Back to mouthguards and the rules, not the licensing. First a list of facts.

1. Mouthguards are required.
2. You can use internal or external
3. The only external guard allowed is the one approved by the commission
4. The approved guard attaches to the snorkle

Those statements are all true and I don't plan to argue them. But that leads me to a few questions.

What happens when the snorkle falls (or gets ripped) out of your mouth?

Option 1 -- Ref calls you up and awards the appropriate penalty and makes you fix your equipment. Since it is an easy fix you just put your snorkle back in your mouth and are ready to go.

Option 2 -- Ref doesn't call anything.

So if it is Option 1, do we really want that rule? I would think not. I've lost my snorkle on dives in many situations and would go balistic if some anal ref stopped play for that.

So Option 2 makes sense right? Or does it? If the refs aren't going to call you for it then you really don't need the mouthguard.

Or does just having the mouthguard make it okay even though it's not covering your mouth? Would just having it on your snorkle be considered enough?

If it is for dental safety, then Option 1 must occur everytime a ref sees someone without their snorkle in their mouth. Whether or not they are in possession. Afterall, can't get those teeth damaged.

Can a ref make a judgement call on this? What if he sees a snorkle out of a mouth with a mouthguard on it? Should he stop the play assuming that the player has no protection? Yes, unless that player also has an internal guard and was just being extra carefull about his pearlies. So really a ref can't make a call.

What if my guard came completely off? How would the ref know if I have an internal guard or not?

Maybe the REF's guild can get wind of this and toss it about to come up with a ruling. This seems like a total nightmare of a rule as their can be no fair enforcement since as a safety issue play should stop when the ref doesn't see a guard over a player's mouth.

And one last question, why require it? Okay, a second one, what ever happened to people taking responsibility for their safeety or risk? Next thing you know we will be wearing helmets, the hard kind, as a safety issue.

Duck

And a bonus question with a prize. I'll buy a beer if anyone can find the rule in the 9.1 version that can answer this question -- who is the winner of the match?

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Just in case you weren't sure, it's official -- CMAS sucks.
Oh yeah, and now they're broke.