Disqualified after the round...

[Fritz]

"PDGA TDs will enforce the Rules of Play, the Competition Manual, and the Tour Standards."

Right there. Allowing a suspended player to play in the PDGA sanctioned event is a violation of the rules.
You have to initial that you agree.


Edit: The following disciplinary actions are in effect between the begin and end dates shown. This information is provided as a notification to the membership and to PDGA tournament directors to assist with enforcement. For questions regarding these actions, please contact Executive Director Brian Graham.

The suspended player isn't a non-member, they are a suspended member. Meaning they cannot play a PDGA sanctioned event. If the TD lets them play, the TD runs the risk of getting non-sanctioned.
That would piss off a lot of players. When you sanction a tournament the PDGA sends you a list of suspended players and players on probation, so the TD couldn't claim they didn't know.

Is that what you mean?

Where in the sanctioning agreement does it say that the TD agrees to refuse entry to suspended members? I expect there must be something somewhere, but all I've seen that the TDs are obligated to do is not refuse entry to members, send the pdga $10 for every non-member who competes in a B or C-tier, refuse entry to non-members in A-tiers, majors, and NTs, enforce the PDGA rules of play, and get the results in by the end of the year.

I guess it's just the lawyer in me, but on it's face, the rule doesn't say that the suspended member can't compete in any tournaments. It says he loses the rights and privileges of PDGA membership. So that would seem to mean that he stands on the same footing as any non-member.

 

[jenb1]

Allowing a suspended player to play in the PDGA sanctioned event is a violation of the rules.

Where does it say that? It just says they lose the rights and privileges of membership. Non-members can playin B and C tiers. Why do people think the rule says that they can't play if permitted by the TD, same as a non-member? Non-members lack the right to play too.

 

[Fritz]

Allowing a suspended player to play in the PDGA sanctioned event is a violation of the rules.

Where does it say that? It just says they lose the rights and privileges of membership. Non-members can playin B and C tiers. Why do people think the rule says that they can't play if permitted by the TD, same as a non-member? Non-members lack the right to play too.

Because it says it right there in the rules and sanctioning agreement clear as day, suspended players are not allowed to play in PDGA sanctioned tournaments, and as TD You agree to enforce the rules. It couldnt be more clear. They are suspended. Meaning they cannot play, meaning if a TD let's them play, they are not enforcing the rules. TDs do not get to or have the authority to permit a suspended player to play in a sanctioned tournament.
Non-members have the right to play, it just costs them 10 extra dollars.

A suspended player is not, a non-member. They are a member that is suspended.
My quote was a direct copy from the sanctioning document. Not just me stating an opinion.

 

[jenb1]

No, non-members don't have the right to play. They aren't allowed to play at all in A, NT, and M class tournaments, and a TD is allowed to refuse them entry to a B or C tier tournament for any reason or no reason, even if they have the extra $10 in hand. Not so a member in good standing.

The part you quoted from the sanctioning agreement just says the TD must enforce the rules. But the rules merely say that a suspended member merely loses the rights and privileges of membership. To me, that simply says that they are just like members who haven't renewed. Those members also lose the rights and privileges of membership, but they are still able to play in B and C tiers if the TD allows it and they pay $10 extra.

 

[ferretdance03]

Why are you so hung up on this? If the explanations here don't suffice why don't you call the pdga office and ask them? Then enlighten us with your newly gleaned knowledge.

Are you planning on getting suspended in the near future? Or running an event and inviting some suspended players?

 

[Fritz]

Why are you so hung up on this? If the explanations here don't suffice why don't you call the pdga office and ask them? Then enlighten us with your newly gleaned knowledge.

Are you planning on getting suspended in the near future? Or running an event and inviting some suspended players?

True that.
Done debating.

 

[JimW]

I imagine that a suspended (or permabanned) member could get away with playing in smaller, non-local tournaments. All they'd have to do is sign up as a non-member and not provide a PDGA number. As long as there isn't somebody that recognizes them and knows they're suspended (and decides to go to the TD with it or is the TD) then all they have is the same name as a person on the suspended list with no proof that they're the same person. If they're placing high in tournaments regularly, especially in Open, then it would probably be hard to get away with that for long without somebody getting pretty damn suspicious and looking into it.

 

[DiscGolfTeeSigns.com]

... which begs the question, why isn't there more identity theft in sanctioned play?

Hi, I'm Matt K. here to play a few rated rounds!

it's a relatively small investment to completely wreck someone's rating.

 

[Frank Delicious]

lol but I would imagine it would be easy for the person to be like "uh, I definitely didn't drive to texas to bomb in some random C-tier"

 

[JHern]

Since he is a touring pro, he would have a terrible time trying to avoid detection. Disc golf is a small world. Too small for this to work.

 

[Widdershins]

... which begs the question, why isn't there more identity theft in sanctioned play?

Hi, I'm Matt K. here to play a few rated rounds!

it's a relatively small investment to completely wreck someone's rating.

Yeah but wreck it in which direction? You mean by raising it? For an Amateur, a lower rating does no harm and opens up divisional choices. For Pros, except as it relates to potential sponsorship benefits, there is no direct advantage to having a higher rating and a lower rating may open up divisional choices.

Handicap ratings are mostly minor bragging rights in Pro. Heck, I knowingly sacrifice my rating every time I play a righty hyzer tunnel course-and there are lots of those. I can ruin my own rating all by myself, thank you.

 

[martinb]

hey mark dont sell yourself short! if your anything like me, which your probably not, you can most likely ruin your player rating by playing lefty anhyzer tunnel courses too!

 

[The Hammer]

So a bit of this story popped up on another one of my friends status updates today. I know who Rob is, so I decided to do a little digging and discovered this thread. Interesting to read what happened. I've known about this character for awhile. Today, he posted this response regarding his suspension:

"Robert Ryan: i know merle...i know i was wronged....i did nothing wrong for my punishment...haters everywhere wmdg..."

What a douche bag. I guess it should be expected from a 40-year old that has a mohawk, nipple piercings, and can't seem to ever find his shirt.

 

[juju1]

His facebook status updates are classic.

 

[The Hammer]

Yeah, he seems obsessed with the rules, and defining them down to a gnat's ass. Ironic, as he seems to think they don't apply to him.

 

[Hegemony]

I don't agree that a suspended member might be able to play as a non-member. Itemized bullet one says they lose the right to play in sactioned events. That's clear cut. However, I do have a question that's somewhat related:

Can a non-member be suspended?

Common sense says it should be possible. PDGA should want to preserve that right for themselves, however the suspension rules wording make the act of doing it according to the rules a bit clunky.

 

[Cgkdisc]

All players that have PDGA numbers are members. If they pay their dues, they're current versus non-current members. Current and non-current members can be suspended. Nonmembers with no PDGA number do not really need to be suspended since a TD has the right to refuse entry for whatever reason to nonmembers plus, without a PDGA number, it would be hard to track whether THAT John Smith was suspended.