Contest Board News

Latest Contest News

NRC Events for 2021-22 Contest Year

The NAR Contest Board is pleased to announce the NRC events for the 2021-2022 Contest Year:

  • 1/4A Streamer Duration
  • 1/2A Rocket/Glide
  • A Parachute Duration
  • A Helicopter Duration
  • B Eggloft Altitude
  • B Altitude
  • Sport Scale

These events have been selected by the NAR Contest Board and the NARAM-63 Contest Director per Sporting Code rule 13.1.3.  The 2021-2022 Contest Year starts on July 31, 2021 and ends on the last day of NARAM-63.  NRC flying ends June 30, 2022. Details on Sport Scale submissions and judging will follow prior to July 31st.

Dan Wolf
NAR Contest Board Chair

FlightSketch Altimeters Approved for Contest Use (6.24.21)

The FlightSketch Mini and the FlightSketch Comp altimeters have been approved for NAR Contest Use.  Both are recording altimeters.  They both can be used for setting records.

The FlightSketch Mini is a 16.3mm x 25.4mm x 6.33 mm altimeter with onboard button cell battery and fits inside an 18mm body tube.  The FlightSketch Comp is an 8mm x 19.7mm x 4.1 mm altimeter with separate lithium cell battery and fits inside a 13mm body tube. Contact FlightSketch for more details.

Per U.S. Model Rocket Sporting Code Rule 20.2, these altimeters are approved for Contest Use 30 days after this announcement or July 23, 2021.

NAR Contest Board Announcement

The Adrel/North Coast Rocketry DeployMax Altimeter has been approved for NAR Contest use. Approval means the altimeter meets the requirements for altimeters outlined in the US Model Rocket Sporting Code, section 20.2. Per rule 20.2, the DeployMax can be used in NAR Competition 30 days from today or July 14, 2021.

Two Emergency Rules Change Proposals have been submitted and approved per the process outlined in Appendix-D . The first proposal will be added to the sporting code effective immediately.

 

Brief Summary of the Proposed Change: Change the time to apply for an NAR sanction of an NRC launch or Record Trial from 7 days to 48 hours, with the recommendation that these launches be scheduled as early as possible.

State the Logic of the Change: Prior to the 2017 USMRSC (NRC), sufficient time was needed to notify NAR members of an upcoming contest and in particular, the specific events for the contest, so that they would have ample time to prepare.  In those older USMRSC, a time of 30 days was required but it was allowed to be shorter if the regional contest chair approved.  The Sporting Code now states 7 days with NO exceptions.  This has caused issues when an event is cancelled due to poor weather or other events and not being able to schedule a new event in time for the coming days when the weather may be better.  While it is advantageous when possible for sections to publish and sanction NRC launches as early as possible, since an NRC launch only requires 2 people, it is a disadvantage when a “good” weather forecast is made a few days before a weekend or to quickly reschedule a “rained out” event. This change will allow individuals and sections more flexibility in scheduling an NRC launch and provide NAR members more opportunities to fly in NAR competition.

Exact Wording for the Rule Revision as it should Appear: Section #  6.2 Application for sanction of an NRC launch or Record Trial must be made to the NAR Regional Contest Board at least 48 hours in advance of the start time of the launch.  Sections and individuals are encouraged to schedule NRC launches earlier whenever possible.  Application for a launch sanction shall be made electronically at NAR.org. An NAR member eighteen (18) years of age or older, who will serve as the Contest Director, must submit the application. All NAR sanctioned launches will be automatically posted to the NAR Launch Calendar on NAR.org.

 

Proposal number two will become effective with the start of the new contest year following the conclusion of NARAM-62. The exact wording will be released prior to NARAM-62. Some additional resources are still be finalized for contestant data submission.

Brief Summary of the Proposed Change: Add Craftsmanship as an additional NRC event

State the Logic of the Change: The events held at NRC launches and are used to qualify for the NAR National Championships (aka NRC events) only include altitude and duration events.  In discussions among NAR members after the 2020 Virtual NARAM, amongst NAR members that attended NARCON 2021, and amongst NAR member who attended February 2021 NAR Competitors Town Hall, many members feel that not including Craftsmanship events as part of NRC has diminished the value of craftsmanship in NAR Competition and has caused some members to be less interested in NAR competition and the NRC process.  In addition, it removes a key element of NAR Competition except at NARAM. The 2020 Virtual NARAM event demonstrated that craftsmanship events can work in the NRC format.

 

Ultimately this change should be approved as part of the RCP process by the membership.  However the NAR Contest Board strongly feels, based on the membership feedback, that this change should be implemented ASAP. Therefore, this emergency RCP will add the selected NARAM-63 craftsmanship event as an additional NRC event for the 2021-2022 contest year only.  A regular RCP will be included for the 2021-2022 RCP cycle to allow the membership to decide if this should be a permanent change.

Jim Filler
NAR Contest Board RRC