The Hong Kong Radio Control Soaring Society


Hong Kong F3F League
Rules and Contest Arrangements

(Provisional, revised 2010)

 

1.     Race Schedule

1.1    Number of races

One race for each month will be scheduled and the league should have a maximum of 12 races in a year. The race dates are announced in advance prior to the start of the league. Change of a race date is not allowed unless there are special circumstances, for example, the race is coinciding with Mother Day, and the proposed change, if any, must be approved by majority votes in advance.

1.2   Cancellation of races

In case of poor weather forecast, such as rain, fog, or no wind (below scale 3), the race should be cancelled. There will be no make-up race for the cancelled race. The decision to cancel the race must be made and announced by the designated CD of the day. As weather permitted, cancellation should be announced as earlier as possible, say one day in advance. However, CD would have the sole discretion to announce it on site or not.

1.3   Incomplete races

A race is said to be incomplete if at least one round but less than four rounds are successfully run. There will be no continuation race. All the scores for the completed rounds will be discarded and voided, but the fastest time and personal best times will be kept as official record.
 

2.     League Result

2.1    Scoring for the league

A minimum of one league race and a maximum of 12 league races should be conducted. Depending on the number of races held, there will be a corresponding number of discards for a pilot's worse scores according to the following table:

Number of Races Held

Number of Discards

1-3 0
4-6 1
7-9 2
10-12 3

All completed races after discarding the worse races according to the above table will be counted towards the ranking list. A pilot’s score in a race is computed by normalizing his own score by the best score of this race and multiplying the result with 1000 points. The computation is similar to F3F scoring.

2.2   Participation in international F3F contests

The league winners for the current year will automatically qualify for representing Hong Kong to compete next year in Viking Race, Typhoon Race, or any future world FAI F3F event.  However, the qualification is only valid for joining one international contest. If more than one international contest are available, the pilots next on the line will have the priority to choose to go. In case if a qualified pilot relinquishes his right, the pilot next on the line will be qualified. The qualified pilots must confirm whether they will join the international contest two months in advance so that pilots next on the line can prepare to take up their positions. All qualified pilots must be local pilots who permanently live in Hong Kong.
 

 3.     Race Rules

3.1   FAI rules

All races follow the current FAI F3F published rules. Please see the FAI F3F Rules.

 3.2   Local rules

There are local rules for giving penalty on crossing safety lines and landing outside a designated area. These rules, however, are depending on the flying sites and weather condition. They are up to the CD of the day to interpret. Anyhow, the decision to enforce the rules for the day must be announced by the CD on site prior to start the contest.
 

4.     Contest Arrangements

4.1   Contest administration team

A team composed of a CD, a co-CD and one helper is assigned to handle and run a scheduled race. There will be a roster on the league race timetable, and the members of a team for each race day will be announced before the league started. This team is solely responsible for setting up the contest equipment, running the contest and recording the timings. All team members must arrive at the flying site at least half an hour before the official start time of the contest in order to prepare for the site, setting up the poles, running the cables, testing the timer, and etc. The designated CD and co-CD can also participate in the contest. During the CD’s own F3F run, the co-CD is in charge and via versa. Only the CD (or co-CD during CD's own run) is allowed to judge and give penalty. CD and co-CD do not need to serve as base beepers. The arrangement of base judges follows the workable scheduling policy we already have in previous years.

4.2   Contest duration

The official start time of the contest is normally at 9:00am, unless otherwise specified by the CD according to the flying site selected and weather condition. The start time of the last round is normally 4:30pm, however, it is dependent on the flying site, wind condition and number of contestants. CD should announce the end time prior to start the contest. Pilots who arrive late may be allowed to join the race at the end of a round if it is already started.

4.3   Re-flight

Only the CD has the sole power to approve and announce a re-flight due to poor wind speed, judge errors, or other circumstances. The co-CD should monitor the wind condition constantly. If the wind condition is beyond limits during flight, CD should issue an option for the pilot concerned to abort. The pilot can choose to abort or continue, he is entitled to have a re-flight no matter his run is successfully completed or not. In any case, an approved re-flight should be executed as soon as possible. Helpers, onlookers and other pilots not on the stage must keep quiet during a pilot's run in order to minimize disturbance to the contesting pilot. CD has the power to expel or disqualify anyone who breaks this regulation after giving repeat warnings.

4.4    Contest fee

A contest fee of $20 for HKRCSS members and $40 for non-members for each race will be charged. This fee is subject to change after annual review by HKRCSS, however, it will be based on a balanced budget principle according to the average number of contestants in the league.

4.5    Contest trophies

4.5.1 Shields for each race

There will be shields awarded for the champion, 1st runner-up, 2nd runner-up and the fastest time in each monthly race. The CD for that race is responsible for purchasing/making the shields and brings them to the flying site. The budget for the shields should be about half of the total contest fee collected for that race. Another half will be saved and then contribute to the making of the year-end trophies.

4.5.2 Year-end trophies for the league

There will be trophies of decent quality awarded for the champion, 1st runner-up, 2nd runner-up and the fastest time in the league result table. A trophy will also be awarded to the best pilot from a group of new F3F pilots who join the league first time. Each pilot who has participated in the league races will receive a certification of appreciation.