IN RUGBY, you call it "playing to the whistle".
It doesn't matter if the referee missed the little knock on by the halfback at the rear of the ruck, or if the touch judge didn't see the blatantly floating forward pass, you just get on and try to make an advantage out of play continuing.
That was his screw-up, not yours, and his decision or lack thereof is final.
We don't get to go back three days later and change the outcome of the match based on that error.
Whanganui jetsprinter Hayden Wilson used a similar metaphor in an email to the NZ Jetsprint Association executive committee earlier this week when it decided to take away his runner-up placing from last Sunday's national championships round at Shelterview.
Wilson got a reply back saying rugby had nothing to do it.
Apparently neither does common sense.
Let's recap: Entering the Top 5 eliminator section of the evening for his Group B class, Wilson had a problem with the main bearing in his engine unit and was told at the water's entry ramp that he had 10 minutes to make repairs or he would be eliminated from the competition.
The officials screwed up.
The 10-minute time limit was in place for January's UIM World Series held in Meremere and Mt Maunganui's Baypark Stadium, whereas the national series uses the five-minute rule.
Certainly Owhango's Tim Edhouse knew the score.
When Wilson got back into the water after nine minutes and beat him fair and square by around 0.8 seconds, there was an immediate protest and, as a compromise, Edhouse got to join the Top 3 eliminator as a fourth driver.
That should have settled the matter as Edhouse still had his own fate in his hands but he did not get the job done as his transponder, which records the times, was not initially operating.
Later on, it was revealed he drove another 47s lap, still behind Wilson who had done a great job of staying mentally focused despite all the issues in the pits and posting the second quickest finish of the night in 46.235s.
You can't argue with the stopwatch.
Wilson was clear and deserved runner-up on the night and had followed the instructions of officials to the letter.
There's no denying Edhouse has a legitimate gripe, but again, that's on the governing body to apologise for its representatives either not knowing or momentarily forgetting their own rules and making certain in the postscript that it does not happen again.
Wilson "played the whistle", and under the officiating conditions of the night, he was the faster driver.
Now he has been made the victim of damage control.
Yes, jetsprinting is still a predominantly amateur code, entered by wild water enthusiasts who pour thousands of their own dollars into their beloved machines, all overseen by well-meaning staff whose only goal is making their sport flourish.
But that is still no excuse for poor preparation.
If you can't handle the technical aspects of competitive racing, then find another hobby.
Coming into this summer, the association knew it was heading for one of its biggest-ever seasons.
The World Series being hosted in January saw the six rounds of nationals split in two, with two events in December and two in April for the first time.
Baypark getting the big World Series finale meant the regional tracks got more of a look-in for the nationals with night racing returning to Whanganui and Taranaki's Waitara getting an event courtesy of the new track built by our own expat Leighton Minnell.
High profile, exciting, and logistically challenging. Circumstances demanded the officials had to make sure they had every contingency and possible scenario covered.
Instead, Wilson pays the price for others' mistakes. And it's not the first time.
Back in 2014 when he won the Group B national title, Wilson had his first-ever round victory as a driver taken away from him after there were big problems with the new track dug for the inaugural racing inside of Baypark Stadium.
A digger went out on the night and changed the rotations after a number of crashes, but there were protests from beaten drivers that the results had to be "lopsided".
Wilson was furious, as he went from leading the series to trailing by four points after the placings from Baypark were officially "discounted".
Fired up, he proved the "lopsided" argument was flimsy at best by going back out and finishing either first or second at each of the remaining four rounds to still narrowly claim the championship.
Here we are, some two years later, and nothing's changed. Wilson loses another round trophy after the fact because of somebody else's mistakes.
When I saw him at his tent on that Saturday evening, despite knowing he was in the right, Wilson was resigned to the likelihood he was going to suffer, based on his past experiences.
He was still laughing and joking about it, but what else can you do?
The alternative would be to just sit down and cry.