Contest Flying – NAR Competition

How can I make it fly higher?
How can I make it fly longer?
How can I build and finish it better,
compared to other rocketeers?

The NAR sanctions local competitions, called NRC (National Rocketry Competition) launches as well as an annual model rocketry championship called NARAM (National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet).  The NRC  allows all NAR members to compete in 6 events each year at local launches.  The top ten qualifiers in each event in each age division qualify to compete at NARAM for the “Event Specialist” award in that event at NARAM.  The top 10 qualifiers overall (all six events) qualify to compete at NARAM for the National Championship in their respective division. Everyone NAR member can compete at NARAM and win medal (1st, 2nd, 3rd) in an event, but only those who qualified in the top ten are eligible for the event specialist award.  Similarly, those not in the top ten overall can compete at NARAM for the NARAM meet championship.  All are welcome.

The competition events are divided into 3 main categories to answer the three questions highlighted above. Those categories are altitude, duration, and craftsmanship event. The 6 NRC events are duration and altitude events that are selected by the National Contest Board each year along with the NARAM Contest Director.  At NARAM, those 6 events are held along with additional events at the Contest Director’s discretion.  These additional events typically include a craftsmanship event and other events outside the NRC events but that are selected from the U.S. Model Rocket Sporting Code as additional field suitable events (often higher impulse events than NRC events). Championships are based on the results of all of the NARAM events.

NRC launches can be contests of their own with members from several clubs or from a large area competing, a contest between 2 NAR Sections, a monthly club launch, or even a launch with only 2 NAR members (one a Senior NAR member).  NAR members can compete in as many NRC launches as they want throughout the contest year.  Results are posted on the National Scoreboard here:  NRC Scoreboard

The U.S. Model Rocket Sporting Code is the official rulebook for conducting and participating in NAR sanctioned competition. NAR members can design and build model rockets for over 25 different competition events. Official US Records can be set in many of these events. To get started refer to the Sporting Code and the Contest Events page which breaks down all of the events and has plans for them on the sub pages.

As mentioned, any two NAR members (at least one of them an adult) can get together and fly any or all of the NRC events anytime, anywhere as long as you register the launch event 48 hours or more in advance through “Launch Windows”. Anybody can do this, it does not have to be done through an NAR section.

When you’re done flying one of the NRC events, you just report your flight scores and they get posted to a national “Scoreboard” where you can see how you are doing in that compared to everyone else in the US that year. If you want to move up in the rankings, just fly again the next weekend; you can fly as often as you want. At the end of the contest year (June 30), the NAR recognizes the top 10 fliers in each event, and if you are one of these you can go to the National Championships (NARAM) and compete head-to-head in the event for the title of “National Champion”. If you want to know more about how the NRC process works, read the basic explanation briefing attached below.

The NAR Contest Board is pleased to announce the NRC events for the 2023-2024 Contest Year:

      • 1/2A Helicopter Duration
      • 1/2A Parachute Duration
      • A Rocket/Glide
      • B Streamer Duration
      • B Payload Altitude
      • B Eggloft Altitude

These events have been selected by the NAR Contest Board and the NARAM Contest Director per Sporting Code rule 13.1.3.  The 2023-2024 Contest Year starts on August 2, 2023, and ends on the last day of NARAM.  NRC flying ends June 30, 2024.

If you prefer the comraderie of flying with a larger group, NAR Sections across the country host NAR launches that provide members the opportunity to participate in competition rocketry, either by flying their own NRC flights or by participating in a locally-organized competition in any of the other events in the Model Rocket Sporting Code. No “points” are accumulated in these competitions that count for any national award, but there is a real personal challenge involved in being the best that you can be at one of the many diverse types of events found in the Code.

The NAR annual meet brings together all NAR members for a 4 or 5 day competitiob. The next national championship meet, NARAM-64, will be held near Lordsburg, NM . NARAM will be held July 29-Augst 1, 2023.   Events will be the 6 NRC events above plus:

    • 1/2A Flex Wing
    • Precision Fragile Payload
    • Classic Model

Launch Windows Online lists most of the organized launches currently scheduled where competition events can be flown. Not all launches are always listed, so it is best to contact an NAR Section near you to find out about launches in your area where you might be able to fly NRC competition.

Want to challenge your skills by trying NAR model rocketry competition?  The “Competition Guide” section of the NAR website has extensive information on how to design and fly rockets for all of the events found in the US Model Rocket Sporting Code and the “FAI Spacemodeling” section has information on the different rules and model types used in international competition.

Related Documents:

National Rocketry Competition Explained - Aug 2017 PDF September 24, 2017, 1:57 am 117 KB