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