all that would be needed is to update the rule that says “Only official Beyblade Burst products produced by Hasbro and Takara-Tomy can be used. (with the exception of grips.)” and that would be it. Not really a lot is needed for it. Anyway this was my thought about it. What do you all think?
Personally I don’t see a problem with unbranded grips, they don’t change performance of the beys. The only downside, if any, is they may stick harder to the launcher but that’s really all on the owner and no one else. I’ve seen a lot of kids have legit launchers and off brand grips and it feels so weird to explain why they can’t use it. I don’t think it changes performance, no different then painting a branded one
I agree as well. I see no problem with using unbranded grips. The only thing grips really do is give a Blader a more comfortable grip of the launcher. Using fake beyblades and launchers, I don’t even need to explain. But fake grips? I mean that actually sounds cool to me. Not the idea of them being “fake” more just the idea that you can also customize your grip not just with the official Takara Tomy or hasbro pieces. Like StayCool said though, because they aren’t designed to be paired with launchers they could potentially get stuck on the launchers and maybe not come off. Besides that small thing I think this could be a pretty good idea.
(Jan. 26, 2022  3:55 AM)CrisisCrusher07 Wrote: So back on December we had a tournament in Silver Springs MD and I noticed a player using a grip that they had cut into a smaller portion to make it easier to use. Now since it was a Takara Tomy grip there is no rule saying he wasn’t allowed to use it. Now me and a couple of other players in the area have the Carabiner grip from the B-124 set, and I paid around $20 for it. My 7 year old son really likes the grip and wanted one of his own, and when I was looking online I found the unbranded versions of the carabiner grip for about $4. 

This was a big thing for me as the grips are almost exactly the same. Yet the price was about 5 times less than the official Takara Tomy one. A lot of parents probably wouldn’t even notice the difference when buying it for their kids if they didn’t know what to look for. So I started wondering why can’t players use these unbranded grips? A grip alone official or unbranded doesn’t do anything to give one player an unfair advantage over the other. They just allow the player to have a more comfortable grip to hold onto. So in the end what does it matter if the grip was made by Takara Tomy/Hasbro or not? 

All of the current rules on grips allow players to alter them in just about anyway so long as it doesn’t mess with the preference of the Beyblade or launcher. I understand only. Wing able to use official beys and launchers, as there are more technical things involved with them and how they work compared to a grip. Anyway this was just something that I have been thinking about since I saw the drastic price difference in the carabiner grips. I personally don’t think it should be an issue to allow people to use these unofficial grips. And all that would be needed is to update the rule that says “Only official Beyblade Burst products produced by Hasbro and Takara-Tomy can be used. (with the exception of grips.)” and that would be it. Not really a lot is needed for it. Anyway this was my thought about it. What do you all think?

I remember a couple years back I'd had to add tape to my launcher grip (Hasbro) because the system for connecting launchers was... rather poorly designed, and was prone to coming detached. Back then, I was told that since my grip was "modified" it was unusable for tournament play. Even now, I can't see what kind of impact it would've made, and personally, I don't think that modified or unbranded grips are a big issue and could be allowed, within reason.

However, I think it would be important to specify to distinction between a launcher grip and a launcher, as unbranded or modified launchers do present a noticable impact on gameplay.
Yep. There's absolutely no performance difference in the beys or the launchers, what even was the reasoning behind that rule?
(Jan. 26, 2022  5:06 AM)xros Wrote: Yep. There's absolutely no performance difference in the beys or the launchers, what even was the reasoning behind that rule?
.
I am not an expert, excuse me if any mistakes are present within my logic.
>
The rule is reffering mostly to the beys and launchers, pretty safe to say you can't use Flame brand beys on tournaments because they aren't official products, same for 3D printed beys. Unfortunately, the grips also fall under the rule, so it is kinda a "colateral damage".
.
useless spoiler:
(Jan. 26, 2022  9:09 AM)Hollowmind8 Wrote:
(Jan. 26, 2022  5:06 AM)xros Wrote: Yep. There's absolutely no performance difference in the beys or the launchers, what even was the reasoning behind that rule?
.
I am not an expert, excuse me if any mistakes are present within my logic.
>
The rule is reffering mostly to the beys and launchers, pretty safe to say you can't use Flame brand beys on tournaments because they aren't official products, same for 3D printed beys. Unfortunately, the grips also fall under the rule, so it is kinda a "colateral damage".
.
useless spoiler:
surprisingly well put
People who don't have access to Takara Tomy Launchergrips but have access to Launchers, Pro Series being a main candidate for gripless launchers, should be able to use a grip with them if they feel as they need to. Some examples are if TT grips arent being sold on sites being used or they're out of budget (Overseas shipping, other reasons may apply). As stated in above posts there really is no difference between a fake and real grip besides brand so there should really be too much of an issue.
I think at the very least we need to be more open about custom grips (within reason) for sheer reasons of accessibility - we want to make sure our rules don't discriminate, at a minimum.

Frankly for this, it's not in the stadium. As long as it doesn't alter the performance of the Beyblade I don't think it really matters.
To those who answered "No", may I ask why? It'd be nice to see/hear the reasoning behind your answer.

In terms of my opinion on the matter, I agree with the proposal. The weight of an unbranded grip should be around the same as a normal grip, if not lighter, and I really don't see it affecting the launch. I'm nearly certain that it wouldn't affect the performance the Beyblade either, because there's no reason as to why it would. Accessibility is important, and it's not easy informing parents that the grip their child has is fake and that they can't use it in the tournament.
(Jan. 28, 2022  1:59 PM)#Fafnir Wrote: To those who answered "No", may I ask why? It'd be nice to see/hear the reasoning behind your answer.


The only potential issue that I see, if it would even be considered one, is possibly condoning counterfeit shops on an organizational level.

We've roughly concluded that counterfeit Beys are coming out of places not testing for harmful amounts of lead. It's not out of the realm of possibility that these same shops are cranking out those counterfeit accessories like grips and weights. While the accessories themselves are mostly plastic (and are probably safe) - if they're coming out of the same shops, are we okay with directing players to support them?

Not trying to stir the pot or make a thing out of it. I just haven't seen it brought up. Otherwise, I don't really care - as long as it doesn't provide an unfair advantage and is just an added comfort to the player, I don't see a reason to continue disallowing them. I also understand that it's an affordability and accessibility thing.
(Jan. 28, 2022  2:14 PM)Kaizoku Burst Wrote:
(Jan. 28, 2022  1:59 PM)#Fafnir Wrote: To those who answered "No", may I ask why? It'd be nice to see/hear the reasoning behind your answer.


The only potential issue that I see, if it would even be considered one, is possibly condoning counterfeit shops on an organizational level.

We've roughly concluded that counterfeit Beys are coming out of places not testing for harmful amounts of lead. It's not out of the realm of possibility that these same shops are cranking out those counterfeit accessories like grips and weights. While the accessories themselves are mostly plastic (and are probably safe) - if they're coming out of the same shops, are we okay with directing players to support them?

Not trying to stir the pot or make a thing out of it. I just haven't seen it brought up. Otherwise, I don't really care - as long as it doesn't provide an unfair advantage and is just an added comfort to the player, I don't see a reason to continue disallowing them. I also understand that it's an affordability and accessibility thing.

So I definitely see the point you are making for this. However, there are already enough people buying these unbranded or off brand beys that no matter what they are going to keep producing them. There are a lot more bladers out there that are just kids and them not their parents will even know the difference between a Flame Brand or a Takara Tomy Brand Beyblade. And the same goes for the launchers/grips. So no matter what these products will be bought just for the simple fact of a lack of information to the young kids and their parents.

I will say though it is A LOT easier to explain to the kids and the parents why the Beys and the launchers are not allowed simply because they don’t all work the same as the official brands. It is however harder to explain to them why their grip isn’t allowed.

As an organizer I never want to enforce this rule, but I have to mostly because all it will take is 1 Blader to get upset that they lost and then blame it on the grip and next thing you know you gotta go through the troubles of doing a rematch or if it’s to late in the tournament or even after everything has been concluded, they could complain and get the whole tournament voided. It’s upsetting that you have to worry about that sort of stuff as an organizer, over a pice of plastic that has no real effect on the performance of the launchers or beys.
(Jan. 28, 2022  5:46 PM)CrisisCrusher07 Wrote:
(Jan. 28, 2022  2:14 PM)Kaizoku Burst Wrote: The only potential issue that I see, if it would even be considered one, is possibly condoning counterfeit shops on an organizational level.

We've roughly concluded that counterfeit Beys are coming out of places not testing for harmful amounts of lead. It's not out of the realm of possibility that these same shops are cranking out those counterfeit accessories like grips and weights. While the accessories themselves are mostly plastic (and are probably safe) - if they're coming out of the same shops, are we okay with directing players to support them?

Not trying to stir the pot or make a thing out of it. I just haven't seen it brought up. Otherwise, I don't really care - as long as it doesn't provide an unfair advantage and is just an added comfort to the player, I don't see a reason to continue disallowing them. I also understand that it's an affordability and accessibility thing.

So I definitely see the point you are making for this. However, there are already enough people buying these unbranded or off brand beys that no matter what they are going to keep producing them. There are a lot more bladers out there that are just kids and them not their parents will even know the difference between a Flame Brand or a Takara Tomy Brand Beyblade. And the same goes for the launchers/grips. So no matter what these products will be bought just for the simple fact of a lack of information to the young kids and their parents.

I will say though it is A LOT easier to explain to the kids and the parents why the Beys and the launchers are not allowed simply because they don’t all work the same as the official brands. It is however harder to explain to them why their grip isn’t allowed.

As an organizer I never want to enforce this rule, but I have to mostly because all it will take is 1 Blader to get upset that they lost and then blame it on the grip and next thing you know you gotta go through the troubles of doing a rematch or if it’s to late in the tournament or even after everything has been concluded, they could complain and get the whole tournament voided. It’s upsetting that you have to worry about that sort of stuff as an organizer, over a pice of plastic that has no real effect on the performance of the launchers or beys.

Absolutely agree. Like I said, that's the only point I could bring up to the contrary, whether or not it's a truly legitimate concern. I'm all for allowing them. 

To your last point - wouldn't the blader raising the complaint have to prove that the grip affected the winner's performance somehow?
(Jan. 28, 2022  6:55 PM)Kaizoku Burst Wrote:
(Jan. 28, 2022  5:46 PM)CrisisCrusher07 Wrote: So I definitely see the point you are making for this. However, there are already enough people buying these unbranded or off brand beys that no matter what they are going to keep producing them. There are a lot more bladers out there that are just kids and them not their parents will even know the difference between a Flame Brand or a Takara Tomy Brand Beyblade. And the same goes for the launchers/grips. So no matter what these products will be bought just for the simple fact of a lack of information to the young kids and their parents.

I will say though it is A LOT easier to explain to the kids and the parents why the Beys and the launchers are not allowed simply because they don’t all work the same as the official brands. It is however harder to explain to them why their grip isn’t allowed.

As an organizer I never want to enforce this rule, but I have to mostly because all it will take is 1 Blader to get upset that they lost and then blame it on the grip and next thing you know you gotta go through the troubles of doing a rematch or if it’s to late in the tournament or even after everything has been concluded, they could complain and get the whole tournament voided. It’s upsetting that you have to worry about that sort of stuff as an organizer, over a pice of plastic that has no real effect on the performance of the launchers or beys.

Absolutely agree. Like I said, that's the only point I could bring up to the contrary, whether or not it's a truly legitimate concern. I'm all for allowing them. 

To your last point - wouldn't the blader raising the complaint have to prove that the grip affected the winner's performance somehow?

Because as of now the rules state that you can’t use non Takara Tomy or Hasbro products as long as they can prove it wasn’t an official grip it’s breaking a rule and so any matches they took part in if they used that grip you can’t count their matches. So then that completely changes any match outcomes that they had taken part in.
(Jan. 28, 2022  1:59 PM)#Fafnir Wrote: To those who answered "No", may I ask why? It'd be nice to see/hear the reasoning behind your answer.

In terms of my opinion on the matter, I agree with the proposal. The weight of an unbranded grip should be around the same as a normal grip, if not lighter, and I really don't see it affecting the launch. I'm nearly certain that it wouldn't affect the performance the Beyblade either, because there's no reason as to why it would. Accessibility is important, and it's not easy informing parents that the grip their child has is fake and that they can't use it in the tournament.
It’s against the current rules to use fake/counterfeits of any kind so it’s illegal to use said grips at this very moment. To be honest I don’t even blade anymore or go to tournaments so I don’t see the point of this rule. 

Isn’t beyblade suppose to be fun?
So allow the use of fake grips because most can’t afford tt ones or trashbro grips(hasbro)
Remember this is bd great for people that have a budget to get grips for cheap. And it’s the same for people who have money from their jobs and their trashtube channel(YouTube channel)