posted Dec 21st, 2014 - The first reactions to the discussion of the Block 10 proposal came quickly, and there is not much support for the change yet.

There are many 4-way competitors who simply like the challenging Block 10 technique, even if there is more to do for the rear piece than for center outside and point.

The front piece has usually the more entertaining moves and gets more than enough compensation for less work at the current Block 10.

However, there are also people who are looking at the bigger picture and question the reason for the change, the arguable "imbalance" of slot switchers and memory between both pieces.

In fact, the proposed change fixes the questionable imbalance only for teams who follow the same engineering system that the team of the author, Denmark's national 4-way team VAF Warriors, apply. This engineering, or "continuity plan", is probably the most popular one at the moment. It is still only one of several other options.

Former 4-way competitor and current national judge Steve Miller reminded the Sun Path Products NSL News that there are enough practical examples where teams were dealing with the slot switchers in different ways, and Arizona Airspeed's former technique for Block 16 (Compressed Accordian - Box) is one of the best examples:

"The old Airspeed engineering had the rear piece moving backward on Block 16. I actually like that move better for the rear piece, but both are fun."

Steve Miller related to the "imbalance" and said that the old Airspeed technique would even it out in this case (3 - 3). He clarified with his look at the bigger picture that teams have several different engineering options that can result in many different relationships between "repeaters", "mirror-images" and "slot switchers" for the front or the rear pieces.

In other words, John Behrendt Petersen's and Trude Sviggum's understanding of the imbalance is not necessarily the same one for teams with a different engineering system, such as teams from France or Russia.

In fact, there is no rule that defines how teams have to deal with the six critical blocks (3, 5, 10, 12, 16, 17). There are even more blocks that teams are currently handling in different ways. The standard "western continuity plan" starts Block 4 (Monopod - Monopod) with the point position curved well towards the center inside slot, while the finishing shape of the second Monopod has the point on the side of the the center outside, which could easily create memory for the front piece. Similar counts for Block 19.

Each team has the freedom to make Block 16 (Compressed Accordian - Box) a slot switcher for the front or for the rear piece. The same counts for all other blocks. The fact that most teams currently have the rear piece perform the 360 turn for Block 10 doesn't mean that it cannot be done by the front piece.

The other two of the slot switchers for only one piece (3, 12) have the same options. There is no rule that determines the front piece to perform the 540 for Block 12 (Bundy - Bundy), and even Block 3 (Side Flake Opal - Turf) has other options than the standard and popular one.

Each team can decide differently upon the specific balance between the critical blocks and may follow the "standard continuity plan" or not. Changing Block 10 neither seems to be a necessary nor the most popular option - according to the first feedback by the valued audience...