The informal meaning of this is well known — for a call that has people
working in obvious pairs (as couples, for example), they work individually,
with each person doing the part of one of the pairs in the base
call. Hence Single Wheel can be thought of as the thing that Wheel and Deal
is the As Couples version of.
There is a rigorous modern meaning, often used at C4, that goes far
beyond that. It can best be thought of as being like 3x3, but instead
of the pairs of people being interpolated by a third person between
them, they become a single person. One might think that would make
this easier than 3x3. One would be wrong. With 3x3, the presence of
people (or spots) in groups of 3 can be a clue indicating how the
actual people in the square correspond to the virtual people doing the
base ("2x2") call. With Single, there is often no such clue.
All of the skills and tricks needed for 3x3 are needed for Single, and then some.
So, assuming that the reader is familiar with the 3x3 tricks, we will cover
some of the additional ramifications of Single.
Reduction to Basic Parts
Because the clues regarding pairing are absent with Single, the trick
of reducing the call to basic parts is comparatively more important.
For example, Ah So is Hinge and Box Counter Rotate. 3x3 Ah So is
Hinge and columns of 6 Counter Rotate. Single Ah So is Hinge and
miniwave Counter Rotate, which is just another Hinge. This means that
Single Ah So is just a Trade. Really? Really. Similarly, Single
Follow Your Neighbor is just a Shazam, Single Leads Run the Wheel is
Cast Off 3/4, and Single Split Recycle is Trade.
Single Shakedown is Quarter Right, Hinge, and Roll. This, Single
Split Swap, and Single Shake and Rattle, are good calls to have a
mental picture of.
\pvtwo{g1n,b1n}
\phtwo{b1w,g1w}
before Single Shake and Rattle
after
Single Slither is "nothing", so Single Switch and Single Cross Roll
are both just Trade.
Recognizing the Setup
As previously mentioned, the clues about the setup in which to do the call
are largely absent with Single. It's often best not to try to recognize
the setup first. Figure out the reduced call, and then apply that to the
actual setup. For example, from parallel waves, one might wonder whether
Single (Split) Recycle should be done in each wave or each box. That's
wasted effort. Single Recycle is a Trade. Once you have that figured out,
how to do it in parallel waves is easy.
Sometimes you really do need to identify the setup, and sometimes that
can be quite tricky. We know that 3x3 Ferris Wheel has two
formulations. Single Ferris Wheel has two corresponding formulations,
and they are harder to distinguish.
\phBB{g2n,b1n,b2s,g1s}
\pvfour{g2s,b1s,b2n,g1n}
before Single Ferris Wheel
after
\phfour{b1n,g1n,g2s,b2s}
\phBB{g1s,b2n,b1s,g2n}
before Single Ferris Wheel
after
This means that, from parallel waves, Single Ferris Wheel gives a starting
DPT, and from parallel 2-faced lines it gives an 8-chain setup. The only
way to resolve the ambiguity between these markedly different calls is through
people's facing directions.
Here are a few more examples of the difficulty of resolving ambiguities:
\sxvlines{b3n,g4s,b2n,g1s}
\syvlines{b4e,g4e,g3w,b3w}
before Single Countershake
after
\sxvlines{b3n,b2n,g4s,g1s}
\syhlines{b1e,b4e,g1e,g4e}
before Single Countershake
after
\sxvlines{b3n,g4s,b2n,g1s}
\sxvlines{g3s,b3s,g2s,b2s}
before Single Roll Out to a Column
after
\sxvlines{b3n,b2n,g4s,g1s}
\syhlines{b4n,g3s,g4n,b3s}
before Single Roll Out to a Column
after
Single Sidetrack presents a special problem. Because it is flexible about
people's starting facing directions, clues such as those presented above
are absent. It is simply ambiguous.
\sxvlines{b3n,g4s,b2n,g1s}
\syhlines{b1e,g4e,b2w,g3w}
before Sidetrack
after
\pvfour{b3n,g4s,b2n,g1s}
\phfour{g1e,g4e,b2w,b3w}
before Single Sidetrack
after
\syhlines{b4n,g4n,b1n,g1n}
\sxvlines{b4w,g4w,b1w,g1w}
before Sidetrack
after
\phBB{b1n,g2s,g1n,b2s}
\phBB{g2e,b2e,b1w,g1w}
before Single Sidetrack (same as Split Sidetrack)
after
So, from a Trade by setup, which version is used? It could end in
a tidal column or in facing lines.
This ambiguity once broke down an entire Berkshires C4 dance, because the dancers
were thinking too hard — harder than the caller wanted. The caller wanted
the "Single File" version of the call, and would have said "Split Sidetrack"
if he had wanted the other version. Problems like this could be avoided by making
the convention that "Single" suggests a 1x4 single file setup, while
"Split" suggests a 2x2.
How Hard Can it Be?
Of course, we have Single Load the Boat. It's just a Trade and Roll from facing couples.
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