Hi Roy and all,
I realise that this is too late for the meeting. I was on holiday and
just catching up. I do feel quite strongly about the shades/patches
issue though so am keen to know the outcome, or contribute to future
discussions.
I paid British blind Sports for a certificate to classify me as B1.
That should be sufficient. I find all the shades I've tried very
uncomfortable and they seem to effect my hearing - strange as that might
sound - there is a noticeable sound shadow and my judgment of where the
ball is changes when I wear shades. If you add to this the faff of
having somebody stick on patches through the day, it might just be
enough to discourage me altogether.
My point is that the certification process should be robust, and there
would then be no need for patches or shades which are a nuisance at best.
Re court size, I completely agree with Roy's take on this. Until we can
consistently return a higher proportion of serves, increasing court size
sets the B1 game back. What was the view of the meeting, and what are
international rules on this?
Lastly many thanks to Roy for your great work on our behalf, and for
keeping us posted - much appreciated -
Best,
Peter
On 15/08/2018 10:25, Roy Turnham wrote:
Thanks Emma. In my experience with patches there is no discomfort to speak of.
In football we wear them all the time and there is little complaint. However I
guess there could be issues with people having allergies or eyes that are very
sensitive to pressure. You are right, they are quite fiddly to put on,
especially if you’re doing it several times in one day. In football and goal
ball you are in teams and generally travel with coaches who tend to take the
responsibility of looking after the patching. In tennis this is different as a
lot of people travel as individuals without their club coaches. Maybe the
responsibility of patching could be given to the Empire? but then I can’t
imagine the tennis foundation being particularly happy about spending money on
60 odd sets of eye patchs when they are already reluctant to spend money on
quality tactile lines and tape.
My view on shades is that we either use robust shades, or no shades at all.
With sleep shades, you don’t even have to attempt to cheat to allow light in as
they are so ill-fitting. I think that a blindfold definitely comes under the
category of personal equipment and I agree with you on the issue of hygiene.
However it wouldn’t hurt to have a few spare pairs on hand at tournaments for
new players or those who might have lost or forgotten theirs.
Best
Roy
Sent from my iPhone
On 14 Aug 2018, at 16:31, EMMA Meade (Redacted sender "emmameade571720" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear All
Thank you Roy for seeking our feedback.
It is sad that people need to cheat, but I suppose this is the way of the world.
I don’t like the sound of patches, particularly if they are worn underneath the
goggles. Would this cause discomfort to the players and perhaps pressure on
the eyes? From Roy’s description, it sounds like there could be a lot of time
wasted and perhaps a reduction in matches if patching had to be applied again
and again.
Could there be a hygiene issue if players had to wear goggles/shades which were
provided by tournament hosts. I never lend my blindfold to anyone!
I am not sure about enlarging the B1 Courts, although I would be willing to try
the difference so that I could have an opinion.
Have a good meeting on Thursday.
Emma
Sent from my iPhone
On 14 Aug 2018, at 12:04, Roy Turnham <roy.turnham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Personally, I would also be reluctant to support patching in tennis just yet.
Logistically it would become a nightmare. Having to patch and re-patch people
during the day because of having multiple matches would cause A lot of
frustration. Maybe something to be considered for national/international, but I
do agree that can be a lot of hassle, especially for those new to the game.
It’s not so bad in football because you generally play no more than two matches
in a day. One thing I would say regarding shades is, goalfix, targe, or not,
there is still no failsafe way to ensure that people aren’t looking without
using patches. Apart from maybe the new goalfix eclipse mask with the nose
piece.
I am reliably informed by sighted people who have tried on the standard goalfix
masks that it is possible to manipulate your facial muscles to allow light into
the inside corners of your eyes without physically moving your shades with your
hands.
I agree, we don’t want to create an atmosphere of suspicion and finger-pointing
in tennis, but there have been genuine cases in other sports of people
cheating. Even with goalfix masks. That is why other sports have felt the need
to employ a patching system.
Sent from my iPhone
On 14 Aug 2018, at 10:34, Rachel Morgan (Redacted sender "goalballmouse" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi roy
Remember that using targe/goalfix shades are not a requirement. I think it would be
better to try ensure people are wearing good quality shades. (Maybe suggest clubs
loan to players going to regionals & nationals?) I think patching everyone
would send a message that we are suspicious of them and would be also be quite
expensive. We don’t want to recreate the toxic environment that exists in goalball
because of suspicion everywhere.
I think you know i feel re the court :)
Sent from my iPhone
On 14 Aug 2018, at 10:21, Maria Oshodi (Redacted sender "maria.mal09" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi roy,
For my part I don’t think patches need to be worn under the shades but do feel the size of the B1 court should be increased as I’ve always felt it’s unnecessarily small and restrictive to our game.
Thanks
Maria
From: b1-tennis-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:b1-tennis-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roy Turnham
Sent: 14 August 2018 10:03
To: b1-tennis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [b1-tennis] Urgent feedback required
Dear all,
For those of you who aren’t aware, there is currently a poll on Facebook around
whether people would travel to Glasgow if it was to be made a regional event
next year.
https://www.facebook.com/777752128989036/posts/1712748555489384/
I’m aware that not everybody is on Facebook, so if you have any feedback
regarding this, and you can’t access the Facebook post, then let me know and I
will pass it on to the tennis foundation at the next advisory group meeting.
I would also like to hear peoples thoughts on a few topics that are been
brought to my attention to discuss at the meeting.
Patches: do people feel there is a need for b1s to wear eyepatch is underneath
the goalfix shades in competitions?
Court size: do people feel that the size of the b1 court needs to be increased,
I.E to the size of the b2 court?
For peace of mind, these are just issues that are being discussed at the
moment. There is no intention of making any immediate changes without proper
consultation.
The next advisory group meeting takes place on Thursday, so any feedback on the
topics above, or indeed anything else, please get in touch.
I hope you’re all well
Best wishes
Roy
