(a) The Starter must position themselves so that they cannot be seen by the competitors when they place the whistle in their mouth.
(b) Any competitor who continues to disregard the Starter’s commands or instructions and delays the start by taking an unnecessarily long time to prepare their start area, lie correctly on the sand, or by not putting their head down on the “heads down” shall be eliminated.
(c) Any competitor lifting or moving after “heads down” and prior to the start signal has made a starting break infringement.
(d) The first competitor who breaks In beach flag competitions for the U12 age group and older shall be eliminated. If one competitor false starts, others may follow. Any competitor who follows is not deemed to have false started.
Note 1: In competitions from age U8 and up to and including the U11 age group, one false start per run through shall be permitted in beach flag events. The first competitor who breaks after the first false start has been declared in a run-through shall be eliminated. If one competitor false starts, others may follow. Any competitor who follows is not deemed to have false started.
Note 2: If an error by an official or starting apparatus causes or precedes a false start by a competitor the fault of the competitor shall be expunged and the starting process recommenced.
(e) Should a competitor be disqualified or eliminated, the remaining competitors and batons shall be realigned with no re-draw of positions. The run-through is to continue (with the current starting infringement in force for competition up to and including the U/14 age category) until a fair start is effected or until the quota of competitors needed for the next round is achieved. Should the disqualification or elimination occur for first place in the event there is no requirement for the remaining competitor to complete the run-through.