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Flat bearing driver ; ban or not ban? - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Flat bearing driver ; ban or not ban? (/Thread-Flat-bearing-driver-ban-or-not-ban)

Flat bearing driver ; ban or not ban? - Virtuous Circle - Oct. 31, 2019

Initially, I personally asked Kei for his opinion on flat bearing driver, then he suggested making it publicly for everyone`s benefit. 
Recently, Korea and Japan banned the use of flat bearing in their tournament; they announced flat bearing is not/maybe not allowed to use in the tournament due to its different performance. When the tip of bearing driver is worn down to "flat", after launching, the beyblade goes to the rim of the stadium, spinning along there for a while, then coming down to the center later; based on my experience, the beyblade with flat bearing has more stamina with more chances of win. 
In Korea, they use B-96 infinite stadium DX at the regional tournament. Anyone can imagine how the beyblade with flat bearing could be unbeatable. Korean association banned it for the regional tournament last September. 
In Japan, they showed the picture of tip of driver at a different level of wear, announcing they allow minor wear on the tip which moves still differently compared to the original driver. 
In my personal experience during the last tournament, my opponent used the flat bearing (I guess it was because of the movement of the bey which I described above) and defeated me. The judge didn't say anything. I didn't even think I had to check his driver.
I`m little bit confused about what is ok and not ok. Is it still ok to use bearing driver (with normal wear) which performs differently though? Based on the rulebook, it is mentioned as "The of tip of the Driver is worn but still remains the primary point of contact with the stadium floor, including to the point of changes in performance."

RE: Flat bearing driver ; ban or not ban? - DeceasedCrab - Oct. 31, 2019

Did Kei really say to make a new thread for this? That would surprise me if he did, other threads already exist for this kind of question.

The Driver Wear section under the rules is kind of detailed about this sort of thing.
"ILLEGAL:
-The tip has been worn down to the point that other structural parts of the Driver become the primary point of contact (ex. If the rubber on Jolt wears down completely and is parallel with the plastic casing surrounding it) or if structural parts such as screws are exposed.
- Tips which have obviously been damaged through use on surfaces other than a Beyblade stadium (ex. concrete).
- Any other part of the Driver that has been intentionally worn down to affect shape or performance."
There used to be a series of pictures about driver wear in the rules, but those appear to have been removed. I think they had one for Bearing too?

A bearing with a flat part at the tip of its driver has clearly seen some damage through non-beystadium surfaces. The claim that the pointy tip of bearing wore down naturally to a flat surface entirely through beystadium launches is a lie.

When the pointy tip of the bearing stops being the primary point of contact for the Bearing (because it's gone) and the new point of contact is plastic from the middle of the tip, it's fairly clear that driver violates rule number 1 for illegal driver wear. Even if the driver isn't being worn down to the point where the revolving Bearing tip is gone and the contact point is the revolving stalk, that still violates rule 1.

The committee can add in more clarifying rules if they want. If I see bladers attempting to use a flat tipped Bearing, I will not permit its use at matches I am judging, for violations of illegal driver wear rules 1 and 2.

So far I don't think this has happened at tournaments I've been present at, but I'll be on the lookout for it.

RE: Flat bearing driver ; ban or not ban? - Kei - Nov. 01, 2019

(Oct. 31, 2019  1:37 PM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: Did Kei really say to make a new thread for this? That would surprise me if he did, other threads already exist for this kind of question.

Is there another thread for flat Bearing? If so, I must have missed it. I figured this does deserve a thread to clarify our stance since it's become a trend lately in Asia.

(Oct. 31, 2019  1:37 PM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: The claim that the pointy tip of bearing wore down naturally to a flat surface entirely through beystadium launches is a lie.

But can you be sure? If we are talking thousands and thousands of launches, it is conceivable to me that you could wear down a plastic tip pretty significantly. Then again, I don't know for sure how the flat Bearing Drivers are being created in Asia.

(Oct. 31, 2019  1:37 PM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: When the pointy tip of the bearing stops being the primary point of contact for the Bearing (because it's gone) and the new point of contact is plastic from the middle of the tip, it's fairly clear that driver violates rule number 1 for illegal driver wear. Even if the driver isn't being worn down to the point where the revolving Bearing tip is gone and the contact point is the revolving stalk, that still violates rule 1.

On flat Bearing the primary point of contact is still technically the bottom free-spinning piece of the Driver; it's just that the entire circumference of the tip becomes closer to being the primary contact point in general instead of just the centre pointed part of that free-spinning piece.

However, we can consider a literally "flat Bearing" illegal because it would only be possible by manufacturing it. TAKARA-TOMY's updated image below shows this well. A naturally worn Bearing will still have a curved shape.

Our ruling as it stands currently stands would make a Bearing that has worn completely through the this free-spinning piece to the metal shaft illegal; this would cause "structural parts" to become the primary point of contact.

Also, as I'm thinking about all of this I'm not sure about this rule:
Quote:Any other part of the Driver that has been intentionally worn down to affect shape or performance.

I'm not sure how we can define "intentionally"? And I don't even know if that's fair. Wear is natural and unavoidable, but I also think it is fair to want to play with a part to wear it down (within reason/the rules) to achieve a certain type of performance.

Anyways, the pictures you referenced that used to be in the rulebook were TAKARA-TOMY's. I first posted about the update here back when it came out: https://worldbeyblade.org/Thread-TAKARA-TOMY-s-New-Driver-Wear-Regulations

Interestingly, I've noticed is that the original "illegal wear" photo they posted for Bearing is different than the one currently on their page for the update: https://beyblade.takaratomy.co.jp/info_detail?myPost=2050

The new photo of an illegally worn Bearing photo shows a much more flat Bearing than before.

TAKARA-TOMY's Original "Illegal Bearing" vs. New "Illegal Bearing":
[Image: iMD3QFg.png] [Image: pDKQsZ0.png]

And the description on that news post mentions Bearing specifically (I think it didn't before):

TAKARA-TOMY Driver Wear Regulations (Google Translated) Wrote:■ Available at the tournament

   ・ The shaft tip is worn (including changes in behavior).

■ Status not available at the tournament

   -The shaft tip is worn out violently and parts / material parts that should not be touched are touching the stadium.
   ・ Exposed structural parts (screws, etc.) such as bearing drivers.
  -Bearing drivers or other parts that wear out and may be damaged.
   ・ A bearing driver or other judge that the judge or the staff has deliberately shaved.

This means that TAKARA-TOMY has granted players greater latitude in terms of what will be deemed legal or illegal for this part. To me, it seems like what they are wanting to avoid is parts that are unnaturally "flat" and have been shaved like in the new image. On the other hand, wearing down Bearing naturally so that it still maintains a curved shape (seen on the original left photo) seems to be OK.

edit: Changed the way I worded a few things above upon further consideration and some input from a Japanese friend.