Central Council Decisions

The Central Council Decisions are frequently a subject of intense debate, particularly those that refer to change-ringing terms, classification of methods, conditions for peals, compositions, and method extension. The Council relies on the Methods Committee to advise and propose changes to the decisions, and as such, its members can be deemed to be the custodians of the decisions. Accommodating 400 year of ringing history, and the wishes, desires and strong opinions of ringers with many different views, and expressing these in a clear set of definitions and necessary constraints is a very difficult challenge, and any change proposed has to be very carefully peer reviewed and consulted upon before being put before the Council, as the Council meetings are not an appropriate forum for detailed debate of technical matters.

This area of the wiki highlights some of the contentious areas, and documents some proposals for change, together with comments and implications of making changes. Many of these changes have been discussed on the Ringing Theory list.

Technical Decisions

The relevant sections and sub-headings of interest from the decisions are as follows:

(D) PEAL RINGING

A. Conditions required for all peals

B. Particular conditions required for peals on different numbers of bells

C. Peals in more than one method

D. Record length peals

E. Analysis

(E) METHODS AND CALLS

A. Definitions and requirements

B. Classification of methods with one hunt bell

C. Classification of methods with two or more hunt bells

D. Nomenclature and Extensions

(F) COMPOSITIONS

A. Variation and Authorship

B. General

(G) METHOD EXTENSION

A. Definitions

B. Requirements for all extensions by an even number of stages

C. Extension of non-Little methods by an even number of stages

D. Extension of Little methods, principles and differentials by an even number of stages

E. Extension of a single-hunt plain method to a twin-hunt plain method at the next higher stage

For the detailed wording of the decisions, click here.

Proposals for Change

The following proposals have been put forward in recent years in an attempt to radically rethink certain aspects of the decisions:

• The Norwich Axioms - Mark Davies
• Harmonisation of Decisions - Graham John
• Episode IV - A New Hope - Philip Earis

Contraventions and Constraints

Two of the proposals above, the Norwich Axioms and Episode IV - A New Hope] approach from the viewpoint of a radical rewrite of the decisions. An alternative approach is to list specific contraventions (e.g. where a peal has been has rung) and constraints individually to allow the specific merits of each case, and their pros and cons, to be explored.

The advantage of this approach is that support for each case can be gauged and prioritised for consideration by the methods committee. Polls could also be conducted to assess the level of support. This would make it easier to make progress, as separate proposals could be drafted for each case and well-suppported proposals progressed ahead of more contentious ones.

Below is a list of contraventions and constraints. Each will have separate page on the wiki devoted to it, with relevant discussion and references to any peals identifed etc. Please add further items to the list, and content to the pages, as you think of them.

• Calls that pass to another part of the same course
• Calls that change the length of a lead
• Splicing methods other than at the lead or half-lead
• Naming new methods above Minor in quarter-peals
• Methods false in the plain course
• Dixonoids
• Inclusion of partial extents below Major
• Peals between 5000 and 5039 changes
• Non-adjacent mixed stage ringing
• Mixed stage ringing not in extents
• More than one cover bell
• Inverted twin or multiple hunt methods
• Exceeding four blow places in a plain course
• Jump change methods
• Cylindrical ringing
• Not starting in Rounds
• Multi-minor not described as Spliced
• The null change
• Major longer than the extent
• Peals not on bells
• Towerbells not audible outside