legal disc

is a disk that has the stamp removed and an image dyed on it still legal for pdga tournament?

[Justin]

Yes.

[Jim Coonradt]

Here's one. Say you are throwing a DX plastic disc and it hits a sharp object and gets a hole poked through it. Supposedly it is then not legal. Let's say, however, that you then use a heat source to melt the plastic back together so that there is no hole. Is it now legal? I would say yes because you have not altered the original flight characteristics of the disc. In fact you have restored the disc back to its original flight characteristics. Another hypothetical and on top of that it would probably be impossible to detect the repair.

 

Thoughts? 

x

[Justin]

I have an SE Teebird that flips into a roller perfectly. Unfortunately a dog bit it and one of the bite marks allows lights to pass through. I have tried to melt it back together to no avail. I can't imagine anyone would ever notice, but I like rules of competition, so I retired it. But, if we are talking DX and it hit something hard enough to be impaled, it is probably useless now, anyway. Throw it in your trunk with the rest of your retired DX Teebirds.

[Jim Coonradt]

I used a soldering to repair a DX TeeBird. It worked and you can't tell that there was any hole in it. However, it is currently in the trunk since I already have a couple of replacement discs. I might pull it out for league if I really need a DX TeeBird for an emergency. That was another almost brand new disc that got a hole poked through it when it hit a tree.

x

[Ian Macpherson]

Jim I posted a topic about fixing a disc a while back like this and there was an uproar about how I was attempting to skirt the rules around modifying a disc. I agree with your assessment that repairing a disc is not modification but rather de-modification, if anything.

[Bruce Brakel]

The dyed disc is more legal than the undyed disc. The repaired disc is less legal than the undamaged disc. :-)

[Allonzy]

Yes dyed discs are legal for tournament play, although technically a dyed disc goes against the rule of not being able to use discs that were modified after molding. Dying companies have been using a non-existent loophole, but the PDGA allows it and I can't blame them. Putting a cool design on a disc makes it sell more, which in turn helps grow the sport.

[Justin]

I think there are explicit exceptions to the no mods after molding rule that dyeing falls under. As long as there is no notable thickness to the alteration (like spray paint) it should be legal without needing a loophole. In fact, you are required under the rules to mark your discs. Most people use a sharpie--which dyes the plastic--so dye away.

[Bruce Brakel]

Hence, the dyed disc is more legal than the undyed disc.  Because the thrower of the undyed disc may have forgotten to uniquely mark it, whereas the dyer of the dyed disc may have already uniquely marked it.  Some dye jobs are unique; some are like snowflakes.

[Justin]

Wasn't disagreeing with you. I was replying to Allonzy. We're all snowflakes.

[Donny Olow]

Detectable thickness. No stickers. I asked.  Dyed disc's are OK.